Viking began as the second brand of Bjarne Nielsen, the Danish pipe maker and distributor who left a career at Denmark’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 1973 to make pipes full time and spent decades promoting Danish pipe making around the world. Unlike the handmade pipes sold under his own name, Viking pipes were made to his models rather than as freehands, and sold at lower prices. Many older examples are stamped Viking Classic, Hand Made in Denmark, and some carry a small Viking helmet logo on the stem.
Nielsen died in 2008 and his Bjarne brand ended with him, but the Viking line carried on, and the brand is now owned by Scandinavian Tobacco Group. The Viking tobacco pipes we have listed carry line names such as Classic, Thor, Bifrost and Tribord, or plain shape numbers. Other makers have used the Viking name too, so a Bari Viking or a Stanwell Viking shape is a different pipe. This page gathers the estate and unsmoked Viking smoking pipes we list when they come to us. For Nielsen’s own pipes, see our Bjarne page.
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Viking Tobacco Pipe FAQ
Viking was created by Bjarne Nielsen as the second brand to his main Bjarne line. Born in 1941, Nielsen made his first pipes for himself as a teenager, earned a business degree at the University of Copenhagen and went to work at Denmark's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, helping Danish companies find export markets. When the demand for Danish freehand pipes took off in the 1960s and buyers began ordering his own pipes, he left that career in 1973 to become a full time pipe maker. By the early 1990s he employed seven pipe makers and sold pipes in 32 countries, and Jan Andersson of Scandinavian Pipemakers wrote that instead of becoming an ambassador for his country, he became an ambassador for Danish pipes.
No. Bjarne was Nielsen's own brand, with pipes carved for him by Danish makers such as Tonni Nielsen, Ph. Vigen and Mogens Johansen. The lower priced Bjarne pipes were stamped Bjarne, and the highest grades were stamped Bjarne Nielsen and letter graded. Viking was his second brand, made to his models rather than as freehands and sold for less than the handmade pipes under his own name. The Viking pipes we have listed have mostly been traditional shapes, such as acorns, cutties, apples, brandies and bent billiards. You can see the pipes made under his own name on our Bjarne page.
Bjarne Nielsen died of a heart attack in February 2008, at the age of 66, and as no one took over his business, the Bjarne pipe ended with him. The Viking line kept going after his death, and the Viking brand is now owned by Scandinavian Tobacco Group, which produces pipes under the name in part as a nod to its heritage. Our sources do not say who carves current Viking pipes or where, so we go by the stamping on each pipe and note it in the listing.
Look at the stamping on the shank and the logo on the stem. Many older Viking pipes are stamped Viking Classic over Hand Made in Denmark, and some have a Viking helmet stamped on the side of the stem. The Viking pipes we have listed have also carried line names such as Classic, Thor, Bifrost and Tribord, a Christmas 2022 edition, and shape numbers such as 105, 107, 119, 214, 304 and 1006. We give the stamping and condition of each pipe in its listing.
No, they share the name but not the brand. Bari, the Danish company founded in Kolding, had its own Viking freehand series in its catalogs, and many of those pipes are stamped Wiking. Stanwell made a Viking shape in its Specialty line, designed by Jess Chonowitsch. Tonni Nielsen marks his highest grade with the outline of a Drakkar, the Viking longship, and these pipes are usually called Viking grade in English. Meerschaum carvers have made Viking figures as well, such as the Ragnar Lodbrok pipes carved by Kenan for our MBSD Meerschaum Masters line. This page is for pipes from the Viking brand itself.
MBSD lists Viking pipes as they come to us, and the Viking pipes we have listed so far have all been estate pipes, most of them unsmoked. Each one is listed with photos, measurements and condition notes, and smoked pipes are cleaned and restored first. New pipes go up on the site nightly at 9 PM ET, and availability changes, so check this page regularly. To see the week's highlights every Monday, sign up for our newsletter.
Yes, we buy Viking Classic and other Viking pipes, from a single pipe to a whole collection. Cash offers are 50% of the current retail price, or 60% in store credit. To sell, fill out the quote form on our We Buy Smoking Pipes page. To trade toward your next pipe, use the form on our pipe trade-in page. For U.S. sellers, we can send a prepaid shipping label and deduct its cost from your quote, and we buy from sellers outside the U.S. too. Our guide on how to pack and ship a pipe collection shows how to box them safely. You will hear back with an itemized quote within 3 to 5 business days after your pipes arrive. Once you accept, payment goes out right away by check, PayPal or Zelle.
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