Claudio Cavicchi: Smooth Bent Dublin (CCCCC) Tobacco Pipe

Claudio Cavicchi is truly a master of his craft, and his ability to coax the best possible grain out of every piece of briar will always astound me. Originally a farmer, Claudio was first inspired to make pipes after an order he placed for one with his local tobacconist took many months to fill. What resulted was not only a pipe almost exactly like the one Cavicchi was looking for, but a passion that has lasted nearly five decades, his first piece made in 1974. A world-champion slow-smoker with three titles under his belt, Claudio Cavicchi relentlessly seeks perfection in every pipe that he crafts, not only able to read grain exceptionally well, but able to engineer pipes that smoke magnificently. This bent Dublin is a fluidly curved piece from the Italian artisan, its silhouette reminiscent of the Horn in its gently flowing lines. A wide transition gives way to a tapering shank that lifts and forms a seamless junction with a similarly tapering stem of demurely curved black acrylic. Up front, the bowl stands atop a rounded, pronounced heel, its walls taking on a measured flare out to a broad, plateau-crowned rim. Said walls surround a capacious chamber and offer comfort in the hand thanks to its easy contours. Dressed in one of Cavicchi's iconic honey-blonde finishes and graded five "C"'s out of five, this pipe ranks as one of Cavicchi's best works, only superseded by the super-rare "Perla" and nigh-unobtainable "Diamante." The bowl is wrapped in a dense wreath of flame and straight grain, with striations pushing through the flanks of the shank, the underside here covered in an expansive display of birdseye.