Claudio Cavicchi: Smooth Bent Billiard (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, and all of these are the case with this bent Billiard. Certainly a neoclassical piece, this pipe boasts a striking bowl that acts as the visual center of the pipe, its walls standing atop a curved, spurred heel oriented similarly to the Skater shape. This heel curves rearward, toward the shank, and this curve is remarkably tight, extending the bowl and raising the transition, but not by an extreme degree. The spurred area is definitely pointed in profile, though its structure is more a lift in the bottom line at the transition coupled with a ridgeline that forms the heel into a shelf-like entity. The transition is rather tight but leaves plenty of room to drape a digit, and it gives way to a sharply lifting shank and a smartly curved saddle stem of black acrylic. Dressed in one of Cavicchi's iconic honey-blonde stains, this pipe has earned the carver's CCCC-grade, and it showcases a wealth of handsome grain, with dense bands of flame wrapping the bowl.