Former & Eltang Bisgaard House Pipe Smooth Billiard Estate Briar Pipe, Danish Estates, 9mm

Description

Hans “Former” Nielsen and Tom Eltang are two of the most acclaimed and sought-after pipe makers working today, and this has been the case for many decades. It is only natural that pipe makers of such a caliber would collaborate with other pipe makers and institutions. Eltang, of course, previously worked for Stanwell, and has designed Stanwell shapes since at least the 1990s. Former ran the Bentley pipe company for years, creating a whole new range of pipes for the company under the name, “Bentley Former’s Design.” And the two have also collaborated with each other on a number of occasions since the early 2000s. In 2004, for example, they collaborated on the Pipes and Tobaccos Magazine Pipe of the Year; a few years later, they created a new project, Former-Eltang pipes, which utilized batch-production techniques the two had learned from their time making Bentley and Sara Eltang pipes respectively.

Another project Former and Eltang worked on together in the early 2000s was a pipe exclusively for the Danish pipe shop, Bisgaard Piber. Named only as the “House Pipe,” the design was fairly similar to the “house pipes” seen from other makes, such as Peterson, taking the form of a stout billiard with thick bowl walls and a sterling silver army mount. The shape is classic Former, while the finishing is much closer to Eltang’s signature golden contrast stain. Overall, it is quite classical, though unmistakably Danish, just as Former and Eltang’s designs so often are.

The condition is good. Some inner rim darkening, light tooth chatter, and a few scrapes around the exterior of the bowl, though nothing major. The pipe is chambered to allow for the use of 9mm filters if desired.

Details:

Length: 5.6″ / 142.2mm

Bowl Width: 0.79 / 20.06mm

Bowl Depth: 1.66″ / 42.16mm

Weight: 1.6oz / 48g