Claudio Cavicchi: Smooth Bent Dublin (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 ensure that his pipes are not only beautiful, but expertly shaped and precisely drilled. This bent Dublin is a fluidly curved piece from the Italian artisan, its outline contributing to a comfortable smoking posture and a gestural character. A wide transition gives way to a comparatively lengthy shank that lifts and forms a seamless junction with a sleek saddle stem of demurely curved black acrylic. Up front, the bowl stands atop a muscular heel, its walls taking on a measured flare out to a broad, plateau-crowned rim. Said 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iconic honey-blonde finishes and graded five C's out of five, this pipe ranks as one of Cavicchi's best works, only superseded by the super-rare "Perla" and nigh-unobtainable "Diamante." The bowl is wrapped in a dense wreath of flame and straight grain, with striations pushing through the flanks of the shank, the underside here covered in an expansive display of birdseye.