Radice Clear F O Smooth Bent Billiard w/ Olivewood Estate Briar Pipe, Italian Estates

Description

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 Clear line is comprised of pipes with excellent grain, over which is laid a light blonde stain that allows this grain to express itself as clear as day. One step up from the Clear, however, is the “Fiammata” grade, an Italian term synonymous with straight grain and flame grain and which is, as such exclusively awarded to pipes with such extraordinary patterning. On Radice pipes, this is denoted by an “F” stamp, with this bent billiard rendition being a striking—and most certainly deserving—example. “O,” on the other hand, denotes pipes with a little something extra by way of accents and accoutrements. In this instance, that something extra is an olivewood inlay at the base of the stem, which, in addition to looking very tasteful, softens the transition in color between the bowl’s fiery blonde finish and the pipe’s jet-black Lucite stem.

The condition is very good. Slight scratches and darkening of the inner rim, and very minor finish fading.

Details:

Length: 5.9″ / 149.8mm

Bowl Width: 0.94 / 23.87mm

Bowl Depth: 1.66″ / 42.16mm

Weight: 2.6oz / 74g