Nording Large Rusticated African Block Meerschaum Brandy with Silver (Estate)

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.

Nørding pipes are—as with the majority of Danish post-war handmades—typically made from briar. I’d go as far as saying 99% of them, across the whole of Erik Nørding’s career, have been made from briar root. The sole exception, to my knowledge, was a short-lived series of meerschaum pipes, which were technically made in the United Kingdom. This is one of those pipes. It was carved for Nørding by the English company Laxey Pipes, whose small factory on the Isle of Man carved meerschaum pipes from African sepiolite (as opposed to Turkish, which at that point was no longer exported in block form). Laxey carved meerschaum pipes for a whole host of other makes, including Barling (post-transition) and Peterson, though the factory ultimately closed around the turn of the new millennium.

Despite its bowl being carved by Englishmen, the design of this one is fittingly Danish, taking the form of a large, plump, stacked brandy with a silver army mount and vulcanite mouthpiece.

The condition is good. Some inner rim darkening and finish fading.

Details:

Length: 6.5″ / 165.1mm

Bowl Width: 0.77 / 19.55mm

Bowl Depth: 1.80″ / 45.72mm

Weight: 2.6oz / 76g