Claudio Cavicchi: Smooth Bent Dublin (CCCC) 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. His over 50 years of experience ensures that his pipes are not only beautiful, but expertly shaped and precisely drilled. This bent Dublin is an extremely demurely 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 capped with a pale junction accent ring before meeting a similarly tapering stem of subtly curved black acrylic. Up front, the bowl stands atop a rounded heel and cants forward dynamically, its walls taking on a measured flare out to a rim crowned with sanded plateau: allowing one to appreciate peaks of birdseye. These walls surround a capacious chamber and offer comfort in the hand thanks to their easy contours. Dressed in one of Cavicchi's iconic honey-blonde stains, this pipe has earned the carver's CCCC grade, with flickering flame grain flowing around the walls of the bowl and through the flanks of the shank.