Caminetto: Smooth Stack with Boxwood (Moustache) (02) (AR) Tobacco Pipe

The Caminetto workshop was founded by Luigi Radice and Guiseppe Ascorti in the late 1960s, the pair establishing the brand after a lengthy tenure with Castello. Caminetto pipes quickly became a success, their unique design language cementing them as one of Italy's most respected makers. They've become especially renowned for their craggy rustications, with many of their pipes showcasing highly textural carving across their stummels. Caminetto is no stranger to crafting Stacks of a truly staggering height, with some of their renderings of the shape towering at over three and a half inches tall. Such is the case with this particular example, and it immediately calls to mind the meaning of Caminetto's name: It comes from the Italian word camino which means chimney, with the suffix of -etto denoting a diminutive version of the root word, thus, Caminetto = "little chimney." I certainly see a little chimney in this pipe, and I'm sure it will look even more like one while in use, as the smoke rising from the bowl emulates the embers of a fireplace. The massive bowl here sits atop a firm, rounded heel that dips down a bit before it reaches upward, its trajectory lending the fore wall a slight taper to the rim. A wide transition leads to a comparatively trim shank that's extended by a broad band of boxwood, one that additionally marks the junction to a sleek, tapering stem of black acrylic. Dressing the stummel is a warm, honey-blonde stain that keeps the overall color palette of this pipe vibrant and light, and it reveals lovely cross grain at the fore and aft of the bowl, with the flanks covered in dense birdseye swirls.