Calibano (Mastro de Paja) 107 S C4 Sandblasted Bent Billiard Estate Briar Pipe, Unsmoked

I have seen many references to Calibano pipes as a Mastro de Paja “second,” and while they were made by Mastro de Paja, to call them “seconds” is not entirely accurate. Instead, Calibano was a Mastro de Paja sub brand, and specifically one through which Mastro de Paja offered something more akin to a factory pipe. In other words, while just about every Mastro de Paja pipe is handmade in the Italian workshop tradition, with the typical result being that each has been unique, Calibano pipes were made with the use of fraising machines and, as such, were offered in a roster of set shapes and finishes. It’s a little like Savinelli’s establishment of the Autograph workshop, but in reverse; instead of starting out a factory make and branching out into freehand pipes, Calibano was a case of a freehand pipe workshop branching out into factory briars.

The “107” was one of the larger bent billiards offered by Mastro de Paja’s Calibano make, with proportions nearing that of, say, a group 5 Dunhill of a similar shape. Furthering that English connection, this one is dressed in Calibano’s “C4” orange-tan sandblast finish, which in this instance has yielded an impressively deep and consistent ring grain relief.

This pipe is completely unsmoked.

Details:

Length: 6.1″ / 154.9mm

Bowl Width: 0.83 / 21.08mm

Bowl Depth: 1.76″ / 44.70mm

Weight: 1.8oz / 52g