Chacom 2018 Pipe of the Year Sandblasted Cutty Estate Briar Pipe, Unsmoked

Description

Chacom is one of France’s most historic and iconic makes. Its founders, the Comoy family, began their career as boxwood pipe-makers in the early 1800s, before briar had even been discovered, with Henri Comoy (of Comoy’s fame) emigrating to England in 1879 and founding the country’s first briar pipe factory. In 1922, Henri and his nephews, the Chapuis, founded the Chapuis Comoy pipe factory in Saint-Claude, France, which shortly after began producing pipes bearing the partnered families’ names—“Cha” for Chapuis, and “Com” for Comoy. Chacom has been the biggest name in French pipes ever since.

Since 1978, Chacom has released its own, special “Pipe of the Year,” with each annual release being a unique design limited to no more than 1245 pieces. Sometimes these pipes are designed for Chacom by close friends and collaborators of the company, such as Pierre Morel, and sometimes the designs are done in-house by Chacom’s resident maîtres-pipiers. The 2018 model, seen here, was an example of the latter, conceived by Chacom’s current director, Antoine Grenard. Grenard is credited with revitalizing Chacom pipes in the 2000s, helping to expand the company’s roster of shapes and finishes and provide something of a modern touch to the historic make. In the case of the 2018 Pipe of the Year, Grenard created this beautifully supple, egg-cutty hybrid, evoking both early French briars and the pioneering artisans of post-war Denmark. As an extra contemporary touch, each 2018 model—this being the sandblasted variant—was fitted with a hand-cut cumberland mouthpiece, rather than the standard vulcanite and black acrylic Chacom typically employs.

This pipe is completely unsmoked.

Details:

Length: 6.2″ / 157.4mm

Bowl Width: 0.83 / 21.08mm

Bowl Depth: 1.77″ / 44.95mm

Weight: 1.4oz / 42g