Radice Bark (O) (Oil Cured) (Twin Bore) Partially Rusticated Hawkbill with Faux Bamboo (Estate)

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.

Radice’s portfolio includes a variety of extra design elements that are, on occasion, incorporated into a given pipe. Usually it’s just the one, but, on occasion, a pipe will incorporate many different elements at the same time, which is reflected in a somewhat complex nomenclature. This is one such example; on the one hand, it’s a classic Italian-style hawkbill; on the other, there’s a lot going on “under the hood,” so to speak.

For instance, it features a signature decorative element in the form of a faux bamboo carving at its shank, hence the pipe’s “O” stamp. It is also a twin-bore pipe, with an airway that splits into two directions at the mouthpiece. Furthermore, it is one of a small number of Radice pipes that undergo a special oil curing procedure during their creation, which enhances their aesthetic and functional properties.

As if that wasn’t enough, this Radice is even more unusual than its counterparts in the contemporary, as it wears the currently discontinued Bark finish. Craggier than the Rind and less figural than the Underwood, it was a wonderfully craggy series of pipes made until around the mid-2000s, but which has since ceased to be.

The condition is very good. Some minor wear to the rim and slight handling marks.

Details:

Length: 5.7″ / 144.7mm

Bowl Width: 0.86 / 21.84mm

Bowl Depth: 1.74″ / 44.19mm

Weight: 1.9oz / 56g