Hans Former Nielsen Smooth “Duck” Billiard Estate Briar Pipe, Danish Estates

Description

A pioneer and undisputed master of Danish artisan pipe-making, Hans “Former” Nielsen began his career, aged 15, repairing pipes and delivering orders for Poul Rasmussen at Suhr’s Pibemageri. Later, Former was referred to the W.O. Larsen workshop by Rasmussen, where—after an examination by Sven Knudsen, who had designed many early Larsen models and served as its first foreman—he was recruited as a fully-fledged pipe maker. Within his 10 years at Larsen, Former rose to the rank of workshop foreman, taking over the role from his teacher Sven Knudsen. There he had his own apprentices, including the likes of Teddy Knudsen and Tonni Nielsen. In the years since, Former’s primary output has been high-grade handmade pipes—with 2019 marking his 60th anniversary in the craft.

Taking a form not entirely like the Dunhill LC, early Danish pipe making had its own genre of tall, swan-necked, 3/4 bent billiard variants, which were also often referred to in explicitly avian terms. There were a number of notable pioneers of such shapes, but in the case of this Former, the precedent was set by his mentor Sven Knudsen, whose Swan, Duck, and Walrus (ostensibly a Duck with “flippers”) designs had a strong influence on Former’s work. When Former joined W.O. Larsen, for example, Knudsen’s designs had already been adopted as loose catalog shapes made by the workshop, and Former’s solo pipes would continue to incorporate Knudsen-ian motifs for decades after. In this pipe for example, we see a great deal of Knudsen’s signature style, and in fact it is very close to some of the shapes Knudsen designed for W.O. Larsen, such as the “75” Duck variants made there. Former’s rendition here is staggeringly well executed, though we should expect nothing less. The shaping is supple and organic, the grain is tight and straight, and the deep contrast finish has the briar almost leaping out of the bowl. For those looking for a Danish high-grade, there’s little more one could ask for

The condition is very good. Some slight inner rim charring and chamber slightly over-reamed, but the pipe is nonetheless beautifully preserved.

Details:

Length: 6.2″ / 157.4mm

Bowl Width: 0.82 / 20.82mm

Bowl Depth: 1.70″ / 43.18mm

Weight: 1.6oz / 46g