Erik Nording, whose pipes are a firm favourite with those of us who truly savour such a smoke, as well as a great starting point for anyone new to the pleasure, has a reputation for excellence built up over more than half a century. From beginnings that included working as a blacksmith in his family’s successful razor-blade business in Copenhagen, the Danish entrepreneur has proved himself to be an ingenious technician, still at the very top of what became his true calling.

A fun fact; Erik actually started smoking pipes when he was 15. In an attempt to make him stop, his mother bought a pack of cigarettes and forced him to smoke the lot. Even after the last one, he was still keen for his pipe. Defeated, his mother made a deal with him that he could smoke a bowl a day at home.

His mother was also central to Erik studying the engineering that has proved a backbone to his business endeavours. Back in 1955, when Erik was 16, he was sent to study the discipline. Erik’s father had passed away so the family concern needed the son and heir to become the figurehead.

By 1964, Erik was indeed that figurehead. He was also an expert pipe smoker and regularly visited a pipe shop in Copenhagen where a repair man called Skovbo was working. Knowing about Erik’s foothold in the world of metals, Skovbo asked about machinery for his new workshop and, specifically, a pipe-making machine. What Erik devised worked so well that Skovbo, who was struggling to cover what he owed for the improved technology, offered Erik a partnership.

This was the beginnings of Erik Nording we know today.  The new collaboration, originally named SON, began with a range of classically-shaped pipes. But business was slow. Moreover, Skovbo was not a natural artisan. Their contractual arrangement meant that on his departure from the company, Erik became the sole owner.

Amid these hard times Erik prevailed because he was genuinely ingenious, and with an abundance of youthful energy that he was happy to channel in a way that ensured he didn’t follow directly in his father’s footsteps. While he knew how to make a smokeable pipe, beautiful ones were more of a challenge to an engineer’s way of thinking. At the same time, as a blacksmith, he could replicate anything given the blueprint, which meant he could do the same with pipes. He started to visit every pipe shop in Copenhagen, or further afield but still within reach, to find customers who wanted bespoke pipes.

Erik’s  first client was looking for big pipes. The efforts in meeting this brief were good enough to secure a devoted follower. As he established his reputation, Erik retained the name SON for about two years. The switch to Nørding meant a name that nobody could take from him. From one happy client, the Nørding company expanded throughout the 1970s and following decade thanks to a growing interest through these years in Danish Freehand pipes, which for an engineer like Erik were relatively easy to make. The company grew to a 52-head payroll.

Today, Nørding boasts a more modest six workers. Yet thanks to production line innovations, the company manages to produce about 15,000 pipes a year, ranging from Freehand pipes to the more classically-shaped  “Handmades”. Freehands are fitted with vulcanite stems and Handmades feature an acrylic mouthpiece.

About a quarter (3,600) of the pipes currently made by Nording are handmade, including the largest one in the world, which, as well as a good idea to raise the profile of the pleasure a pipe can give, was testimony to Erik Nording’s tireless creativity. Unlike many traditional pipe makers, he doesn’t believe in ageing the briar as, to him, the wood is ready to be crafted for smoking once fully dry.

Overall, the pipes, of unparalleled quality and ever changing in design, are the result of Erik’s determination as a young man and the strength of personality he has always brought to his business. ”I enjoy everything I do,” he maintains. “I live hard, play hard, and I work hard.”

If you want a pipe that will outshine its competition, I strongly suggest a Nørding pipe. You are just a couple of clicks away from owning what is a  Danish masterpiece. Head over to our collection and select your own. As for what you might smoke, tor a complete Danish experience, I strongly recommend  Nørding tobaccos.

More insight into the wonderful world of pipes when I next share a story here with you.

For now, cheers.

Christian.

It goes back to the end of the 19th century when Elbert Gubbels Sr. opened a shop focused on tobacco pipes and other smoker accessories. The smoking business grew to the point that in 1924 the company was transformed into a wholesale trade business. Because of the lack of tobacco pipe manufacturers in the Netherlands, Gubbels imported pipes from Europe, primarily France and England.

During the German Invasion that occurred in 1940, the Gubbels family had difficulties importing products from Europe. Mr. Gubbel wanted to cut ties with his suppliers and have his tobacco pipe production. With the ending of World War II, his dream came alive.

In 1946 the Gubbels Family opened their first factory. After a successful expansion, Mr. Gubbels quickly realized that his brand needed an international name to appeal to the European market. He bought a small trade company in Amsterdam, which owned the rights to the brand Big Ben that was well established in the international market.
From that point, Big Ben pipes and the Gubbels family became a recognized brand that everybody knew.

