Stanwell Vario Special Freehand Estate Pipe, Straight Billiard, Denmark Briar

STANWELL, then Vario in script and SPECIAL beneath it: a Stanwell Vario Special in a freehand shape, built as a large straight billiard. The bowl wall rises straight, and on its top third the outer diameter steps in a little, leaving a line between the two diameters.

It sits on a vulcanite saddle stem with a fishtail mouthpiece and is made for a 9 mm filter. It is in very good condition, with tiny scratches and dents on the stem and a tiny darkness. The S under its crown is clear on the stem. Please see the photographs for the rim and the chamber.

Stanwell began in the war years. In 1942 Poul Nielsen set up a pipe production in Denmark, at first in beech, and in 1948 the Stanwell name was registered as a trademark under number 969-48, with a horse-drawn carriage as its logo. Around 1982 the firm's own catalogue spoke of "quality for 40 years".

The factory moved to Borup in 1965 by that catalogue (other sources say 1969). Stanwell pipes were made in Denmark until the end of 2009; from 2010 Barontini in Italy has made them, limited editions excepted. Over the years the stem logo went from a white S to a white crowned S, then a brass and a silver crowned S.

THE MARKS

- STANWELL on the shank
- Vario in script on the shank
- SPECIAL on the shank
- MADE IN DENMARK - not visible in the photographs
- S under a crown on the stem

No shape number is stamped.

A billiard has an upright bowl with the shank and stem in one line. This one is large: the bowl is 52 mm high and 40 mm wide, around a chamber 20 mm across and 45 mm deep, and the pipe is 150 mm long. The saddle stem has a flat, wider part at the shank that steps down to a thinner blade.

The finish is a sandblast over the bowl and the shank. No date is given for this pipe.

THE MEASUREMENTS

- Length: 150 mm
- Bowl height: 52 mm (2.1 in)
- Bowl width: 40 mm (1.6 in)
- Chamber diameter: 20 mm (0.8 in)
- Chamber depth: 45 mm (1.8 in)
- Weight: 2.0 oz

Ships from the Faridunhill archive. Worldwide shipping and professional sanitation on every estate pipe. SKU: 119