Pawn Apple (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.

Jacono uses a grading system that follows the value of chess pieces: in ascending order, it goes Pawn (sandblasted), Knight (rusticated), Bishop (previously called "Jack"), Rook, Queen, and King. This Pawn-graded Apple simultaneously displays bright flame grain and growth rings through the dark sandblast, reaching all the way back from the lightly rounded bowl to stretch down the lengthy, round shank. The bowl is canted forward to cut a unique profile, and an arrow-straight saddle stem of swirling gray and white acrylic finishes the piece with a fascinating pattern.