Nanna Ivarsson, daughter of Lars Ivarsson and granddaughter of the famous pipe maker Sixten Ivarsson, carves for Stanwell. They are one of the premier Danish carveing families. Nanna is the only family member continuing the tradition. She carves under Stanwell's brand, but gets a distinctive stamp to set them apart from the rest of the production.
I picked up one of her pipes off of ebay earlier this summer. This is my first Stanwell and first Ivarsson pipe.
It was a dirty mess and sold as a scorched rim pipe. I took a chance on it and was the only bidder. I worried all week waiting for it to arrive. It looked worse in the hand than it did in the seller's pictures. I spent several days getting the rim clean. Thankfully, it wasn't charred, but tarred up and filthy. It cleaned up with just a little rim darkening left over. It also had the worst caking I have ever encountered. I couldn't get my smallest reamer bit into the chamber and had to use a scalpel to gently shave off enough to use the reamer. On the plus side, I figured this much cake was hiding a tremendous smoker. Someone had enjoyed the hell out of it. I wasn't disappointed when I smoked it either.
It has a nice ring blast on the bowl and the top was left untouched for a great contrast in look and texture. It passes a pipe cleaner easily and the wide open draw makes smoking it a pleasure.
Here is what one looks for on a Stanwell to see if it is an Ivarsson carved pipe.
I decided to take a picture of an old Karl Erik Grade 7 sitter I've had since forever.
I have always thought Erik pipes were graded 1-4, so this pipe is either a later production piece when he switched grading standards or something else. Like many things involving pipes...we have lost a lot of the info upon the deaths of the old carvers.
I had been a dedicated Ben Wade collector for years before I decided to expand my interests into other Danish carvers. I have always been drawn to plateau rimmed pipes. I like the craggy wildness it adds to the finished pipe and the organic way it looks.
I have a few other Erik pipes, he carved for just about everybody in the '70s. Unlike some of the true artisan carvers, Karl thought he could sell his line of pipes to the regular joe...and they were priced accordingly. I thought they were a great value, but I was busy growing a business and family and my pipe collecting took a back seat to other things. I still remember the day when I heard Karl had died in 2004. First my beloved Preben Holm, now Karl Erik. :crying:
I hope Nanna lives a long, long, life. I'd hate tto think I was a curse on a pipe carver. I'd like some more of her work.
I picked up one of her pipes off of ebay earlier this summer. This is my first Stanwell and first Ivarsson pipe.
It was a dirty mess and sold as a scorched rim pipe. I took a chance on it and was the only bidder. I worried all week waiting for it to arrive. It looked worse in the hand than it did in the seller's pictures. I spent several days getting the rim clean. Thankfully, it wasn't charred, but tarred up and filthy. It cleaned up with just a little rim darkening left over. It also had the worst caking I have ever encountered. I couldn't get my smallest reamer bit into the chamber and had to use a scalpel to gently shave off enough to use the reamer. On the plus side, I figured this much cake was hiding a tremendous smoker. Someone had enjoyed the hell out of it. I wasn't disappointed when I smoked it either.
It has a nice ring blast on the bowl and the top was left untouched for a great contrast in look and texture. It passes a pipe cleaner easily and the wide open draw makes smoking it a pleasure.
Here is what one looks for on a Stanwell to see if it is an Ivarsson carved pipe.
I decided to take a picture of an old Karl Erik Grade 7 sitter I've had since forever.
I have always thought Erik pipes were graded 1-4, so this pipe is either a later production piece when he switched grading standards or something else. Like many things involving pipes...we have lost a lot of the info upon the deaths of the old carvers.
I had been a dedicated Ben Wade collector for years before I decided to expand my interests into other Danish carvers. I have always been drawn to plateau rimmed pipes. I like the craggy wildness it adds to the finished pipe and the organic way it looks.
I have a few other Erik pipes, he carved for just about everybody in the '70s. Unlike some of the true artisan carvers, Karl thought he could sell his line of pipes to the regular joe...and they were priced accordingly. I thought they were a great value, but I was busy growing a business and family and my pipe collecting took a back seat to other things. I still remember the day when I heard Karl had died in 2004. First my beloved Preben Holm, now Karl Erik. :crying:
I hope Nanna lives a long, long, life. I'd hate tto think I was a curse on a pipe carver. I'd like some more of her work.
