Knudsen, Sven

From Pipedia
Revision as of 23:58, 17 November 2008 by Poggenpohl (talk | contribs)
Jump to navigation Jump to search
KnudsenS1.jpg

Sven Knudsen, elder brother of Teddy Knudsen, is without any doubt one of the most important and influential characters of the early Danish freehand pipemakers.

Poul Rasmussen, who himself was hardly more than an apprentice at that time and still being instructed in pipemaking by Sixten Ivarsson, who for his part was about to leave and join Poul Nielsen (→ Stanwell), picked him up and introduced him to the famous Suhr's Pibemageri (pipe workshop) in 1956. Sven Knudsen, as all the others too, started with repairing pipes. But revealing enormous talent and dedicative diligence, he soon proceeded to make complete pipes on his own. And all too soon a considerable share of responsibility for the workshop pressed on his shoulders, because Poul Rasmussen was not only an exceptionally gifted pipemaker but also a very worldly and gregarious man, who left the workbench often enough to join some jovial company for a nice chat and a glass of beer. So Sven Knudsen ended up designing many of the shapes and carving many of the pipes subsequently identified with and credited to Rasmussen. At Suhr's, he hired and trained Hans Jonny Nielsen, who became famous under his nickname Former lateron.

In 1959 he had enough of this unfavourable situation and left Rasmussen. Sven Knudsen furnished a small workshop of his own in Copenhagen and began to work as self-employed pipemaker. He sold his pipes to some of the most prestigious Copenhagen P&T shops like W.Ø. Larsen, Poul Olsen (of "My Own Blend" fame) and Pibe-Dan. The house catalogs featured his pipes prominently for many years. From the Pibe-Dan catalog 1961/1962:

Furthermore he was contacted by Svend Bang, Ole Larsen's Store manager and right-hand man, who offered him the position as workshop foreman at the newly established W.Ø. Larsen workshop. BTW, Ole Larsen, the proprietor, and Sven Knudsen became very close friends. Under the aegis of Sven Knudsen W.Ø. Larsen pipes became one of the bedrocks of the Danish freehand fame!

Four years later, in 1963, he decidided to move to the countryside. So he closed his Copenhagen workshop and resigned from Larsen after he had urgently ensured that Former Nielsen succeeded him as workshop manager at W.Ø. Larsen. In Tappernoje, a hamlet belonging to the small town of Præstoe on the Island of Fyn, he bought a house and established an all-new workshop. There he lived from 1963 - 1973.

Dantonian PipeWorks Catalog; the title features Model 1 "Grand Classic" full bent

In 1970 Teddy Knudsen had taken leave from Anne Julie tired of making highgrade pipes but being paid as gofer. His elder brother, invited him to join together at Sven's place in Tappernoje. They agreed to work together and started a project they called "Dantonian PipeWorks". They selected a compilation of pipes and in early 1971 they published the Dantonian PipeWorks Catalog worldwide. In English only, because the brothers orientated to the export markets in Germany, the United States, and particularly in Japan. The pipes were made to order both for customers and retailers.

The catalog portrayed a carefully balanced selection of models. Some Sven had developed and refined earlier when he was at Suhr's Pibemageri and later when working for W.Ø. Larsen and Pibe-Dan. Shapes like the "Walrus" or the "Swan" had already earned him a considerable reputation, and yet others that were newly sketched now. Teddy also added some of his own designs.

The pipes, stamped "Dantonian - Handicraft of Copenhagen", became very popular and a considerable success in sale. But even though the fraternal company broke apart after ca. 2½ years. Teddy left in early 1973 to pursue his own way. Sven Knudsen moved to Næstved in southern Sealand where he continued to make pipes under the Dantonian name for some years more.

Sixten Ivarsson, who cherished Sven's work very much, introduced Sven's pipes to his Japanese business friends and customers. Hence no wonder-- thanks to Sixten's personal recommendation and due to their outstanding quality Sven's pipes became very popular in Japan quickly. Very popular? It would be much better to call it an enormous hype that took on grotesque features! As Sven's daughter Marianne later reported her parents' house in downtown Næstved was strictly beleaguered by Japanese customers who would come to stay in the country for days at a time and turned the lot into a camping-site, living in tents while waiting patiently for her father to get some pipes finished! The girl was busy all day bringing them those enormous amounts of hot water they asked for. Watching all the usual habits of Japanese way of life like eating rice, raw fish and seaweed, drinking tea e.c. must surely have been a very odd sight in the eyes of a young Danish girl at those times!

From 1973 to 1997 Sven Knudsen, meanwhile acknowledged as one of the best pipe artisans worldwide, continued to make his highly praised pipes that he mainly sold directly to private customers and a few selected traders.

Sven Knudsen

Sven had been suffering from health issues (diabetes) before. But now, in 1997, things got worse. The diabetes caused an onset of severe neuritis and peripheral neuropathy, a partly very painful desease impairing his dexterity significantly. As if this wasn't enough, a severe allergic reaction - of all things to the dust of briar! - now forced him to close his workshop for official records.

Nevertheless, whenever he felt a bit better he went to his workshop to finsih a few pipes in spite of all handicaps. But by far the amount wasn't large enough to secure his livelihood, and so, even though he sold pieces of his personal collection and other pipes that had been exhibited in a famous Copenhagen design center as items on loan, he got into serious financial troubles.

When these sad news on Sven Knudsen's situation reached America, some of his friends and earlier dealers got together and organized charity sales to support him. Michael Parks, Paul Bonaquisti, Tim West, Michael Lindner and other pipemakers more are credited to contribute pipes from their production to aid their seriously invalid colleague.


Teddy inspecting his brother's last remaining pipes

Finally, in Spring of 2004, Sven Knudsen had to quit making pipes once and for all. His brother Teddy came to his help. Teddy picked up the very last pipes from Sven's workshop and assisted by young pipemaker Lasse Skovgaard Jørgensen he finished and stamped them. Of course the funds from sale were entirely dedicated to Sven!

A really touching end to the career of a man who made many an example of the finest Danish handcrafted pipes ever!


KnudsenS3.jpg

Sven Knudsen stamped his pipes "S. Knudsen" and with a logo depicting the head of an ancient Corsican wearing a bandeau. This was also a hint to the origin of his briar he personally selected from the saw-mill. A grading was not used but of course - Who told such nonsense? - he used more than one color to stain his pipes!