With the opening of the new factory in Roermond in 1974, Her Majesty Queen Juliana of the Netherlands granted the title “Royal” to the Gubbels Company. Hence, its official name became Elbert Gubbels & Zonen – Koninklijke Fabriek van Tabakspijpen (Elbert Gubbels & Sons – Royal Dutch Pipe Factory). Following the new title, the company went through a new rebranding to negate the belief that the company’s origins were English becoming Royal Dutch.

To this day, the Big Ben Pipes are made in Holland. Most of them are fitted with 9mm Filters. It stands for innovative designs and outstanding quality. Because of their reliability and intriguing styles, Big Ben is the first pipe for many new pipe smokers and the favourite of many.
As you can see from the pictures, these pipes are classic and somehow future forward with their style and palette colour.

Head over to our Big Ben page and browse our collection.

Christian

In 1968 MPB was changed to “Brebbia”. In the same year, a slow smoking competition was held in Varese, and Enea took advantage of it. He created a team from his employees and toured Europe, bringing home multiple wins. Soon Brebbia pipes were popular in the international market, not only for their quality and designs but for their “sweet smoke.”The combination of Varese’s environment and extreme humidity levels allowed Enea to naturally cure the briar and reduce the tannin levels within the briar. By doing so, the bitter taste that a new pipe has during the first smoke was gone.

The 1970s were difficult years for the pipe business. The public slowly drifted away from the slow smoking culture, and the few that remained became more demanding than ever. Innovation, diversification, and imagination became more than ever the keys words for success and survival in the ever-diminishing tobacco pipe business. A notable invention was born in the late 70s, the frangifumo (smoke breaker) mouthpiece. Instead of one single opening, it had multidirectional channels, allowing the smoke to be less concentrated in one spot and reducing the famous tongue bite.

In 1977, one of Enea’s children, Luciano Buzzi, joined the family business ranks. As his fathers once did, he started traveling abroad to revamp the brand. Once he mastered the craft, Luciano became an active member of the creative team and created his first line in 1979 called 79. The German market (as we know prefers long-stemmed pipes) was looking for a filtration system. A 6mm filter was fitted into the pipes, but it was not enough. A new challenge was presented to Luciano, to fit a 9mm filter but keep the slim silhouette of a churchwarden pipe. Four years later, the 83 line came to life. Now all Brebbia pipes come with a 9mm filter slot, but an adapter is available for those who dislike filters.

In the following decades, multiple lines of pipes have been created, such as “Great designers of pipes” designed by influential pipe makers, the freehand line “linea A”, and many more. In 1992, Enea refurbished a large warehouse in Bosco Grande and created a pipe museum, where models from various producers and his own are displayed.

To this day, the Brebbia company stands for innovation and reimagination, always looking for new ways to improve tobacco pipes by bringing new techniques and trend-setting designs to the market. If you are looking for a new favorite, have a look at our Brebbia selection, and I’m sure you will soon fall in love with them.

With a Brebbia in my hand, I send you my regards.

Till my next post!

Chris

Ready for a trip to Italy? I hope so because today I’m going to talk to you about Brebbia Pipes.

Let me introduce you to our main character: Enea Buzzi, founder of the Brebbia Pipes Company. He had in his family many entrepreneurs: his uncle Bernardo, who made a fortune in London, his grandfather, who built a small power plant in Brebbia; and his father, Carlo Andrea, who founded a weaving mill in Gavirate.

Enea was in Varese’s train station and was smoking a Rossi pipe, and it started to pour. He wondered how he could smoke while under the rain, and that’s how the pipe with a lid idea was born. The Rossi family developed this concept and started producing their take. After different business attempts, Enea was still not happy, and he decided to focus on his passion and produce tobacco pipes. Money was short, which meant expensive machines and a location for his company were not easy to achieve.

That’s where Uncle Bernardo came to play in this story. “Papa” Bernardo, as his family called him, backed up his nephew’s dream. He didn’t bring to the table only the money but also a meaningful family connection: his niece, who was married to Achille Savinelli. The Savinelli family was also looking into opening their tobacco pipes production, but that’s for another time.

In 1947 Enea and Achille founded a tobacco pipe company, but the partnership didn’t last long. The business couple didn’t share the same vision for the company. Enea went to London to establish his name in the international market, and Achille founded his factory in Molina di Barrasso.

