Claudio Cavicchi (CCCC) Smooth Acorn (Estate)

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.

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: not only does Claudio Cavicchi produce some of the finest pipes on the market today, but he is also once of the most versatile pipe makers alive. He can turn an Anglo-French large billiard with grain comparable to the highest grades on the Dunhill Dead Root line, an Italian-style Dublin leagues ahead of most of his compatriots, or indeed a Danish horn that one might mistake for the work of Jess Chonowitsch.

Speaking of Chonowitsch, this one takes the form of a squat, bulbous acorn rendition that one might easily mistake for a work of the late, great, Danish master, or indeed of contemporaries like Nanna Ivarsson. Not only is it beautifully plump, of course, but it’s also superbly grained, earning four “C”s within Cavicchi’s 1-5 “C” system for his higher-end smooth-finished works.

The condition is very good. Some inner rim darkening, slight finish fading, and minor handling marks.

Details:

Length: 6.1″ / 154.9mm

Bowl Width: 0.83 / 21.08mm

Bowl Depth: 1.70″ / 43.18mm

Weight: 2.8oz / 80g