Wenhall: Difference between revisions

From Pipedia
Jump to navigation Jump to search
(New page: <font size="3">'''Wenhall Pipes Ltd.'''</font> was a distribution company out of New York City. right|thumb|<font size="1">Wenhall (USA)</font> By the end of t...)
 
No edit summary
 
(3 intermediate revisions by the same user not shown)
Line 2: Line 2:




[[Image:Wenhallus_06.jpg|right|thumb|<font size="1">Wenhall (USA)</font>]]
[[Image:Wenhallus_06.jpg|right|thumb|<font size="1">Wenhall (USA)</font>]][[Image:Wenhalldk_06.jpg|thumb|Wenhall (DK)]]
By the end of the 1970's Wenhall approached '''Michael [[Kabik]]''' and '''Glen [[Hedelson]]''', at that time operating from a farm house in Glen Rock, Maryland to create a line of freehands called '''Wenhall'''. The situation was favorable, because Kabik & Hedelson had ended their cooperation with Mel Baker of Tobak Ltd. to produce the famed '''Sven-Lar''' freehands shortly before.
By the end of the 1970's Wenhall approached '''Michael [[Kabik]]''' and '''Glen [[Hedelson]]''', at that time operating from a farm house in Glen Rock, Maryland to create a line of freehands called '''Wenhall'''. The situation was favorable, because Kabik & Hedelson had ended their cooperation with Mel Baker of Tobak Ltd. to produce the famed '''Sven-Lar''' freehands shortly before.


Line 12: Line 12:




[[Image:Wenhalldk_06.jpg|left|thumb|Wenhall (DK)]]
Presumptively for a shorter period only Wenhall had pipes made in Denmark by '''[[Karl Erik]]'''. (BTW K.E. Ottendahl ceased all sales to the USA in 1987.)
Presumptively for a shorter period only Wenhall had pipes made in Denmark by '''[[Karl Erik]]'''. (BTW K.E. Ottendahl ceased all sales to the USA in 1987.)


 
<gallery widths=300 heights=300 caption="Wenhall Langelinie, likely made by [[Karl Erik]]">
[[Image:Wenhallit_sabatini.jpg|left|thumb|Wenhall "Sabatini" (I)]]
WenhallLangelinie01.jpg
[[Image:Wenhallit_sabatini2.jpg|right|thumb|Wenhall "Sabatini" (I)]]
WenhallLangelinie07.jpg
 
</gallery>
 




----




[[Image:Wenhallit_sabatini.jpg|thumb|Wenhall "Sabatini" (I)]][[Image:Wenhallit_sabatini2.jpg|right|thumb|Wenhall "Sabatini" (I)]]
<gallery widths=250 heights=185 caption="Example and details, courtesy Doug Valitchka">
Wenhall01.jpg|Sabatini
Wenhall07.jpg|Sabatini
Wenhall08.jpg|Sabatini
Wenhall09.jpg|Sabatini
File:WenhallPresident-01.jpg|Presidential
File:WenhallPresident-07.jpg|Presidential
</gallery>




Wenhall also distributed pipes from Italy. By unconfirmed information '''[[Gigi]]''' and '''[[Cesare Barontini]]''' were mentioned as suppliers.


Wenhall also distributed pipes from Italy. By unconfirmed information '''[[Gigi]]''' and '''[[Cesare Barontini]]''' were mentioned as suppliers.


[[Category: Pipe makers by nationality]][[Category: United States]]
[[Category: Pipe makers by nationality]][[Category: United States]]

Latest revision as of 14:45, 2 January 2022

Wenhall Pipes Ltd. was a distribution company out of New York City.


Wenhall (USA)
Wenhall (DK)

By the end of the 1970's Wenhall approached Michael Kabik and Glen Hedelson, at that time operating from a farm house in Glen Rock, Maryland to create a line of freehands called Wenhall. The situation was favorable, because Kabik & Hedelson had ended their cooperation with Mel Baker of Tobak Ltd. to produce the famed Sven-Lar freehands shortly before.

Upon Wenhall's offer the partners got a bank loan and set up a studio of 2000 square feet in a fairly new industrial park in Bel Air, Maryland and took on the name Vajra Briar Works. Wenhall initially wanted 500 pipes a week! But Kabik & Hedelson doubted that they could move that much product and told them they would produce 250 pipes per week. Happily, some of the old crew from Sven-Lar joined them at Vajra Briar Works, and thus they rather quickly met the production demands.

Furthermore during this time, Wenhall requested to create a line of pipes consisting of 12 different shapes. The line was called The Presidential and, while they repeated the same 12 shapes for this series, each one was freehand cut. Although they came up with interesting designs, mainly developed by Hedelson, especially Kabik was never really happy with the line or the concept, but, by this time, they had nine people on full-time payroll.

The stint with Wenhall lasted a couple of years, at which time they asked them to join Wenhall in a move to Miami, Florida. But by this time Kabik and Hedelson felt very uncomfortable with the owners of Wenhall and decided that they'd rather close the shop than make the move. Time proved that decision very wise, as Wenhall folded shortly after the move. All the same they had to close Vajra, but scaled down to the two of them and moved the operation to the farm house Glen was currently living in.


Presumptively for a shorter period only Wenhall had pipes made in Denmark by Karl Erik. (BTW K.E. Ottendahl ceased all sales to the USA in 1987.)




Wenhall "Sabatini" (I)
Wenhall "Sabatini" (I)


Wenhall also distributed pipes from Italy. By unconfirmed information Gigi and Cesare Barontini were mentioned as suppliers.