Good Day All;
How shall I say this .......... hhmmm ... a little knowledge can be a dangerous thing. There are a few sellers and collectors that can tell the difference. Sometimes they can also be "tricked". No one is perfect. Sometimes it is very easy to tell who carved a pipe and sometimes it is not. Personally, if I don't know I will not speculate. If the pipe shows signs that I can narrow down the possibilities, I will suggest those possibilities and let the buyer decide if they agree or disagree. Trust me, we've all been fooled at least once.
With the volume of pipes carved by the Great Danes, even they can forget pipes. I know of at least one time when two different carvers "verified" they each made the same pipe. So sometimes even the carvers can make a mistake.
There are lots of "myths" in the pipe world. NOT every Stanwell was designed by Sixten Ivarsson. Poul Winslow, Anne Julie, Tom Eltang, Jess Chonowitsch, and others also designed shapes for Stanwell. Funny how many listings we see stating that Sixten designed the shape.
Fritz Becker carved pipe. Sorry no such animal. In conversation with Paolo ( rip ) many years ago I asked about these Fritz carved pipes. Paolo told me that when Fritz was carving pipes, there was never one that was made from start to finish by Fritz alone. At that time each pipe was carved / created by 4 hands. Both Fritz and Paolo had a hand on each and every pipe. So Fritz Era is correct. But not Fritz carved, as that suggests only Fritz made the pipe.
To really get a foot hold on who carved what, you need to study design, shapes, internal engineering, stem button shapes, AND who worked for / with who. In Denmark many of the carvers worked for various "houses". Poul Ilsted spent time at S.Bang and Nording, as well Svendborg. PH Vigen at WO Larsen and Bjarne. Until you spend the time to study each carver's work over their full career, it's difficult to call any pipe carved by X, Y or Z.
I've been dealing in pipes for nearly 20 years and each and every day I learn something new, OR find out something new which changes what I had thought the hour before. It's a never ending journey of study and learning.
For a collector you have the advantage of following a specific brand / carver and thus limit what you wish to learn. As a dealer you must absorb everything on all fronts.
If a seller states a pipe was carved by "carver X", ask how they have drawn that conclusion. If they can offer specific reasons why they have come to the conclusion, take it for what it's worth. If they have no answer ........ I'd walk away.
On a final note .... collect what you like. Not by whose name is stamped or not stamped on the shank. I collect Castello's. No specific style, vintage, finish, or shape. I try and find Castello's I really like and then enjoy them. I do not care is Guiseppe, Marco, or Luigi carved them.
Regards
Michael J. Glukler