Ropp: Gargantua Sandblasted Cavalier Tobacco Pipe

The Cavalier is an age-old shape derived from traditional Tyrolean pipes, popular both for its Calabash-like engineering as well as its distinctive silhouette. This rendition, released in 2023, marks Ropp's first introduction of the shape to its expansive portfolio. This piece pairs a robust Billiard bowl to a broad round shank that continues past the heel. The shank ends at a removable, domed cap that houses a moisture collection chamber, making this piece a fully functional Cavalier. The transition is set high, joining a lengthy stem of black vulcanite and promoting a comfortable smoking posture that makes this a fine pipe with which to accompany a good book.

Ropp's Gargantua series, like the rest of Ropp's portfolio, is sourced from old stock stummels in the Chapuis-Comoy factory. What sets this series apart from the rest offerings, aside from its focus on massive pipes, is that the robust vulcanite stems are also sourced from original stock. As the name implies, the Gargantua line presents Ropp's largest series of pipes to date, offered across a variety of shapes in both smooth and sandblasted finishes, with the latter seen here.