Ben Wade (Preben Holm) Golden Walnut XL Smooth Freehand Estate Briar Pipe, Danish Estates

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. The Golden Walnut was an example of the latter. Alongside the Golden Tan, Golden Matt, and Golden Grain, the Golden Walnut was a quintessentially Danish freehand, bearing a warm, walnut contrast stain, as opposed, for example, to the matte contrast stain of the Golden Matte, or the sandblast finish of the Golden Tan. As was the case for the “Golden” line more generally, this one is an impressively large specimen, bearing all the hallmarks of the Dancy Fancy, including superb straight grain, live plateaux edges, and an ornate, double-beaded ebonite stem.

The condition is good. Slight finish fading and some residual stem oxidation.

Details:

Length: 6.9″ / 175.2mm

Bowl Width: 1.06 / 26.92mm

Bowl Depth: 1.96″ / 49.78mm

Weight: 2.1oz / 62g