Reiner PIPE ART DESIGN

Reiner PIPE ART DESIGN is a German pipe brand spread across two production periods that share the same name but are quite different from one another. It takes its name from its founder, Reiner Klein; after the brand changed hands in 1988, it continued under the roof of the Rüdiger Lutz Will workshop in Bünde. For this reason, when assessing a "Reiner"-stamped pipe, one must first work out which period it belongs to.

The Reiner Klein Period

Klein worked in Bremen as a professional designer and came to the pipe as a smoker in 1979. He founded his own workshop in 1984; it is reported that during his preparation he learned the basics of the trade from fellow Bremen maker Karlheinz Joura.

Klein's work carries a distinct signature. Bodies were mostly stained in an orange-leaning tone, then saturated with wood oil and waxed; this finish brings out the grain of the briar beneath a warm color. He worked without breaking classic shapes, but pushed them: a keel-shaped ridge running from beneath a round bowl through the shank and into the stem, faceted bowls, and a square-section shank added to a round body are typical marks of this period. Stems favored marbled Cumberland or ebonite, with thin grooves cut sideways at the tenon end; stem materials gave little room to acrylic. These pipes were not drilled for filter use.

Stamping was simple: the word "reiner" in handwriting on the shank, along with an inscription stating the pipe was handmade. According to sources, pieces Klein made entirely alone carry the inscription "Reiner-Handarbeit"; the stamps "Reiner Pipe Art Design" and "Reiner Design" point to later production. Quality grading descended from A to C, and the entire output of the period was smooth-finished; no sandblasted or rusticated example is known.