J
orgen Nielsen grew up in the pipe world. Working in the business since the age of ten, his history is one of hard work and love, all for the sake of a beautiful smoke.
Pipe Making, the early years
Jorgen Nielsen is the son of Viggo Nielsen, a legendary pipe maker from the “glory days” of tobacco pipes in the post World War II era. He began working with his father in his pipe factory when he was ten years old. Later, he would work with his brother as well.
Nielsen began his work in the factory by polishing the extra mouthpieces and mounting bowls and stems. He’s talked, in interviews, about how hard the work was. He says he didn’t discover his true talent until he was allowed to sand and polish--nearly two years after he first entered the factory.
A team of brothers
The Nielsen brothers joined forces, after completing tenures in the Danish military, to form a pipe company mainly marketed in Germany. Jorgen Nielsen spent much of his time leading the marketing charge, rather than making pipes. The model would be successful for nearly twenty years.
In the mid-1980s, the brothers formed Pibehuset and worked together for a few years, both making beautifully hand-crafted briar pipes.
A break from pipe making
Throughout most of the 1990s, Jorgen Nielsen took a break from the tobacco pipe industry and worked on other projects. Smoking a pipe did not have the same widespread romance that previous generations had honored it with, and the tobacco pipe industry drastically declined as a result.
Pipes make a comeback
Call it nostalgia, or a need to slow down and smell the tobacco-burning, whichever it was, pipes came into a renaissance period in the early 2000s. People were sitting down with their pipes again and Jorgen Nielsen felt his briar muse calling once more. He returned to pipe making in 2002 and vowed to remain there until the end of his days.
Jorgen Nielsen tobacco pipes are distinctive, hand-carved Danish briar pipes that have smoking enthusiasts enchanted with his art once again.
