Claudio Cavicchi: Ambra Smooth Bent Dublin Sitter with Claudio Albieri Travel Case (03/07) Tobacco Pipe

Since 2018, Italian pipe carver Claudio Cavicchi and leather designer Claudio Albieri (a longtime friend) have been collaborating on a limited-edition line of specially crafted, high-quality pipes paired with leather cases or boxes. Both gentlemen are experts in their respectivefileds, as this Ambra 2021 project attests.

This serialized line of pipes were chosen personally by Sykes and Shane during a Fall visit to Cavicchi's workshop in his hometown of Bologna. The Ambra ("Amber" in English) line consists of seven limited-edition bent Dublins and marks the artisan's first foray into the complex world of contrast stains. These pipes have been fashioned from high-quality, select briar blocks chosen for their potential in absorbing and showing off such a stain, and equal in grade quality to his prestigious Perla and Diamante pieces. The contrast stain is time consuming, requires super precision and is labor intensive, which is why the process is most only used in handmade, artisan pipes. The process is achieved by staining the pipe one color, allowing it to soak in, then sanding the stummel so that virgin briar is revealed over the denser sections. Then it's stained one more time with a different color. Talk about patience. The end result, seen in this bent Dublin Sitter, is just amazing, the smooth, amber finish highlighting gorgeous, dense striations of straight grain on all flanks, with beautiful little whorls of birdseye saturating the heel and portions of the shank.

One reason the grain and finish are so superb and can be so appreciated is that there's plenty of briar on which to admire them. The bowl boasts more than two inches of chamber depth, flaring dramatically from a flattened heel into a broad rim that's crowned in plateau. The forward-ebbing profile is countered in back by a rising shank that surges forth from the transition, is pinched in the middle and flares into an asymmetrical shank face, also covered in plateau. It's all topped by a stylish, jet-black acrylic stem adorned with an expansion dome at the base, the curvature continuing that established by the shank end. Danish design influences can clearly be seen in this expansive form.

This collectable Sitter comes with its own vibrant, red, zippered case of soft, protective leather. Within, there are pockets fashioned specifically for pipe accessories. Furthermore, Albieri has included a matching pipe pouch of equal suppleness, the entirety of which has all been specifically handcrafted by the acclaimed leatherworking master.