Knudsen, Sven: Difference between revisions

Sven had suffered from health issues before (diabetes). But in 1997, things got worse. The diabetes caused an onset of severe neuritis and peripheral neuropathy, a very painful disease impairing his dexterity significantly. As if this wasn't enough, he also developed a severe allergic reaction to briar dust of all things! This forced him to close his workshop for official business.

Having retired from active pipe making, Sven fell into a degree of obscurity, to the point where few collectors knew of his work, much less his pivotal role in the development of the Danish pipe. When Sam Goldberger of [http://www.finepipes.com finepipes.com] was visiting Denmark in 2003, at the suggestion of Lars Kiel of [http://www.Danishpipemakers.com Danishpipemakers.com] he asked Teddy about his older brother, and was given an introduction. He visited Sven at his house, took pictures of some of his remaining pipes, and then sold many of them at cost on his website. Subsequently, Teddy picked up the last group of pipes from Sven's workshop, finished and stamped them, and Goldberger again offered them to his customers at cost. Moreover, a number of other pipemakers, including Michael Parks, Paul Bonaquisti, Tim West, Michael Lindner contributed their own pipes to benefit Sven. A touching end to the career of a man who made many an example of the finest Danish handcrafted pipes ever.  

'''''Many thanks to Samuel Goldberger of [http://www.finepipes.com/ Finepipes.com] for the use of his materials in the development of this article, and for the role he played helping Sven in his final years.'''''