Wolfgang Becker

Wolfgang Becker (b. 1952) is a German pipe maker based in Duisburg. He never apprenticed at any workshop, learning the craft through his own experiments. He made his first handmade pipes in 1987, and it was not until the mid-1990s that he began selling his work professionally. Today, with an output that still doesn't exceed a few dozen a year, he is counted among the most frequently cited names of Germany's contemporary makers.

Wespe and Approach to Form

The first design that comes to mind with Becker is the "Wespe"; taking its name from the wasp, this shape is known for a roundish, often slightly asymmetrical chamber, a distinctly raised transition, and a shank that flares outward. By the maker's own account, the first Wespe left the bench in 1988 or 1989; he doesn't remember the exact year himself. His having reinterpreted the same shape for decades has turned Wespe from a single model into a family.

In his overall design language, the soft transitions and openness to asymmetry of the Danish School are pronounced. This orientation is no accident: an article on Lars Ivarsson that he read in a pipe club magazine, followed by the chance to examine Ivarsson pipes up close in Cologne, was the actual factor that set Becker at the bench.

Workshop and Material

Production runs through a single hand and is deliberately kept low; according to records, sixty to eighty pipes are made a year. Briar blocks are personally selected at the cutting workshops, and he never strays from plateau cuts. Mouthpieces (stems) are shaped entirely by hand from German ebonite, start to finish; no acrylic or silver band is used. When ornamentation is called for, natural materials such as horn, boxwood, bamboo, and fossil mammoth ivory come into play.

Surface treatment is likewise deliberately kept narrow: pipes are either sandblasted or left smooth, with rustication never used. On smooth surfaces, contrast staining in brown, reddish, orange, or gold tones is preferred. The great majority of the bores are standard size; in the small number of mouthpieces prepared for filtered use, rather than a ready-made nylon fitting, a tenon machined from the material itself is used.

Grading and Stamps

Grades rise from 1 to 9; exceptional pieces that go beyond nine are marked with letters from A to G. The stamp is struck on the underside of the shank: the name Wolfgang Becker arranged in a circle, with the relevant grade in the center of the circle. On top-tier pipes a wolf's-paw stamp is added; when this stamp is struck twice (Double Wolf's Paw), it marks one of the topmost steps of the hierarchy — according to dealer catalogues, the tier just below the very top "Signature" mark. Double-stamping is said to have begun shortly before the 2010s. Despite his limited output, Becker's pipes are closely followed by collectors, particularly in America and Japan.