Stanwell 50 R, Sandblasted Bent Dublin 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.

This pipe was designed by the legendary Sixten Ivarsson, generally considered to be the father of Danish style pipe-making (though Ivarsson himself was a Swedish born). It is the first shape 50 Ivarsson designed for Stanwell, being first produced in the late 1950s and discontinued at some point in the 1960s (after which the shape code ’50’ was used for an oval shank billiard). Naturally, this makes the first shape 50 quite rare and difficult to procure.

I would call this shape a quarter-bent Dublin, however it is distinct from the English or French versions of such a shape. For one thing, the bowl is oval in shape (though the chamber itself is typically circular); the general curvature of the design is much smoother and more graceful than its English-French counterparts. I would call it a neo-classical aesthetic – distinct, but subtle and still faithful to what it is that it is distinct from. It’s in great shape, especially for a pipe of its age. The finish is untarnished, the sandblasting remains crisp, the vulcanite stem is free from abrasions, and the rim has only some very minor darkening on the inner lip. I’ll be sad to see this one go.

Details:

Length: 6″

Bowl Width: 20.0mm

Bowl Depth: 1.8″

Weight: 1.5oz / 43g