Bjarne Handmade Dublin Estate Briar Pipe, Danish Estates

Bjarne Nielsen was one of the towering figures of Danish pipe-making until his passing in 2008. As the founder of Bjarne, Nielsen employed talented pipe-makers from Denmark to produce distinctly Danish pipes and sold them to a devoted international audience. Among those in his employ were figures such as Mogens Johansen (also known as Johs), Ph. Vigen, Ole Bandholm and Tonni Nielsen. Though Bjarne pipes are no longer manufactured, they are still in good demand by those who enjoy well-made pipes in the tradition of Danish design.

Is it just me, or does this Bjarne look a little bit like a Tom Eltang? Well, I suppose Danish pipe design has always been a little bit incestuous. The shape is what I would call a variety of ‘Danish Dublin’ – the bowl is classic Dublin in the English-French style, but the shank is ovaline, and the stem-shank proportions are more in line with a billiard. It’s not a drastic departure from the norm, but it’s still distinct. The grain is superb, being the perfect mixture of vertical straight grain and a rim covered in bird’s-eye partterns, and the pipe is also quite light, so veteran smokers should find it clenches comfortably enough.

The condition is great. There’s some darkening on the inner back rim, but it’s nothing I’d worry about. The pipe also comes with its original sleeve.

Details:

Length: 5.5″ / 139.7mm

Bowl Width: 0.72 / 18.28mm

Bowl Depth: 1.48″ / 37.59mm

Weight: 1.3oz / 38g