Before the wild Danish freehands, Ben Wade was about as English as a rainy afternoon. Founded in Leeds in 1860 by Benjamin Wade, the company built honest, traditional briars that earned a solid reputation long before Preben Holm ever got involved. These were classic English pipes-clean lines, good engineering, and built to be smoked day after day. By the late 1960s, the original English company was struggling, and that’s when the Ben Wade name headed in a whole new direction. Preben Holm bought the rights for most export markets and turned Ben Wade into one of the biggest names of the Danish freehand boom. That’s the Ben Wade most folks recognize today. The earlier English pipes are a different animal entirely. They’re understated, well-made, and often overlooked because everybody’s chasing the flashy plateau freehands. Sometimes the quiet old ranch hand gets the job done just as well as the guy riding in on the fancy horse. Come and Take It! Follow my shop for choice pipes and color commentary, uploaded regularly and original pipes hand made by me, uploaded occasionally. I REGULARLY STOCK 100+ ESTATE PIPES SO CHECK OUT MY OTHER AUCTIONS. Keywords – briar smoking tobacco pipe rare vintage antique estate pipe potato. Measurements available upon request. Three-ish dollars is worth the peace of mind in my opinion.