Benner

Benner is the name Danish maker Bent Nielsen (b. 1944) has signed onto his pipes since childhood, using a nickname from his youth. Nielsen, known today for his measured, classically proportioned shapes, actually started from a very different place — the flamboyant freehand shapes of the 1970s.

Born in North Jutland, he moved with his family to the Roskilde area as a child and has lived in this region ever since; his workshop is in the village of Tune, south of the city.

The Move to Classic Shapes

Nielsen's first trade was carpentry. His change of bench came when he joined the workshop of Karl Erik Ottendahl in the early 1970s: American demand for fantasy pipes was so great that the workshop was looking for extra hands. He worked there for seven years, and most of the freehand pipes that went to the United States in that period passed through his hands. Some sources say he also drew model sketches for Stanwell in the same years; this detail has not been independently confirmed.

What actually changed his path came after he left. According to the account, while working at a workshop called Zetterwig, S. Bang asked him for support on pipes bound for the German market. Nielsen, working in the style he was used to, put together a set of fantasy shapes and presented it to the importer; but what Germany wanted was classic molds. This misunderstanding forced him to work in an area he had never tried. His skill with classic shapes eventually eclipsed his earlier work, and the Benner name is now associated mainly with this line. It is also said that the German distributor did not find the nickname Danish-sounding enough, which is why a portion of the pipes were stamped with the name Bent Nielsen.