W.O. Larsen (c.1960s) Straight Grain (2) Large Smooth Freehand Horn (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.

In the early years of the W.Ø. Larsen workshop, there were two main shape types: the “Handmade” and the “Fancy.” Both were made by hand, but the former were more classically inclined, whereas the latter were closer to what we today simply call “freehand” pipes. This is an example of the latter, though—as with another pipe we had in recently—it’s a little more special than an “ordinary” W.Ø. Larsen Fancy. That’s because it’s a W.Ø. Larsen “Straight Grain,” which represented the pinnacle of the workshop’s output, and which were crafted, from beginning to end, only by its most skilled and seasoned pipe makers. Given the approximate time this pipe was made, that will have been someone like Sven Knudsen, W.Ø. Larsen’s first foreman, or one of the other, early Danish greats to have graced its hallowed halls.

The condition is great. I had wondered whether the pipe might be unsmoked, though as I can’t be certain, I’ll treat it as “lightly smoked,” just in case.

Details:

Length: 6.5″ / 165.1mm

Bowl Width: 0.94 / 23.87mm

Bowl Depth: 1.47″ / 37.33mm

Weight: 1.7oz / 50g