Stanwell (c.1980s) Hand Made 63M Smooth Dublin with Ebonite Mount (Estate)

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.

Stanwell’s “M” designation is an old one, dating back to the 1970s. It has not been used for decades and even if it were to make a reappearance today, it would not mean exactly the same thing that it did back then. That’s because it was used for pipes with army mounts—or, in the terminology Stanwell used, military mounts, hence the “M”—but with the mounts in question having been fashioned from ebonite, rather than silver, nickel, or indeed any metal. Given that Stanwell has not used ebonite in the construction of their pipes since around 1998, it would be difficult to imagine the designation ever returning.

Only a select few Stanwell shapes were available in an ebonite military-mounted variation (fewer than a dozen, if that) and, based on catalogs from the time they were made, all were distinctly modern in aesthetic, having been originally designed by Stanwell’s collaborators in the Scandinavian artisan scene. The “63M,” seen here, was a rather notable Dublin rendition, created for Stanwell by Sixten Ivarsson as part of several variations on a theme he’d begun exploring in the 1970s. The standard unmounted shape “63” would remain in production for many decades after its debut, and may even still be so, though the “63M” had a much shorter tenure. I would estimate this one, from Stanwell’s higher end Hand Made line, to have been made around the early 1980s, based on what’s left of its crowned “S” logo.

The condition is good. Minor inner rim charring and some very slight scratches on the bowl.

Details:

Length: 5.6″ / 142.2mm

Bowl Width: 0.84 / 21.33mm

Bowl Depth: 1.74″ / 44.19mm

Weight: 1.5oz / 44g