Radice (2011) Silk Cut Sandblasted Billiard with Briar Insert, Estate Briar Pipe

Radice is one of the great Italian workshop pipe makes, belonging to a historic lineage of such workshops. The company began as a family affair, being established in 1980 by Luigi Radice, along with his son, Gianluca, and father, Paolo. But Radice’s pipe making “family” is a little larger than that. Prior to founding Radice, Luigi ran Caminetto, which he had founded with Guiseppe Ascorti in 1968. Prior to Caminetto, Radice had worked alongside Ascorti in the Castello factory, under the supervision of its owner, Carlo Scotti. It’s quite an impressive genealogy, which is clearly reflected in the quality of Radice pipes.

Following the first dissolution of Caminetto at the end of the 1970s, Luigi Radice and Guiseppe Ascorti parted ways to found their own workshops. Stylistically, Ascorti chose to continue making pipes much like he had done at Caminetto; Radice, on the other hand, decided to pursue a largely different aesthetic. The Silk Cut was Radice’s new sandblast finish for his new venture, one that moved away from Caminetto’s relatively simple Sable D’Or and in the direction of more modern contrast stains. This billiard, for instance, wears a crisp blast that’s accentuated by a black and tan contrast finish, which it juxtaposes with a long smooth section of briar by way of a distinctive stem insert.

The condition is good. Some inner rim charring and general finish fading.

Details:

Length: 6.1″ / 152.4mm

Bowl Width: 0.85 / 21.59mm

Bowl Depth: 1.77″ / 44.95mm

Weight: 2.0oz / 58g