Black Sandblasted Bent Brandy with Olivewood Tobacco Pipe

Claudio Cavicchi is not only a renowned pipe maker but also a renowned pipe smoker, having won the Committee International of Pipe Smokers Clubs' slow smoking world championship in 1993 by keeping three grams of tobacco lit for just over three hours and nine minutes. Cavicchi only took up pipe making full-time after a 30-year farming career, turning his first pipe when he decided to make his own Oom Paul rather than continuing to wait for delivery of one he already ordered. Cavicchi pipes are known for their superior grain, with former Pipes and tobaccos magazine editor Chuck Stanion remarking that their titular maker "can read briar as though it were a printed page."

This bent Brandy of Cavicchi's making is sandblasted beautifully to emphasize the grain beneath the finish and dark stain. The shaping of the bowl is typical of the Brandy, with the walls sloping in straight lines from the generous, round heel up to a flat, level rim. The bowl is backed by an upturned, flaring shank capped by a thin strip of smoothly finished briar and a wide accent ring of lovely olivewood. The stem behind the olivewood is a saddle-style length of black acrylic, tapering back from broad, round shoulders. Cavicchi's subtle splashes of color and great command of the briar make this piece an excellent take on the bent Brandy, and one that will be at home in any collection of fine Italian craftsmanship.