Castello “Castello” 4K Smooth Canadian Estate Briar Pipe, Italian Estates

Description

Founded in 1947 by Carlo Scotti, Castello quickly became known for producing some of the finest smoking pipes in the world. Over the years, the people involved in making Castello pipes has changed – such as Luigi Radice and Sergio Ascorti, who developed their skills in the Cantu workshop before leaving to start Caminetto, or the handing of the reigns of the company to Francisco ‘Kino’ Coppo after Scotti’s passing – but the superlative quality of Castello pipes has not. It is not without reason that Castello is known as ‘the Italian Dunhill.’

The “Castello” was, for a long time, Castello’s signature, strawberry-blonde finish (the line has since branched out into other variations), occupying a middle position between the workshop’s entry-level smooth line, the Trademark, and the typically lighter hues of the Collection line. In other words, it’s something of a quintessential Italian pipe, one with plenty of history behind it. And, as with most Castello smooths, it is graded based on grain quality and size. As this pipe was made between the end of the 1960s and the beginning of the 1980s, it uses an uppercase “K” system, running from one “K” to four “K”s. This is a four-out-of-four “K” grade within the “Castello” bracket, with plenty of straight grain circling its bowl. On a last note, though Castello pipes are not typically stamped with a shape code, this one looks to be a rendition of their “33” Canadian, an iconic, muscular re-imagining of the great Anglo-French staple.

The condition is fair. Some rim charring, handling marks, and a few scratches around the bowl and shank.

 

Details:

Length: 5.8″ / 147.3mm

Bowl Width: 0.88 / 22.35mm

Bowl Depth: 1.73″ / 43.94mm

Weight: 1.8oz / 52g