Ascorti KS Sandblasted Brandy Estate Briar Pipe, Italian Estates

Description

Ascorti belongs to a historic lineage in Italian artisan pipe-making. Guiseppe ‘Peppino’ Ascorti was first employed as a pipe-maker in the 1950s, in Carlo Scotti’s Castello workshop in Cantu. There he met Luigi Radice, and in the 1960s the two decided to leave Castello to create their own pipe-making workshop, under the name ‘Caminetto.’ At the end of the 1970s, Guiseppe Ascorti and Luigi Radice left Caminetto and once more decided to start new ventures. Luigi Radice founded the Radice pipe workshop, and Guiseppe’s son Roberto Ascorti, who had also worked in the Caminetto workshop since he was a child, decided to create a workshop under his own name. Roberto was joined not only by his father, but also many of the talented craftsmen who had formerly worked for Caminetto. In 1980, the Ascorti workshop was born.

It might seem strange to say, but if one wants a pipe that captures the aesthetics of the original Caminetto pipes today, it is not Caminetto where such pipes are to be found—it is, rather, Ascorti. That’s not to say that the present Caminetto workshop doesn’t produce excellent pipes (it most certainly does), but these pipes are, stylistically, very different from those of decades past. This is likely due to Ascorti preceding Caminetto in its current form and due to the Ascorti family re-acquiring Caminetto years later, but the point still stands: Ascorti carries the torch (excuse the pun) of those stout, slightly rugged, yet carefully crafted designs that first propelled the Ascorti and Radice families into pipe superstardom. This includes, as can be seen here, the signature, asymmetrical saddle stem of the old Caminetto.

The condition is good. Some rim darkening. The pipe comes with its original (slightly weathered) box.

 

Details:

Length: 6″ / 152.4mm

Bowl Width: 0.92 / 23.36mm

Bowl Depth: 1.59″ / 40.38mm

Weight: 2.1oz / 60g