Claudio Cavicchi: Smooth Bent Dublin (CCC) 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 a Handsome piece with a protracted length of shank and stem that balances a good deal of the visual weight offered by the bowl. The transition here is wide, with ample room to drape a digit, and it gives way to a striking, Lovat-like length of shank whose rounded reach of briar makes a very subtle lift toward a short, slim, and demurely downturned saddle stem of black acrylic. Up front, the bowl stands on a sweeping heel that lends the bottom line of this pipe a Horn-like character, especially as the heel naturally flows into the fore wall, guiding these walls' expansion and granting them a dynamic forward cant. Possessed of a blooming flare out to the plateau-crowned rim, these walls are thick and nicely insulate the chamber, while their expansive construction provides ample space to showcase one of Cavicchi's iconic, honey-blonde stains: revealing lovely grain throughout and earning this pipe the CCC grade.