Sven Knudsen for Handicraft of Copenhagen Smooth Dublin, Estate Briar Pipe, Danish Estates

Description

“Handicraft of Copenhagen” is a brand that has been associated with two sets of owners in the history of Danish pipes. On the one hand, Handicraft of Copenhagen is thought to have once been owned by Danish pipe dealer Remo Sørensen, who also established the Mr Andersen make. Sørensen would, it seems, contract the great Scandinavian pipe makers of his time, especially those working at W.O. Larsen and Pibe-Dan (later Pipe Dan) to craft pipes for the brands he personally owned.

The second Handicraft of Copenhagen was a collaborative project by Sven Knudsen and Teddy Knudsen for a short period in the early 1970s. Formally, the venture was called “Dantonian Pipe Works,” though, oddly enough, the “Handicraft of Copenhagen” nomenclature was exactly the same as on Sørensen’s purported make, with the addition of the “Dantonian” script.

So, what about this pipe? It is an example of the former, but the Sven Knudsen connection is, nonetheless, very significant. The design is Knudsen’s, that’s for sure, as it is a dead ringer for the early 1960s W.O. Larsen shape 38, which he created. Knudsen had a great fondness for sweeping, slender, often avian-inspired Dublin and cutty shapes, such as the Duck, the Swan, the Walrus, and the Flat Cut, a fondness that became part of the fabric of the institutions he worked with. Given the specificity of the design, and how beautifully grained it is, it’s hard to picture anyone but Knudsen as having made it.

The condition is good for the pipe’s age, which is presumably around 60 years old now. Some finish fading, faded (though legible) nomenclature, and stem slightly over-buffed.

Details:

Length: 5.9″ / 149.8mm

Bowl Width: 0.90 / 22.86mm

Bowl Depth: 1.68″ / 42.67mm

Weight: 1.4oz / 42g