W.O. Larsen 87 Smooth Diplomat with Brass (Estate)

W.Ø. Larsen was a tobacconist in Copenhagen Denmark. In the 1960s, when Danish-style pipes were becoming highly sought after, thanks to revolutionary pipe makers such as Sixten Ivarsson, a workshop was set up on the Larsen premises to produce enough high-grade Danish pipes to meet demand. This workshop was staffed by the emerging masters of Danish pipe-making, such as Sven and Teddy Knudsen, Hans “Former” Nielsen, Jess Chonowitsch, Poul Ilsted, and Benni Jorgensen.

This W.Ø. Larsen, however, is a little different to those of the workshop just described, and to understand it, we have to talk about what happened to W.Ø. Larsen near the end of the 20th century. It was around this time that Ole Larsen, who had first established W.Ø. Larsen’s workshop, passed the business onto his son, Nils Larsen. It was under Nils’s tenure that W.Ø. Larsen shifted from a workshop make to a factory one, with the shop’s pipes subsequently being made at the old Georg Jensen factory. In the mid-2000s, W.Ø. Larsen finally closed for good, and the rights to its name were purchased by Scandinavian Tobacco Group, which continued to manufacture W.Ø. Larsen pipes via Stanwell, having acquired the latter as well by this point. Dating W.Ø. Larsen pipes from the Ole Larsen and STG eras is a little difficult, as these pipes are far less extensively documented than their workshop-made progenitors, though this pipe is definitely from one of those factory eras. It’s a beautiful pipe, too, it should be said, taking the form of a plump and slightly squat Danish brandy, with a deep contrast finish, a black acrylic mouthpiece, and an elegant brass accent.

The condition is very good. Very slight inner rim charring.

Details:

Length: 6″ / 152.4mm

Bowl Width: 0.85 / 21.59mm

Bowl Depth: 1.50″ / 38.1mm

Weight: 2.0oz / 58g