Claudio Cavicchi: Brown Sandblasted Bent Brandy 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 also expertly shaped and precisely drilled. This bent Brandy is an impressively compact piece at just a touch over four and a half inches long, and it boasts a strikingly bent combination of shank and stem. The shank lifts out of a tight transition and tapers subtly to meet a sleek saddle stem of black acrylic, the acrylic's smart downturn offering a comfortable smoking posture that balances some of the bowl's visual weight. Said bowl stands atop a rounded, pronounced heel and boasts a low-set waist, with this waist marking the start of sleekly tapering walls that rise to a flat, smooth rim. A stout, Oom Paul-like piece, this pipe is primed for jaw-hanging or travel smoking, and it offers no shortage of muscular presence to appreciate in hand. The stummel here has been dressed in one of Cavicchi's excellent sandblasts and stained a rich auburn, Claudio's talent for shaping to the grain showcased in the rippling growth rings that cascade down the bowl.