Luciano 2012 89 C Smooth Squat Bulldog Estate Briar Pipe, Unsmoked

Description

Those who were around during the 2010s may remember Luciano pipes. They were the creation of Luca di Piazza, owner of the now seemingly defunct Italian retailer NeatPipes, and were very well received when they made their American debut. First produced in partnership with Radice, then by Italian artisan Davide Iafisco, and including some designs co-created with GL Pease, Luciano became a go-to for a high quality, reasonably priced, Italian pipe. By the end of the 2010s, however, Neat Pipes, and Luciano with it, had all but disappeared, with production presumed to have ceased.

As with some other Luciano pipes listed recently, this one looks to be from the “Iafisco” years, i.e., after production of Luciano pipes were moved “in house” and made by Davide Iafisco and co., rather than outsourced. At the same time, a house shape chart and choice of finishes was formally established for the Luciano make (though other, non-standard freehand shapes were also produced). This one is a shape 89 in the high-grade “Clear” finish (an Italian colloquialism for smooth natural finishes) and, again like another recent Luciano, it is eminently traditional in shaping. As a distinctly squat bulldog, it calls back to the early decades of Anglo-French pipe supremacy, and even bears a quite strong resemblance to very early, stubbier renditions of the Dunhill Quaint shape O.

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

Details:

Length: 5″ / 127.0mm

Bowl Width: 0.80 / 20.32mm

Bowl Depth: 1.18″ / 29.97mm

Weight: 1.6oz / 46g