Autograph Smooth Freehand (8) (6mm) Tobacco Pipe

Achille Savinelli set out to break the Italian government's monopoly on tobacco when he opened his own smoke shop in Milan in 1876. Though clay and meerschaum ruled the pipe market in those days, Achille had faith that the briar pipes he designed and had manufactured in Varese would make a breakthrough, and he was right. Production of Savinelli pipes continues to this day, with its Autograph line representing the company's finest products. The line's incredibly high standards, including specially-selected briar, limit the number of Autographs Savinelli can make each year. Savinelli grades its best Autographs on a descending scale of 000, 00, and 0, followed by 8, 6, 5, 4, and 3.

This Freehand is graded "8" and displays fine plateau on the top of the ovoid bowl and the ovoid shank face, with even better flame grain draping the bowl and shank, and all of it easily accessible to the eyes thanks to a bright walnut stain and smooth finish. The bowl and shank take on a very unique orientation here, as the shank is quite large in circumference but deeply attached to the aft bowl — very little of the bowl's aft is shown before the transition to the top of the shank, that is. A checkmark-like shape separates the heel from the end of the shank, which reaches slightly below the heel in part. The black acrylic stem takes on a shapely, stylized silhouette just above the tenon, before transitioning to the traditional shape of a tapered stem.