Who Carved this W.Ø. Larsen?

[railman]

I picked up this W.Ø. Larsen Straight Grain as an estate on a visit to Iwan Ries 10 years ago, long before I knew anything about Larsen pipes, but I really liked it and it was something I could actually afford at the time. In the intervening years I’ve learned more about Larsen and the carvers that worked there.
There’s probably no way to be 100% sure of a carver but I thought I’d get some opinions. My guess is it’s a Peter Hedegaard, based on his shaping style and the way the stem and button is cut, and I suspect from the mid- to late-80’s.
Thoughts anyone?

 

[briarblues]

IMHO you are correct. From the shape of the bowl, the stem / application and button shape, I would suggest Peter Hedegaard carved the pipe.
Regards

Michael J. Glukler

 

[dmcmtk]

I would also agree about Peter Hedegaard. The stem shape, particularly the thickness in profile at the transition at the saddle looks like his work, at least to me, from looking at images of some of his other pipes.
Dating..."The third era was from the very late 1980's until the firm was sold in the late 1990's. The font stampings on the pipes are different - more modernized."
I have quite a few Larsen pipes myself.

 

[railman]

Mike and Dave, thanks for offering your input, I’m sure you are more familiar with Hedegaard’s work as I can only go off pictures online. Thanks as well for clarification on the date range.
It’s a damn fine pipe at a fraction of what a Hedegaard would’ve cost me and even without knowing the carver I’d still love it, just adds an extra dimension to its history.
I’d definitely like to pick up another Larsen at some point, but I haven’t found a lot of information about how to distinguish their handmade high grade lines (other than the straight grains of course) from the lower end production pipes they produced.

 

[dmcmtk]

I meant to ask, what is the grade (number on the bottom of the shank) of that pipe?

 

[railman]

That one is a grade 3

 

[craiginthecorn]

Is it stamped Straight Grain, or are you referring to its appearance?

 

[dmcmtk]

Is it stamped Straight Grain, or are you referring to its appearance?

Craig, it's stamped Straight Grain. You can see the stamping across the top at the end of the shank in the first two pictures.

 

[craiginthecorn]

Strange. The first two photos I see are side views with no nomenclature. The third only shows Handmade and W.Ø. Larsen. Maybe viewing via Android is altering my view somehow.

 

[lestrout]

Yo craig
expand the pix and look closely at the top of the shank right next to the stem and shank adornment. The 'handmade' is pretty much muted, but I can see it.
hp

les

 

[dmcmtk]

The Straight Grain mark is across the top of the shank. You can see it a little better in this picture, of a different pipe.

 

[railman]

It is stamped “Straight Grain” across the top of the shank.

 

[railman]

I’ve been searching for a good answer on what Larsen pipes were hand carved and which were just factory pipes, would I be correct to assume that those stamped “Handmade Made in Denmark (or Copenhagen)” are indeed all handmade and the production pipes were stamped just “Made in Denmark” with a shape number?

 

[dmcmtk]

I’ve been searching for a good answer on what Larsen pipes were hand carved and which were just factory pipes, would I be correct to assume that those stamped “Handmade Made in Denmark (or Copenhagen)” are indeed all handmade and the production pipes were stamped just “Made in Denmark” with a shape number?

It was always a small workshop with several employees making "Hand Made" pipes, at least until the later Georg Jensen period.
https://www.finepipes.com/pipes/danish/w-o-larsen
A great video to watch,
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yz0ZOuC5TZU&t=780s
and a new video I've never seen!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YxVodOHo1Nw
:D

 

[railman]

Thanks for sharing the links, very interesting!