Savinelli Autograph: ***Autograph Freestyle Panel Sandblasted Acorn Tobacco Pipe

Savinelli's Autograph is the Italian marque's limited-production, handmade series, utilizing specially aged extra-extra plateau briar and being crafted by only three of the brand's most experienced carvers. From start to finish, the process of crafting a single one of these pipes is handled by a single one of these veteran craftsmen, the series providing them with design freedom and allowing them to express their personal creativity. The Freestyle subseries defines pipes which push the envelope of pipe design, with particularly striking and unique profiles that are far removed from more traditional shapes. This Acorn is one such pipe, and its entire build is surrounded by a number of crisp panels, the bowl itself lined with six such panels. What results is an impressively firm profile that's still quite fluid in its curvature, especially through the stem, whose visual weight is centered on the transitional area. From this point, the shank lifts and expands outward, terminating in a face that's flattened and finished smooth where the stem meets the stummel. Said stem is a lengthy stretch of sunny acrylic whose saddle bit is smartly downturned for comfortable smoking, additionally extending the profile to more than seven inches long. The bowl here sits atop a firm heel and expands upward to a high-set waist before curving into the domed rim, its walls insulating a capacious chamber. Dressed in a crisp, earthy sandblast that reveals a wealth of handsome grain, the smooth briar at the shank face and rim offer rich contrast in concert with the stem.