Ben Wade (Preben Holm) Danish Hand Model 100 XXL Sandblasted Oom Paul w/ Vulcanite Estate Briar Pipe, Danish Estates

Description

Though he would tragically pass away at the age of 42, Preben Holm was one of the pioneering figures in the “Danish design” movement in 20th century pipe-making – a movement that still dominates the high-grade pipe scene. By hand-shaping his pipes on a belt sander, Holm was able to make the most of the patterns of grain hidden within briar, creating spectacular works of pipe art that looked just as good as they smoked. Even Herman Lane, owner of Lane Ltd. and Charatan during the 1960s and 1970s, was so impressed by Holm that he contracted the Danish artisan to carve pipes under his newly-acquired Ben Wade make, despite simultaneously stewarding the meteoric rise of English-made freehand pipes through Charatan). Today, Holm’s pipes remain highly sought-after, perhaps even more so than when he was still alive, to the extent that even the historic—and, originally, very English—Ben Wade name is difficult to separate from Holm’s work.

If I remember right, the Hand Model was originally a Ben Wade line made by Charatan, after Herman Lane had purchased the latter to serve as a Charatan sub-brand. The Danish Hand Model, on the other hand, was something else entirely. It was, rather, one of the many lines made for Lane by Preben Holm, with each representing Holm’s distinctly Danish approach to pipe design. This one is certainly distinct in that manner, but it’s also strikingly traditional, even more so than many of Holm’s explicitly labeled, “Traditional” designs. Taking the form of an exceptionally large Oom Paul rendition, the pipe’s bowl is rippled with the kind of deep, ring grain sandblast and dark finish that one might more expect from a patent era Dunhill, or a family era Barling’s, and the “goose-egg” shaping of the bowl isn’t too far off those of the former, either. On the other hand, the pipe’s live plateaux edge rim, vulcanite mount, and ornate vulcanite mouthpiece keep the pipe well within the vein of the “Danish Fancy” freehand Holm helped pioneer.

The condition is good. Some rim darkening and finish fading.

Details:

Length: 7.2″ / 182.8mm

Bowl Width: 1.00 / 25.4mm

Bowl Depth: 2.18″ / 55.37mm

Weight: 2.6oz / 74g