Gert Holbek is probably the oldest Danish pipe maker – after the death of Sixten Ivarsson –, since he was born in 1928. He is for sure the oldest active pipe maker and definitely the one who has been in the business for the longest time: he started with Poul Rasmussen in 1953. After 1½ years and more than ten thousand pipe repairs, he opened his own workshop and has made pipes ever since. For a number of years he produced about two hundred pipes per year, which were all sold through Pibe Dan, until the shop closed in 1991.

Pibe Dan’s English catalogues from the 1960s made his name famous in Europe, Japan, and the United States. In the last years the number of pipes produced has decreased considerably, but he still can not a resist the appeal of a beautiful briar block. The few pipes he creates are almost exclusively sold to Japan, where he has had devoted customers for many years.