What Distinguishes a Danish Pipe?

[mso489]

The traits I especially associate with Danish pipes (although this is all generalization with

many exceptions) are: 1) Bold design including big bowls, combinations of finishes, and

a wide range of sizes including many larger pipes; 2) A special flair for use of bands, and

stem embellishments of various and sometimes unusual materials; 3) a special fondness

for freehand pipes; 4) A notable range of prices even within a particular line of pipes.
These are just my notions. What traits do you attribute to Danish pipes? This is a companion

thread to my previous one on French pipes. Maybe someone else can pick up with English,

Italian, Irish, U.S. and other pipes, since I'm no expert, just winging it here.

 

[erichbaumer]

They also, in my experience, tend to have more gentle curves and/or lines. Aesthetically, they're designed to "flow." A Danish billiard, for example, will generally have more of a transition from bowl to shank than a British one, which by comparison will look like one cylinder simply inserted in another, almost like a 'cob. If you look at Stanwell's billiards, the bowls taper into the shank gradually. The bowls themselves can also tend to have a slight curve to their outer wall.

 

[sfsteves]

peterpiperuk said "You forgot stamped MADE IN DENMARK."

gosh, I wanted to be the one to say that !

 

[blendtobac]

Also, although straight grain pipes have been around a long time, the Danish school has been very fond of carving the shape of the pipe to take advantage of the grain of the block, resulting in unusual and beautiful straight grain pipes.
Russ

 

[dread]

The flowing lines of the pipes they carve, whether round or more "axe" shaped, always intrigues me.

 

[cigrmaster]

When I think of Danish pipes, I think of pipes that are beautifully shaped, great grain and unique takes on classic shapes. I also think of some of the masters in the industry and ultra high grade pipes. When it comes to pricing, the Danes command the highest prices of any country. I also think of innovation when it comes to carvers like Ivarsson and Preben Holm, these guys were instrumental in changing the way people looked at pipes. Before the Danes, most pipes shapes were the English standards, these guys blew the doors off that school of design and created an entire new way to shape pipes.

 

[misterlowercase]

I think it has come to a point where if the carver likes to keep a large section of the plateau bark

+1
A signature Danish touch is leaving the barktop on the plateau briar, the natural look.
Ironically, this brings up a complicated point, the fact that the barktop innovation, or first use, was made by Sixten Ivarsson, a Swede!
Two of the most famous names of the "Danish school" are in fact Swedish!

Sixten and Bo Nordh
Here's a great little article on the subject:

http://www.finepipes.com/articles/danish-pipes.html
Looking thru these old catalogs is fun too:

http://www.danishpipemakers.com/aboutpipes.html

 

[nachman]

The thing I like most about Danish pipes is their wide open draw.