Great Dane (Nording) A Smooth Freehand Estate Briar Pipe, Danish Estates

Description

Nørding was founded by Erik Nørding in the 1960s, and is one of the oldest remaining companies to come out of the Scandinavian pipe-making renaissance that began in the mid-20th century. Now in his 80s, Erik Nørding is one of the most experienced and skilled pipe-makers in the world, and over the decades he has also been a teacher of other Danish masters, such as Poul Ilsted, Svend Axel Celius, Jens Tao Nielsen, Peder Jeppesen, and Søren Erik Andersen.

The Great Dane was a line of freehand pipes put out by Nording a good few years back. Some were partially rusticated, some wore a dark smooth finish, and the highest grade Great Danes wore a light smooth finish, with this particular pipe being an example of the latter. They also often featured very distinctive, amber-toned acrylic mouthpieces, which can also be seen here. It is not uncommon for Danish and Danish-inspired freehands to feature colorful mouthpieces, but for the Great Dane, the simple taper cut of those mouthpieces, rather than the more typical flared or beaded fancy style, gave them an oddly traditional appearance, in a manner that beautifully juxtaposed the aesthetics of the very old (via the amber-like mouthpieces) and the new (via the freeform bowl). As mentioned, this one belongs to the highest grade awarded to the Great Danes, and shows off exactly the consistency of grain and the mastery of shaping that one would expect from such a pipe.

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

Details:

Length: 6.2″ / 157.4mm

Bowl Width: 0.88 / 22.35mm

Bowl Depth: 1.98″ / 50.29mm

Weight: 2.1oz / 62g