Royal Guard (Stanwell) 901 Part Sandblasted Pickaxe Estate Briar Pipe, Danish Estates

Description

Stanwell is one of Denmark’s most celebrated and enduring pipe companies, having been founded by Poul Nielsen shortly after the second world war. Over the last six decades, Stanwell has established itself as both a leader in innovative Danish design and for producing well-priced pipes with precision construction and engineering. Many of its designs were created for the company by iconic pipe-makers in the Scandinavian scene, such as Sixten Ivarsson, Anne Julie, Jess Chonowitsch, and Tom Eltang. Royal Guard was one of Stanwell’s many sub-brands during the 20th century.

The “01” designation has been used by Stanwell for three separate shapes since the make’s founding, though it is the second two that are most fondly remembered by Danish pipe collectors. The second (or, technically, joint-first) “01” was the mythical Nefertiti, designed for Stanwell by Sixten Ivarsson in the early post-war years. The third was also designed by Stanwell and seems to have debuted in the 1970s. This is the latter (the “9” prefix was used to designate finishes and sub-brands for a time), a highly distinctive, and very “Danish” design. It could be considered a pickaxe rendition (as I have done here), though it could also be thought of as an Elephant’s Foot, or a shield, in the vein of Ivarsson’s contemporary, Bo Nordh. This Royal Danish iteration features a deep, dark, partial sandblast, juxtaposed with panels of smooth polished flame grain and bird’s-eye. As with so many great Stanwell shapes, the “01” pickaxe/Elephant’s Foot has been out of production for decades.

The condition is good. Some wear to the rim and general finish fading. The pipe comes with two stems, one original, and one aftermarket. Funnily enough, the pipe came from a large batch of estates whose owner had an acrylic mouthpiece custom-made for every pipe he owned, which he seemed to prefer, as the original vulcanite one seems barely used. Don’t worry, I won’t charge extra for it—consider it a freebie of sorts.

Details:

Length: 5.5″ / 139.7mm

Bowl Width: 0.89 / 22.60mm

Bowl Depth: 1.59″ / 40.38mm

Weight: 1.6oz / 46g