Ben Wade (Preben Holm) Straight Grain Extra Large Smooth Freehand (Unsmoked Estate)

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.

As mentioned in our recent newsletters, this is one of a significant number of unsmoked Preben Holm pipes that came through our trade-in program recently. A few of those have already been snapped up by our most devoted newsletter readers (don’t forget to sign up if you haven’t already), though there are more to come.

Preben Holm’s pipes were famous for their freeform shaping and exemplary graining—that’s essentially why he achieved the level of renown that he did—though it appears that, when making pipes for Lane Ltd.’s Ben Wade make, a line was created for pipes with even finer vertical patternings than usual. That’s what I’d presume, at least, and having seen a selection of Straight Grain Ben Wades in a recent estates batch, they are indeed impressive pipes.

This one is a classic Preben Holm design—i.e., a freehand in the Danish Fancy vein, with a flowing figure, a broad, plateau-topped rim, and a generally naturalistic bent, with its fiery grain patterns accentuated by a deep, golden contrast finish.

This pipe is completely unsmoked, with an original bowl coating.

Details:

Length: 7″ / 177.8mm

Bowl Width: 0.98 / 24.89mm

Bowl Depth: 2.33″ / 59.18mm

Weight: 2.7oz / 78g