Among today’s vibrant scene of high-grade artisan pipe-makers, there are yet few who command as much respect as Denmark’s Jess Chonowitsch. He began his career in 1966, working alongside his father, Emil, at Teofil Suhr’s workshop and under Poul Rasmussen’s direction. After Rasmussen’s passing in 1967, Jess joined the W.O. Larsen workshop alongside other budding masters, such as Hans ‘Former’ Nielsen, Teddy Knudsen, and Peter Hedegaard, while also spending time studying under Sixten Ivarsson. In 1970, Jess founded his own workshop – again, alongside his father – from which he has crafted his distinctly Danish smoking pipes for the last five decades.

To call this a ‘Danish’ design would be an understatement – not simply because it is very Danish, but because figures such as Chonowitsch were responsible for making Danish pipe design a thing in the first place. Let’s call it ‘Chonowitschian’ instead; it is marked by a daring combination of design elements, with a tall, bulbous, balloon-like bowl, with a supple and far more traditional curvature tracing from rim to button. But, this daring cross-breeding of the traditional and non-traditional is how Chonowitsch made a name for himself over his long career – that, and the expert skill with which he executed, and continues to execute, this vision. Completing the design is a sandblasted plum finish, a horn ferrule, and, of course, a hand cut ebonite stem. In case you were wondering about the pipe’s nomenclature, the ‘Huber Munchen’ stamp indicates that this pipe was first sold through Munich’s Pfeifen Huber tobacconist.

The condition is excellent, though I will point out one small thing. On the ferrule’s left side, there is a visible imperfection in the keratin of the horn used to make this ferrule. This is a minor visual flaw and in no way impacts the pipe’s structural stability or smokeability, but we have nonetheless accordingly adjusted its price.

Details:

Length: 5″ / 127.0mm

Bowl Width: 0.78 / 19.81mm

Bowl Depth: 1.84″ / 46.73mm

Weight: 1.4oz / 40g