Claudio Cavicchi: Smooth 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. 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. It's not often that Cavicchi crafts straight renditions of the Dublin, and when he does, they are occasionally possessed of just the barest touch of curvature, such as this example here. The shank and stem combination here ebb out of a wide transition and take on a wonderfully understated, Hawkbill-like stature which offers a striking silhouette thanks to their ovoid compression. Up front, a firm heel supports the bowl, which grows flaring walls that rise to a broad, plateau-crowned rim that's afforded a touch of dynamism given the bowl's own slight forward cant. Dressed in one of Cavicchi's iconic honey-blonde finishes and graded four "C"'s out of five, the bowl is wrapped in dense flame grain, while the underside is peppered with birdseye.