Radice Collect Silk Cut XXL Sandblasted Freehand 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.

Like Castello’s Great Line and Big Line, Radice’s Collect grade pipes are among the workshop’s largest and rarest creations. They are also, however, avenues for the workshop to explore shapes and styles of pipes that are distinct from other, more typical Radice designs. This one, for example, is a pocket-magnum sized freehand that could almost pass for something out of Denmark, especially with its Lucite mount. The finishing—Radice’s signature Silk Cut sandblast—is far more Italian, however, showcasing the distinctive “webbed” relief of interlaced grain patterns inherent to a good, plateaux briar block.

The condition is great. Some rim darkening.

Details:

Length: 7″ / 177.8mm

Bowl Width: 1.04 / 26.41mm

Bowl Depth: 2.06″ / 52.32mm

Weight: 3.2oz / 92g