Rook Bent Dublin with Silver (E) (Checkmate) (2026) Tobacco Pipe

Tonino Jacono entered the pipe business in 1981, finishing and selling pipes that were shaped by his brother-in-law from briar acquired and drilled by his father-in-law. After two years, Jacono left Calabria — the region comprising the Italian peninsula's southwestern "toe" — and moved north to Jesi, a municipality near Italy's Adriatic coast. Jacono began making pipes under his own name in Jesi, and still does today, with a philosophy of making high-quality pipes at a fair price point.

The "Checkmate" stamping of this piece denotes a larger-than-usual size. Jacono indeed turned in a rather muscular bent Dublin here, with the canted, 2.01-inch-deep bowl backed by an especially thick shank and the entire piece weighing barely under one quarter of a pound. The generous size leaves ample room to show off great grain, of which there is plenty: Tall, fanning tendrils of flame grain leap from the heel up to the rim, where plenty of swirling birdseye dances around the chamber. The shank is upturned into a silver accent ring, behind which a tapered stem of black acrylic bends back to the bit to finish the piece.