Jacono: Rook Bent Dublin Tobacco Pipe

This bent Dublin is a handsome piece from the Italian workshop, with a subtle sinuousness about its construction that's owed to a demurely arced saddle stem and an upturned shank, the combination offering a lovely S-curve in profile and flowing easily into the bowl at the transition. Said transition is wide enough to drape a thumb and builds the aft wall of the bowl without much flare, keeping the aft end straight and lending more presence to the fore. The underside of this pipe presents with an easy curvature, the rather firm heel it meets rising into the fore wall with a forward urge that not only adds dynamism to the pipe, but a subtle momentum. Dressed in the warm, smooth stain of the Rook series, there's plenty of handsome grain to appreciate here, all in a timeless palette.

In 1981, Tonino Jacono's father-in-law extended an offer to start a new pipe-making workshop, his father-in-law providing high-quality briar from his job at a briar-cutting mill, his brother shaping the pipes, and Tonino himself doing the finishing. The idea was developed further, and, two years later, the first Jacono pipes were made in 1983 from out of the family's small workshop in Jesi, Italy. Tonino's start at this new venture was guided by a simple principle: offer pipes of the highest possible quality at the best possible price. Tonino now heads the company and has taken on carving responsibilities himself, staying true to his original goal, though benefiting from more than three decades of pipe-making experience and a reputation for excellence.