Danish Estates: Former Smooth Horn (Unsmoked) Tobacco Pipe

Hans "Former" Nielsen is a living legend — a Danish pipe maker who has honed his craft for over sixty years and earned worldwide renown for creating fine smoking instruments. He began making pipes in Poul Rasmussen's workshop at the age of 15, and quickly rose to prominence with an eye for detail and fine workmanship — later supervising the W.Ø. Larsen workshop and, then, creating his own workshop. This svelte Horn secures his reputation once again, with a trim, lengthy profile that stretches forward to follow the grain perfectly.

The cross grain is incredibly dense and uniform, and Former has taken full advantage of it with this profile, orienting the briar to run up the flanks and across the rim in sleek striations, all while dressing the top and underside in resplendent birdseye. It all looks quite stunning under a bright auburn contrast stain, and is made unmissable with a glossy smooth finish. An elegant, hand-cut vulcanite mouthpiece becomes part of the composition's artistic outline as well, adding trim expansion rings that seem to coil like the resounding notes of a powerful wind instrument, before reducing in a lithe bend downward to the lip button. Incredibly light and imminently charming, this delightful piece will make a deserving centerpiece in even the most distinguished collection.