Claudio Cavicchi: Smooth Bent Dublin with Spalted Beechwood (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. 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 Dublin. The bowl here immediately draws the eye and cements itself as the visual center of this pipe, standing atop a flat, ridgeline-wrapped base and growing thick walls that taper toward a mid-set waist. This slight pinch at the waistline emphasizes the presence of the upper bowl as it flares out to a flat rim and cants forward dynamically. A wide transition out back gives way to a short, subtly lifted shank that reaches out to meet a broad, domed accent of spalted beechwood at a slim band of black acrylic, enhancing the visual presence of the junction. A short saddle stem of black acrylic curves gingerly at the bit, poising this pipe for comfortable smoking and slenderizing the aft side a touch while introducing some understated contrast against the stummel and accent band. Dressed in one of Cavicchi's iconic honey-blonde finishes and graded five "C"'s out of five, the bowl is wrapped in dense flame grain and representative of some of Cavicchi's best work.