Savinelli Autograph 5 XL Sandblasted Panel Horn Estate Briar Pipe, Italian Estates, 6mm

Description

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. In the case of this one, the design is, funnily enough, quite reminiscent of Savinelli’s “pipe of the year” aka the Collection, from 1991, given that it is also a paneled horn of sorts, dressed in a ring grain sandblast of a similar hue. This one is certainly a step-up size-wise from the Collection 1991, though, and includes a jagged, live plateaux rim.

The condition is very good. Minor inner rim darkening and slight finish fading. As with most modern Savinelli pipes, this Autograph is chambered to fit 6mm filters, such as Savinelli’s own balsa filters, if preferred, but will perform perfectly well without one.

Details:

Length: 6.2″ / 157.4mm

Bowl Width: 0.93 / 23.62mm

Bowl Depth: 2.05″ / 52.07mm

Weight: 2.8oz / 82g