Erik Nørding comes to pipe making like the proverbial virgin to the child. Because he is actually a trained fitter and metal construction engineer. His parents has run a factory that made blades. And if life could always be planned, he might still be running a blade factory today. But the paths of life are not straight, and certainly not for Erik Nørding.

Because all of a sudden he has to take on a lot of responsibility: when Erik is 16 years old, his father died. His mother convinced him that it is important to start an engineering degree in order to take on managerial roles in the company. The loss of his father was a drastic event for Erik. He learned how to smoke a pipe from him. His father taught him that the pipe is much more than an instrument aimed at consumption. Rather a "relaxation tool".

When he has finished his studies, Erik lost interest in his parents' business. And pipe-making is to blame.

The cooperation

During his studies Erik gained experience with pipe smoking and he often has visited one of the many pipe shops in Copenhagen. Soren Skovbo worked there as a pipe repairman and he had the firm intention of starting his own pipe making workshop. Knowing that Erik is a locksmith and an engineer, Soren suggested that he should build a machine for him to make pipes. Erik told him he can build anything for him, but he doesn't had the money.

So Erik borrowed a small sum and build a polishing machine, a grinder and a lathe from old machine parts and broken assemblies. After the job was done, Soren came by and was amazed at how well the machine worked. There was only one catch: Soren Skovbo doesn't had the money to pay him. Erik was somewhat taken aback by such audacity, but the two agreed to work together in the future and make pipes with this machine.

So he has then - without wanting to - entered the pipe business. Pipes from this cooperation bear the brand name "SON", and in the beginning classic shapes with English references played the leading role. The two still had to borrow the money for the wood, but little by little they found more buyers for their pipes.

Beginnings in business

Unfortunately, the breakup between the two unequal business partners came shortly afterwards. Soren Skovbo didn’t believed that Erik Nørding had enough talent for pipe making and left the cooperation. From then on, Erik made his own pipes under the brand name "SON". But his business doesn't really want to flourish, so he asked for orders in the pipe shops in Copenhagen. He found what he was looking for in a shop. However, his customer had special ideas: The pipes should be unusually large - as large as no other pipe maker made them. Erik could do that and henceforth he had a loyal customer for his unusually large pipes.

Nording Pipes

In the mid 60's he changed his label from "SON" to "Nørding" - and typical Danish freehands became more and more popular. This suited him very well, because these "free forms" can be produced much faster than classic shapes. But the wood can only be the best plateau. These pipes where an incredible bestseller. He and his then six employees made thousands of those pipes.

present

Today the Freehands are the main part of Erik Nørding's range. And even today, his workshop is more of a cooperation between various pipe makers than the lonely retreat of an artist working alone. His son Knud and grandson Victor have also joined the company and help out on all "fronts".

What sets Nørding apart from other pipe makers is his talent for sales and marketing. There will hardly be a pipe smoker who has not heard of Nørding. His pipes have a large following, especially in the USA, but also more and more in Germany. Thanks to his own sales organization, his pipes can again be found regularly in German specialist shops.