Savinelli Autograph (5) Partially Sandblasted Bent Billiard with Bamboo (Estate)

It is probably fair to say that Savinelli is Italy’s most famous pipe brand. Founded in Milan in 1876 by Achille Savinelli, the brand has continuously offered high quality pipes for nearly 150 years. Though various Savinelli lines have come and gone over the years, the brand has always been notable for putting out classically styled pipes with a distinctly Italian twist.

Like the Charatan freehand workshop in mid-20th century England, or Tsuge’s Ikebana workshop in late 20th century and 21st century Japan, Savinelli has its own, special area of the company’s campus reserved for master artisans, where non-standard pipe shapes are carved using techniques that are closer to handicraft than mechanized, mass production. The top of the line pipes produced in this workshop are the Savinelli Autograph pipes. Sometimes, these are hand-turned re-imaginings of more classic designs; other times, they’re pipes that are a little more like the Danish “fancy” freehands of Preben Holm et al.; and, most often, Autographs are somewhere in between, embodying a distinctly Italian approach to handmade pipes that sits about halfway between the English and Danish styles.

This one is a relatively rare example of an accented Autograph pipe, as today they’re most typically rendered using briar and acrylic. Even more rare is that the accent here is a shank extension cut from bamboo rod. Less surprising is the pipe’s oversized stature and immaculate ring grain finishing—that’s par for the course with high-end Savinellis.

The condition is great. Some finish fading, though not much else to report.

Details:

Length: 6.5″ / 165.1mm

Bowl Width: 0.89 / 22.60mm

Bowl Depth: 1.80″ / 45.72mm

Weight: 2.0oz / 58g