Claudio Cavicchi: Smooth Dublin (CCCC) 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. It's not often that Cavicchi crafts straight renditions of the Dublin, and when he does, they are occasionally possessed of just the barest touch of curvature, though not in this case. The shank-and-stem combination here is straight and cylindrical, with an easy taper present through the shank, while the stem presents a slightly more accelerated taper that focuses further attention on the fore. Up front, a sweeping heel supports the bowl, which grows dramatically expanding walls that flare out to a vast rim crowned with plateau, with a bit of compression at its flanks resulting in an expansive ovoid shape fairly unique among Dublins. Dressed in one of Cavicchi's iconic honey-blonde finishes and graded four C's out of five, the bowl is wrapped in dense flame grain that extends through the flanks of the shank, while a basin of birdseye covers the underside.