WO Larsen Straight Grain Sandblasted Dublin Estate Briar Pipe, Danish Estates

Description

W.O. 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.

Though all of the W.O. Larsen workshop’s pipes were handmade and high-end, the highest-end of its output was typically represented by the W.O. Larsen Straight Grain and Birds Eyes pipes. As regards the Straight Grains, these were originally distinguished by their exemplary, smooth polished vertical briar patterns, and by the fact that, unlike the majority of W.O. Larsen pipes, they were made by a single, master artisan from start to finish. Later on, however, the Straight Grain classification was expanded to include pipes with exemplary horizontal grain patterns, expressed with a sandblasted relief finish. In contemporary parlance, we would call these “ring grain” pipes. I remember reading somewhere that it was Benni Jorgensen who developed the special finishing technique used to create ring grain sandblasted pipes for W.O. Larsen, so it is possible that this is one of his. Either way, it’s a beautiful, lightweight Danish Dublin with excellent grain and a good name behind it.

The condition is good. Some rim darkening and minor finish fading.

Details:

Length: 5.9″ / 149.8mm

Bowl Width: 0.90 / 22.86mm

Bowl Depth: 1.49″ / 37.84mm

Weight: 1.1oz / 32g