Jorn Larsen Smooth Brandy Estate Briar Pipe, Unsmoked

Description

Trained in mechanical engineering and locksmithing, Jørn Larsen came to pipe-making relatively late in his life, at least in comparison to many of his peers. He had smoked a pipe since he was 15, and he had dabbled with pipe making during his teenage years and his twenties, but it was not until Larsen was in his thirties that he made a serious effort to become a pipe maker. Larsen’s vocational background meant that he did not need to buy a lathe to begin this journey, as he was able to simply build one himself. And, as he lived not far from both Emil and Jess Chonowitsch, he was able to receive valuable guidance on using it, along with other aspects of the craft, from the two masters. Larsen’s pipes achieved considerable success in wider Europe and America (notably through the tobacconist Uptown’s), and are prized for their beauty and their technical precision. This latter aspect is probably the most fascinating thing about him, as he not only built many of the machines used by Danish pipe making companies such as Stanwell, but his own workshop was packed to the brim with tools and machines he had created specifically for the making of his own pipes.

Never has the idiom of the “one man factory” been more appropriate than for Jørn Larsen. Though he tended to stick to a small number of shapes, his complex, highly organized set-up allowed him to approach those shapes with a level of precision and consistency one would expect from a whole floor of specialized workers, rather than a solitary artisan. Jorn’s advantage over a factory apparatus, of course, was being in control of every aspect of every pipe, ensuring that each was up to his own, high standards. Here we find an example of one of his brandy renditions, one that is relatively classical, though with a healthy dose of the plumpness typical of post-war Danish pipes—a nice middle ground between, say, an early 20th century Peterson and a 1980s Jess.

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

Details:

Length: 5.8″ / 147.3mm

Bowl Width: 0.77 / 19.55mm

Bowl Depth: 1.56″ / 39.62mm

Weight: 1.6oz / 48g