Pibe-Dan

Pibe-Dan is a shop that opened in wartime Copenhagen and stayed in business for nearly half a century, both having pipes made under its own name and bringing the work of independent Danish makers to its storefront. Its name comes from its founder: H. Dan-Christensen was known in the community by the nickname "Pibe-Dan," so the business settled under this same name. Its founding date is May 1943, and its closing date 1991.

In the intervening period, it was one of the city's main addresses for collectors seeking handmade Danish pipes.

The Shape-Reformed Series

Pibe-Dan was not merely a store selling others' pipes; it also had pipes made under its own name. The best known of these is a series called Dan Shape-Reformed. The name signals that a traditional shape was reworked: the bowl on these pipes is far longer and more upright than usual, that is, close to the high-chambered arrangement called "stack." Corsican-sourced briar (briar) is said to have been used in the bodies. The business marketed this high chamber as a technical advantage, claiming it cooled the smoke and reduced moisture; this claim belongs to the catalog language of the period and does not rest on independent measurement. Under Shape-Reformed came sub-lines such as Danois, Standard, Champion, and Half Chimney.

The business's first catalog came out at the end of the 1950s and, since most of its customer base was abroad, was prepared in English; W.Ø. Larsen had followed the same path. The catalogs also offered pipes from series manufacturers such as Stanwell and Kriswill for sale.