Rinaldo: Sahara Bent Billiard (YYY) Tobacco Pipe

Elio and Guido Rinaldo have been making pipes together since 1974, getting their start in one of Pesaro's major workshops before establishing their own brand, Rinaldo, in 1987. To this day, every pipe produced by the workshop is crafted solely by the two brothers, with the utmost attention paid to every aspect of the pipes' performance and comfort, both in hand and between the teeth. This bent Billiard is something of a portmanteau of its namesake shape, the Calabash, and the Pot, with a remarkable sinuousness about its shank and stem combination. The transition is tight, and the shank is thick, taking on a sleek taper as it curls upward to meet a stylized stem of tapering amber acrylic. This stem boasts a pinched base with an expansion ring near the bit, and it does well to balance some of the bowl's visual weight. Said bowl stands on a sweeping heel and grows thick walls that rise to a flat rim, the thickness of the shank and height of the transition lending the bowl a squat look reminiscent of the Pot. The ample curvature on display poises this piece for comfortable smoking, and it's been dressed in a crisp sandblast and warm stain.