Brebbia First Sabbiata 6013 Sandblasted Bent Billiard w/ Silver Estate Briar Pipe, Italian Estates

Description

Named for the company’s home township, Brebbia was founded in 1953 by Enea Buzzi, an alum of Savinelli’s manufacturing division. Still in operation 70 years later, Brebbia is one of Italy’s oldest extant pipe companies, with production still being undertaken using simple lathes and traditional methods of hand finishing. More recently, Brebbia has also collaborated with master artisan carvers from across to design some of its pipes, such as Denmark’s Rainer Barbi, Germany’s Otto Pollner and Holger Frickert, Italy’s Fausto Fincato, and Japan’s Tsuge.

Though slightly confusing in the English-speaking world, Brebbia’s “First” series are, in fact, their “top quality” pipes, i.e., in the English sense of “first place.” Brebbia’s “Prima” series, on the other hand, are their entry-level pipes, i.e., in the English sense of a “first pipe.” This one is a lovely, sandblasted (hence “Sabbiata”) bent billiard, with a silver collar. Curiously, it features something I’ve noticed on quite a few Italian pipes from various makes, but which was conceived in a different country altogether. That extra something is a “space-fitting” fitment, i.e., a tenon slightly longer than a flush fit would permit, resulting in a “gap” between the base of the stem and the end of the shank. This style of fitment originated with the Irish make Peterson, and remains on their Deluxe System models (and a few others) to this day. Thus far I’ve seen this distinctive design choice replicated on Mastro de Paja, Cavicchi, and Brebbia pipes, and I’ve become even more fond of it in the process.
On a final note, I’m fairly sure this Brebbia First model has been discontinued, making it a nice, uncommon find.

The condition is fair. Some inner rim charring, leaving the chamber slightly out of round, and some general handling marks and finish fading.

 

Details:

Length: 5.7″ / 144.7mm

Bowl Width: 0.77 / 19.55mm

Bowl Depth: 1.44″ / 36.57mm

Weight: 1.7oz / 50g