Hey pipe guys. How did I do?

[Legion]

I went antiquing yesterday, mainly looking for fountain pens to restore. Absolutely no luck there, but I did find this. Now, I've pretty much completely quit smoking, although I did dabble in pipes for a while when I was getting off the cigarettes. To be honest, I think I liked all the stuff that was associated with it, more than the smoking itself. So that is why, when I saw this sitting in the cabinet, it had to come home and live with me, if only as an objet d'art. You can tell that the person who made it really knew what they were about. The form of it just flows so nicely, and it fits in the hand just right.

It is marked Preben Holm, 400, Hand made, Denmark.

What do you experts think? Is this a good score? Any extra info on it would always be welcome. I paid what seemed like a good price, and it was in pretty good condition. I gave it a bit of a restore, and the salt/alcohol treatment. I might have to make a little stand for it next.

 

[Clovis Man]

I don't know anything about "Preben Holm" personally, but if you Google for +"Preben Holm, Hand made, Denmark" you get lots of hits. The following link might shed some light on them.

http://pipesmagazine.com/forums/topic/ben-wade-by-preben-holm

 

[Legion]

I don't know anything about "Preben Holm" personally, but if you Google for +"Preben Holm, Hand made, Denmark" you get lots of hits. The following link might shed some light on them.

http://pipesmagazine.com/forums/topic/ben-wade-by-preben-holm

Hmm. Link doesn't work for me. I did some Googling before. I guess I was wondering if it is a desirable brand, a cheapy, or just an oddball. I'd never heard of them until yesterday. (But my knowledge about the history of Danish pipe building could be written on the head of a pin.)

 

[Clovis Man]

Gee, dunno what's wrong with the link -- I even clicked on it here and it works. Perhaps restricted to NA or something.

Here are a couple of quotes from that page --

Preben Holm was an absolute master and pioneer. I've smoked several of his pipes, and while there were a wide range of grades made, every one has been a very good smoking pipe.

Holm is generally credited with the modern Danish free hand movement that "broke away" from the traditional English shapes. It was essentially a "follow the grain" philosophy of pipe shaping. Holm was involved in a distribution deal with a company called Snug Harbor, and I believe it called for his name to be stamped on the pipes. When he stopped doing business with them and took up with Lane Ltd., he felt he could no longer put his name on the new line of pipes for fear of, in effect, competing with himself. Lane owned the Ben Wade name and allowed Holm to market his new line under that name. That's about all I can recall from memory, but there are a few articles on line if you search for them. His Ben Wade era pipes are considered quite collectible. There were other brand names that he used, and some sound pretty hokie: Danish Pride, Harcourt, Monte Verdi, Pipe Lon, Wengholt; but they're genuine Preben Holms none-the-less.

There isn't any way to tell who the carver was. He was "supervising" the production and he taught a lot of the best Danish carvers, but no way to know if an individual pipe was made by him.

I was just guessing...it has that shape. Holm marketed a bunch of different lines...all with different names (see Cortez's post).
My experience is that some of the pipes are good smokers and some are not. Typically, they will have wide, deep bowls that hold a lot of tobacco. Most are on the heavy side if you are a confirmed clencher.
Sometimes they have a generous draw and other times they won't pass a cleaner without noodling it around a bit.
I have one that smokes wet and gurgles like an aquarium bubbler.

They were pumping out a lot of pipes at the peak of the freehand/Danish revolution and I think the QC got away from him at somepoint.
I think they are beautiful. The grain, stain, shapes....I don't know why, but I love 'em all.
My first expensive pipe was a Golden Walnut I bought in 1977. I never looked at other pipe makers very seriously ever since that first Ben Wade.
I see I may not have answered ol' Noble's question, but yes, the key to getting a Holm era pipe is the "Made In Denmark" stamp.

I won't try to talk anyone into buying a pipe. Ever. But there are a few things to consider. The "anyone who worked there" could be the likes of Poul Winslow, Hansen and Noltensmeier (who went on to take over S.Bang), Per Hansen, Bo Nordh, or Karl Erik. These names are giants in the pipe carver world. Anyone that collected pipes in the 1970s knows what kind of power the new Danish inspired freehands had over the pipe market. Almost every other brand started making their own freehand versions in the Danish style. These guys were on the cutting edge of a new way to interpret design and artistry in pipe making.
Almost all manufacturers make pipes that are hit and miss in engineering. That is a fact of mass production. His earlier pipes under the PH label are most assuredly his own creations. How much oversite he had over individual pipes made under the Ben Wade label is something that isn't known, as far as I know. The names I listed previously aren't exactly known today as second rate carvers.

The style has fallen out of favor, but for those of us who were following the Danish revolution it was an exciting time and I wonder (beside the singular beauty of the designs) that my attraction isn't a form of nostalgia for that time in my life? I dunno. I'm not that deep.
Here is a pretty fair history. Its interesting to me how closely tied many of these people were to each other, either by location or employment.
http://www.finepipes.com/articles/danish-pipes.html
It was a fun time to be buying pipes.

Except for that disco thing going on, but I tried to ignore most of that.

 

[Shave_Rat]

I went antiquing yesterday, mainly looking for fountain pens to restore. Absolutely no luck there, but I did find this. Now, I've pretty much completely quit smoking, although I did dabble in pipes for a while when I was getting off the cigarettes. To be honest, I think I liked all the stuff that was associated with it, more than the smoking itself. So that is why, when I saw this sitting in the cabinet, it had to come home and live with me, if only as an objet d'art. You can tell that the person who made it really knew what they were about. The form of it just flows so nicely, and it fits in the hand just right.

It is marked Preben Holm, 400, Hand made, Denmark.

What do you experts think? Is this a good score? Any extra info on it would always be welcome. I paid what seemed like a good price, and it was in pretty good condition. I gave it a bit of a restore, and the salt/alcohol treatment. I might have to make a little stand for it next.

I love the look of that one. Assuming it's quality for a brand/rep, with that style, I'd be willing to pay a good price.

 

[Hunter]

Looks great! And to be honest I love collecting pipes as much as I love smoking them. It helps add a touch of class to my place.

 

[oc_in_fw]

I can't help you, other than to say it is a good looking pipe

 

[nortac]

Nice score, very desirable!

 

[bbauer09]

Awesome looking pipe! thats for sure!!!!

 

[morganjg]

I have two Danish pipes of the same shape and style, both made by Bjarne. They both smoke great and are comfortable in hand. I would expect nothing less of this one. Nice score.

 

[Twizzle]

Very nice collectible pipe, Preban Holm once carved pipes for Ben Wade. "Providence" was the marketing name. Check out ebay completed auctions for approx value. I am sure that you will find a lot more info on the Pipephil website.