Bjarne Nielsen stopped making pipes when he realized his own skill could take him only so far, and he could do better, for the pipe making community, and himself, by acting as the middle-man between truly accomplished pipe makers and pipe shops. To that end, he had a stable of pipe makers at various levels of talent, bought their pipes outright and stamped his name on them. This provided the shops with a wonderful variety of styles, shapes, finishes and values. Pipes from his most skilled pipe makers he called his signature series. Among the people who made this top level of pipe was Phil Vigen, a very quiet, modest pipe maker whose talent matched the very, very best. I saw him work once and was stunned at the mind, muscle memory and creativity. I can’t forget that vision. This pipe has all the earmarks of a Vigen pipe, although Bjarne did not reveal the makers of any of his pipes. But, for a while, he did grade those pipes, and this one earned his top rating, an A+. It deserves that rating, with a beautiful, ball-like round rim that is all Bird’s Eye, a faceted shank that is all Bird’s Eye and nothing but straight grain under the beads of the bowl. Such a pretty, pretty piece, and certainly one that would retail for over $1,000 in anybody’s catalogue. Grp. 5 size. New.
5.65” long, bowl 1.55” tall. Weight: 2 1/8 oz., 59 grams.