Larsen, Jørn: Difference between revisions

When I was 16, a friend and I had a great interest in pipes. We joined a pipe club, and we started to make our own pipes from briar blocks bought in Copenhagen. At that time I worked at a gas station, and sometimes while waiting for the customers, late at night, I had plenty of time for filing and polishing my self-made pipes. I was greatly satisfied with finishing my own pipes for my family, my friends and for myself, although when I happen to look at these pipes today, naturally I must smile at the shortcomings of these first attempts in pipe making.

[[Image:Jørn Larsen Pipe01.jpg|right|thumb|Image courtesy Lars Kiel]]

When I finished school at the age of 17, I wanted to work in mechanics. I therefore was an apprentice to become a locksmith. I finished this education at the age of 21.

I also played jazz- and rock music. I was only 15 when I travelled all the way trough Europe to Naples in Italy by train to play there with our jazz band during the summer holidays. In the train I brought with my double bass, which was bigger than me.

Later, I played the guitar in a rock group together with my brother, my friend from the pipe club, and several others. I composed quite a lot of tunes myself, and this interest I have followed up since by composing tunes from poetry written by good Danish poets. When the members of a band are able to get the music to "swing", it's a wonderful feeling. My favourite rock group was the English '''"Ten Years After"''', but actually ten years after in real life I had chosen another way to get that "swinging" feeling, that is by making pipes.

Already as an apprentice I began to produce special tools for pipe making. I designed and built up a lathe for this purpose. This was the first of many machines that I built for pipe making. However, I don't make pipes in the industrial way. The machines only help me making the hard work a little easier, and in the end every single pipe is finished in the handmade way.

When I had finished my education in 1970 (21 years old) and subsequently done my military service, I worked as a locksmith for many years. For some years the pipe making nearly stopped, but I developed my skills in the technical area and my interest in good workmanship, including a sense of accuracy and perfection. In the course of time I got the opportunity to create machines also in my paid job.

When I was about 30, I came across a block of briar, and I started making pipes again and found great pleasure in it. I also got married at this time to Jane. We have 2 daughters, Mai (born 1981) and Maria (born 1986).

Four years ago my family and I moved to a bigger house on the island of '''Lolland''' in the southern part of Denmark. Here we have fitted out a big room as a very nice Workshop for my pipe making. This is really a fulfilling of the dream of working as a pipe maker in fine and beautiful surroundings.

As I said earlier, I like to refine a certain type of pipe by trying to make it better all the time. I may make about 4 - 5 pieces of a shape I like. Maybe the bending should be a little longer or a little deeper, or the neck should be shorter etc.

I make about 400 pipes a year, about 10 light flame, about 90 orange, about 150 red smooth and about 150 brown and black sandblasted, which I sell in Japan, Switzerland and USA. This year I will try to sell my pipes in Germany, which means that I have to make more 9mm filter pipes. A few of the pipes I send to Switzerland are 9mm filter pipes.

If I make several pipes of the same shape, I have the opportunity to make them on a machine I have built myself. Otherwise the pipes will be hand-turned or made in the freehand way. All my pipes are finished in the hand made way. The retail prices for these pipes are from about 1.500,00 DKr – 4.000,00 DKr.

  4891 Toreby

  Denmark

  Email: mailto:jorn-piber@post.tele.dk