Stanwell (Pre-2010) Black ‘n Silver 30 Smooth Peewit Estate Briar Pipe, Unsmoked

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.

The “Black ‘n Silver was a higher-end and relatively short-lived Stanwell line back in the 2000s, one distinguished by the superior graining of its bowls and the distinctive trio of accents capping its shanks. This was a time when Stanwell had quite a few metal-mounted lines, such as the Nordic, the Specialty, and the Poul Stanwell Collection, though in the case of the Black ‘n Silver, each pipe was mounted with a carefully cut collar of sterling silver inlaid with black acrylic.

This one is an absolute joy to behold, not only because of its superb flame grain and silver accent, but because it is rendered in one of Stanwell’s most iconic shapes, the “30” “Peewit.” Over the decades, several Peewit variations were licensed to Stanwell by the shape’s creator, the legendary Sixten Ivarsson, though it was the “30” that ultimately had the most staying power. First conceived in the 1950s, it persisted right the way up to the early 2000s in Stanwell’s catalogs, and was closest to the renditions Ivarsson himself appeared to favor—with one notable consequence being that, when subsequent generations of artisans began producing tributes to Ivarsson’s shape, it was the “30” style seen here that they were most drawn to. As with all good things, however, production of the shape “30” came to an end in the 2000s, and it has not been seen since. This one will have been made around the turn of the 21st century, at Stanwell’s factory in Borup, Denmark.

This pipe is completely unsmoked, with an original bowl coating.

Details:

Length: 6.4″ / 162.5mm

Bowl Width: 0.77 / 19.55mm

Bowl Depth: 1.68″ / 42.67mm

Weight: 2.1oz / 60g