Claudio Cavicchi: Smooth Poker (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 also expertly shaped and precisely drilled. This is a rather timeless take on the Poker shape, though it's one that's built in the tradition of Italian neoclassicism, being an appreciably large interpretation of the shape. Hearty and robust, this pipe is a stable sitter, with a broad, flattened heel supporting the bowl and allowing the entire piece to rest comfortably on a flat surface. The bowl itself features a slight pinch at the middle and grows thick, nearly cylindrical walls that cant forward understatedly as they rise to a domed rim. Raised well above the heel, the wide transition gives way to a gently lifting shank that reaches out at a slight angle to meet a slender saddle stem of black acrylic. Dressed in one of Cavicchi's iconic honey-blonde stains and graded three C's out of five, this pipe displays dense flame grain surrounding the bowl and rich birdseye across the rim and underside.