Radice: Rind Aero Reverse Calabash Bent Billiard with Faux Bamboo Tobacco Pipe

Stout, chubby, and housing a vast internal condensation chamber within its shank, Radice's Aero designs are the perfect fusion of playful aesthetics and functional practicality. They've become quite popular since their release years ago, and aside from just being downright charming, they also represent Gigi and sons' long tradition of pipe making — it actually being a multi-generational series. This bent Billiard shape is one of the more curvaceous pipes in the Aero series, and it's compact muscularity is showcased well through the thick shank and robust bowl. Said bowl stands on a firm heel and tapers sleekly to the rim, its firmness balanced by a smartly curved shank-and-stem combination that's poised for comfortable smoking: the shank showcasing a faux bamboo carving that replicates a single knuckle of the dense grass' flared nodes here. Dressed in a craggy rustication and warm stain, this pipe boasts ample texture throughout its stummel.

Luigi Radice was born in 1939 and began his career working with briar in 1961, finding employment at the venerable Castello workshop. While working for the now legendary brand, Luigi met Giuseppe Ascorti, and the two left together in 1968 to found Caminetto, where he stayed for 12 years, before departing to establish Radice in 1980. With help from his son, Gianluca, and his father, Paolo, Luigi began producing pipes in a striking neoclassical style which quickly amassed acclaim from enthusiasts of such stylized works. Luigi was later joined by his other son, Marzio, and the family-run workshop has since become known not just for their unique take on the neoclassical style of pipe making, but their singular accenting and finishing techniques.