Holger Frickert

Holger Frickert is a pipe designer and maker who came up around Dan Pipe, based in the northern German town of Lauenburg. Born in 1949, Frickert signs the pipes made by his own hand with the "Handcut by Holger" stamp; these pipes are known as interpretations of classic English shapes softened through the Danish workshop tradition.

From Dentistry to the Pipe Bench

Frickert's introduction to pipes goes back to holiday trips he took to Denmark in his youth. He is said to have begun reshaping pipes he bought, to his own taste, during those years. He finished school in 1968 and enrolled to study dentistry, but meeting Dan Pipe's owner, Behrens, while still a student changed his path. Records show that he left his studies in 1978 to join the company full time. His work there was not limited to running the retail shop and the mail-order division; the text, layout, and photo placement of the firm's annual pipe and tobacco catalog were also left to him. In later years he became one of the company's partners.

His work at the bench began around the same time, with repair jobs; once he had acquired the necessary tools, he set about carving his own shapes. What accelerated this transition were short stints spent working in the workshops of Danish makers. Sources mention in this context Hans Jonny Nielsen, known by the name Former, along with Poul Hansen and Emil Chonowitsch; the style of Poul Ilsted Bech is also said to have left its mark on Frickert.