S Bang Pre-1984 Sandblasted Freehand Sitter Estate Briar Pipe, Unsmoked

Description

Originally founded in 1968 by Svend Bang, a former store manager at Denmark’s legendary W.Ø. Larsen, S. Bang would go on to become a legend in its own right, one that would rival even Larsen in fame and acclaim. While Svend himself was not a pipe-maker, he was able to enlist some of the most talented pipe-makers in Denmark to create the S. Bang pipes. In the early days, this included figures such as Ph. Vigen, but it is two makers in particular who would become synonymous with the S. Bang name: Per Hansen and Ulf Noltensmeier. Per and Ulf joined the S. Bang workshop in the early 1970s, and in 1984, when Svend Bang himself retired, Per and Ulf formally took over S. Bang. Per and Ulf’s creations were as admired and coveted as their Danish contemporaries, such as Jess Chonowitsch, Tom Eltang, and Hans ‘Former’ Nielsen. Per and Ulf retired and dissolved S. Bang in 2019, much to the disappointment of pipe smokers and collectors across the world. 

While all S. Bang pipes are handmade, it is especially uncommon to come across one that could be safely categorized as a freehand. Yet here one is, made during a time when S. Bang pipes were made for Svend Bang by various Danish carvers. Prior to Per Hansen and Ulf Noltensmeier’s takeover of S. Bang in 1984, a number of other major and minor Danish greats made pipes for Svend’s make, including Jan Windelow, Peter Rafn, and others, including Ivan Nielsen, Ib Olsen, and Ph. Vigen. The inevitable question is, then, “Who made this pipe?” It’s not an easy question to answer, as so many of the S. Bang craftsmen had prior making freehands for masters such as Erik Nording and Preben Holm. The pipe is likely to be a very early S. Bang, and not only because the style is in keeping with Danish pipes at the time. Scandinavian pipe historian Jan Anderson recounts a brief contract Bent Nielsen had with Svend Bang, which ended because Bang’s customers in Germany were requesting “classical shapes,” rather than “fancy” ones. In post-war Scandinavian parlance, the “fancy” is another term for what we in the Anglophone world commonly refer to as a “freehand.” It is therefore likely that the pipe was carved prior to the brand’s wholesale transition to the kinds of pipes it is now most remembered for

As far as freehand pipes go, it is certainly an excellent example of the form. There are traces of the cherrywood in the pipe’s free standing cant and verticality, with the kind of ring grain sandblast that most pipe-makers can only dream of pulling off.

Regarding condition, the pipe is unsmoked, with an original bowl coating. One think that must be noted is that there are a couple of natural flaws in the briar at the shank end. These are flaws that will have developed during the growth of the root, rather than fissures caused from stress, and do not extend to the exterior of the shank. They are, however, necessary to keep in mind for the buyer. The price of the pipe will reflect their presence.

Details:

Length: 6″ / 152.4mm

Bowl Width: 0.90″ / 22.86mm

Bowl Depth: 2.02″ / 51.30mm

Weight: 1.8oz / 52g