Claudio Cavicchi: Ambra Smooth Bent Dublin with Claudio Albieri Travel Case (06/07) Tobacco Pipe

Claudio Cavicchi and Claudio Albieri aren't just business partners or acquaintances, but are genuinely friends, regularly meeting at Cavicchi's house in Bologna for dinner and to catch up. Since 2018 the duo have also collaborated once a year to bring us, until this point, a boxed set of two pipes, with the presentation box made by Albieri and the pipes made by Cavicchi. They've continued this tradition in 2021, though in a different way than in previous years, presenting us with this truly special series of seven pipes contained within seven red leather pouches, each complete with a red leather pipe bag. This particular example is number six of seven, and is a stout, solid, bent Dublin.

Historically, the two have called their collaboration "Bologna" in honor of Cavicchi's home town, though for 2021 they have opted to call this edition "Ambra" or "Amber" in English. A single look at this piece should tell you exactly why that is, as the surface of the briar has been stained a warm amber-like mahogany, with flame grain popping out, absolutely resplendent on its surfaces, courtesy of this being Cavicchi's first ever contrast stain. The shaping on display here very much favors the bowl, with its nearly two and a half inch height pushing it into great visual prominence, while its deep, wide chamber and thick insulating walls ensure that your smokes are both long and comfortable. This bowl sits atop a sweeping heel, one whose shape emphasizes the fore of the bowl while keeping the overall silhouette fairly sleek, continuing a consistent expansion that starts quite subtly at the shank. The stem here is a trim black saddle with a very slight downturn, this feature alone making this pipe a bent Dublin, as the shank is quite straight, coming out of the transition at a near 90 degree angle and close to the bottom of the pipe. Topping things off here is the rim, one that is crowned with dense, craggy plateau and has been sanded down ever so slightly, just enough to cause individual whorls and pinpricks of birdseye to peek out from the peaks of these miniature mountains.