From 1947 Enea made pipes using the Savinelli logo, but after 1953 he started using his own trademark MPB (Manifattura Pipe Brebbia). The following year, a fire destroyed the Brebbia factory, which allowed him to build a bigger one. Enea also bought a foundry to develop an aluminum base for his pipes, but the market didn’t respond well to that.

In 1956 the bumpy partnership ended between Enea and Achille, and a new prosperous era started for MPB Pipes. Innovation, diversification, and imagination were the keywords.

Christian

We have the basics down of what a tobacco pipe is and its finishes. Now I will introduce you to some of the many shapes you can have. Most of us got to know pipes by watching movies with Sherlock Holmes and his Calabash pipe. This kind of pipe is quite peculiar but not for the shape only, let me explain why.

Blatter is the creator of this kind of pipe. I will try to be brief; during the Boer War, briar was scarce, so Blatter had to find a new material to use and chose Calabash gourd. You are not mistaken; this pipe is made out of a pumpkin with a meerschaum bowl and a plastic stem. The Calabash has a dramatic bend in the pipe’s body, nearly assuming the shape of a “U” and has a drastic but gradual and uninterrupted taper from bowl to stem.

Nowadays, this shape is also made in briar but is not as dramatic as it would be in Calabash gourd. Once the choice of the soldiers during wartime, then (after King Edwards made smoking fashionable) the new trendy smoking pipe of English society and now a rare beauty.  

Billiard pipes are the most common, straight, bowl height like the shank length, a timeless shape. This shape also has a bent variation, with the same principle. 

The Apple shape can be either straight or bent, the same proportion of a billiard but with the bowl rounded off like an apple would be, Easy! 

The Bulldog shape is apple’s edgy brother with a squared shank and some horizontal lines carved onto the bowl. If you are not into corners but like bulldogs overall shape, a Rhodesian is the one then. 

As always, these pipes can come either bent or straight. 

If you are looking for symmetry, then look no further. The Poker shape is the right one for you. It is turned on a lathe with two cylinders at 90-degree angles to each other, the larger for the bowl and the thinner for the shank. Simple but perfect. Can you top perfection? yes, you can! This pipe has a flat base which allows you to put it down without a stand. I know, mind-blowing.  

Are you looking for a long relaxing hand free smoke? Pick a Hungarian Shape/Oom Paul, and you won’t be disappointed.

Some people like to distinguish the two by defining them by the bowl shape and proportions: full bent Apple(Hungarian) or Billiard(Oom Paul). Either way, generously sized tobacco chamber, fully bent with a shank about the same diameter as the bowl. This shape allows you to have long and relaxing smokes and allows the pipe to rest on your chin, so you don’t have to clench your pipe.

Quick history note: State President of the South African Republic, Stephanus Johannes Paulus Kruger, known as Paul Kruger and called by his people Uncle Paul (Afrikaans: “Oom Paul”), used to have a Hungarian pipe sitting on his beard all the times and was also known for that, hence the origin of this pipe shape second name. 

Speaking of a bearded man, I’ve had some people coming to the shop looking for “Gandalf’s pipe”… They were looking for a Churchwarden pipe. Many iterations of this shape, different lengths, bowl shapes, and finishes, but the general rule is that it has to be a long-stemmed pipe with a relatively small bowl. This shape is ideal for people who like long, cool smoke and they like to read. I know that’s oddly specific, but in Europe is called the “reading” pipe, so i guess you could try it if you like reading. 

One shape leads to another one, ready for another chain of shapes? 

A Dublin is a Billiard with a bowl that tapers out, the same proportions, and the bowl is slightly angled away from the face. A Zulu shape is a curved Dublin with the bowl more on an angle.

A shape that I like a lot is the Chimney shape, great if you want to pack a good amount of tobacco. It’s a Billiard variation, with a chimney(bowl) that is about 50% taller, which means around twice the length of the shank. Use it as a general idea. 

I’m going to close this post with my favorite shape: the Horn shape. In my opinion, it is one of the most elegant pipe shapes. It has no “junction” between the bowl and the shank. The lines flow seamlessly back and forth along the length of the pipe. The defining characteristic of the Horn is its continuous and uninterrupted taper from front to back. Only the imagination is the limit: square, round, or freely shaped bowls, full of details or completely plain with one or multiple types of finishes. Just stunning. 

As you can imagine, there are many more shapes, but I will let you discover them. Head over to our guide, in which we go in-depth on each shape available. 

Christian – Pipe Expert