Danish Estates: Nørding Smooth Rhodesian (16) Tobacco Pipe

A trailblazer for the Danish Fancy style, Erik Nørding has been handcrafting pipes since the 1960s. Even before his pipe-making career, Nørding always had a knack for invention. Taking after his father, he worked as a blacksmith when he was 15 years old and later studied engineering, all in preparation to one day take over his family's factory. After graduating, Nording veered away from running the factory and took up fashioning pipe-making machinery, which would lead him toward making his own pipes. Fluid and sinuous in profile, this Rhodesian from Nørding is a distinctly Danish take on the classic shape. Squat in stature, the bowl's supple walls flare broadly toward a mid-set waist wrapped with twin beadlines, where they then round toward the rim to create a sleek figure. Out back, a sinuously curved shank-and-stem arrangement adds a poised, graceful character to the composition, featuring a vibrant pair of accents at the junction for a stylish touch. The stummel wears a smoky, walnut stain that displays lovely grain throughout.