Cavicchi Partially Sandblasted Billiard w/ Silver Estate Briar Pipe, Unsmoked

Description

In 1974, after growing impatient waiting for a pipe he’d ordered, Claudio Cavicchi decided he would simply make his own pipe instead. The former farmer from Bologna, Italy, spent the next 15 years making pipes, until his work took off and received widespread acclaim. Cavicchi’s pipe making exploits have only become more renowned in the decades since. Today, Cavicchi’s pipes hold a firm place at the top of an extraordinarily competitive Italian high-grades scene, being as carefully and meticulously crafted as they are beautiful. With this in mind, it should come as no surprise that Claudio himself is a world record holding slow smoking champion.

While today’s sandblasted Cavicchi pipes come in either a light brown or a near-black finish, there was a time when Claudio’s portfolio also included natural sandblasts, such as this one. Why he no longer appears to make the latter I confess I do not know, though I imagine it has something to do with the artisan’s staggeringly high standards. After all—and as is the case with natural sandblasts across the board—a high-grade pipe in such a finish has to be more or less perfect, i.e., free from flaws and with a grain structure that deserves to be left to its own devices. This billiard certainly meets those requirements, wearing a ring grain, tan blasted finish on par with Cavicchi’s counterparts in the American artisan scene, such as J.T. Cooke, Lee Von Erck, or Michael Parks. Another interesting facet regarding this pipe is that Claudio Cavicchi doesn’t tend to use accents on his sandblasted pipes these days either, meaning the sterling silver army mount on this one makes it an even rarer treat.

This pipe is completely unsmoked and comes with its original leather sleeve.

Details:

Length: 6.1″ / 154.9mm

Bowl Width: 0.88″ / 22.35mm

Bowl Depth: 1.90″ / 48.26mm

Weight: 2.1oz / 60g