Kriswill Chief Smooth Pickaxe Estate Briar Pipe, Danish Estates

About this pipe:

Kriswill was a Danish pipe company, and one of the great 20th century Danish makes, alongside the likes of Bari, Bjarne, Georg Jensen and Stanwell. It was founded by Karl Robert Kris, originally a solo pipe maker, who expanded his enterprise in the 1950s, leading to the birth of Kriswill and its Kolding factory. Kriswill found considerable success as a leader in the postwar Danish scene, even collaborating on some of its designs with famous architects Sigvard Bernadotte and Acton Bjørn (resulting in the Bernadotte series). Kriswill was profoundly affected by the downturn in pipe sales across the globe in the 1970s, which ultimately led to its dissolution, though its pipes remain a favorite of collectors of distinctly Danish briars.

Pickaxe shapes were especially popular among Danish pipe manufacturers in the 1960s and 1970s, and one can find a great range of novel renditions among the likes of Stanwell, Georg Jensen, Bari, and, of course, Kriswill. As was the style of the time, this one is a slender, slightly freeform number, with a strong cant that brings it curiously close to a cutty. Not only is this one nicely proportioned (with a featherweight stature to boot), it’s also finely grained, with bird’s-eye lighting up each of the bowl’s broad flanks.

The condition is fair. Chamber slightly over-reamed, some general wear to the rim, and faded nomenclature.

Details:

Length: 6.4″ / 162.5mm

Bowl Width: 0.91 / 23.11mm

Bowl Depth: 1.68″ / 42.67mm

Weight: 0.9oz / 28g