Larsen & Stigart Champ of Denmark XXL Smooth Freehand w/ Horn Estate Briar Pipe, Danish Estates

While Denmark is famous for its pipe workshops, such as Suhr’s Pibemageri, Pibe-Dan, and W.O. Larsen, these were not the only places for which Danish artisan briars were made. Alongside such workshops, there were also many tobacconists and specialty pipe shops that contracted artisans to make pipes for them, which were sold under the name of the shop itself—much like the house-brand pipes of shops elsewhere in the world. Shops such as Poul Olsen, Remo Sørensen (using the Handicraft of Copenhagen name), and, at certain points in time, W.O. Larsen, sold house-brand pipes that had been commissioned from the leading artisans of the day. Larsen & Stigart is another example of this. Based in Copenhagen, the shop had its own line of pipes, Champ of Denmark, which were typically in the Danish Fancy freehand vein, for which it enlisted the services of figures like Karl Erik and Soren Eric Andersen.

Given the style, I would imagine that this essentially magnum-sized freehand came from Karl Erik’s workshop, for example. Whoever carved it, though, there’s no denying that it is a magisterial example of a Danish freehand. Over 8 inches in length from bowl to button, it weaves a spiral motif throughout the entirety of the design, making briar, horn, and ebonite seem like putty in the hand.

The condition is good. Some inner rim darkening and some weathering to the pipe’s horn ferrule.

Details:

Length: 8.4″ / 213.3mm

Bowl Width: 1.07 / 27.17mm

Bowl Depth: 1.97″ / 50.03mm

Weight: 2.8oz / 80g