Ben Wade (Preben Holm) Golden Grain XL Smooth Freehand Estate Briar Pipe, Unsmoked

Description

While Ben Wade was a historic British pipe brand, for a time during the 1970s, production of Ben Wade pipes was contracted out to one of Danish pipe-making’s superstars: Preben Holm. Though he would tragically pass away at the age of 42, 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. Owing to Holm’s untimely passing, his pipes are even more highly sought after than they were during his lifetime.

Preben Holm’s Ben Wade freehands came in a variety of styles and finishes, and as such a vast array of separate lines. Some of these lines were subdivided into grades (such as the Nobel Prize) and some into groupings. Having handled a good number of Holm’s Ben Wade pipes over the years, I’m fairly certain that the Golden Grain was an example of the latter. There was, for example, the Golden Tan (a partial sandblast finish), the Golden Matt (a relatively matte smooth finish), and the Golden Walnut (a smooth, contrast finish). Then there’s the Golden Grain, which, in my experience, have been the rarest of the bunch and which have had the best grain. Like the Golden Walnut, these pipes have always been smooth finishes with a very Danish golden contrast stain, but with an underlying patterning even more pleasing to the eye. I would therefore imagine that the Golden Grain was near the top (or even simply at the top) of the “Golden” series as far as grading and pricing went. This one is a beautiful, large specimen, with excellent flame grain and a double plateaux shaping.

This pipe is also completely unsmoked, with an original bowl coating. There is some residual oxidation on the pipe’s vulcanite stem, where care has been taken not to efface the Ben Wade logo. I thought it would be best to leave that part to the buyer’s discretion.

 

Details:

Length: 7.3″ / 185.4mm

Bowl Width: 0.85 / 21.59mm

Bowl Depth: 2.16″ / 54.86mm

Weight: 2.9oz / 84g