Savinelli Hand Made Smooth Bent Billiard Estate Briar Pipe, Unsmoked, 6mm

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.

Savinelli’s “Hand Made” pipes are slightly mysterious. That Savinelli produces handmade pipes is not a mystery; the company has had a dedicated workshop for freehand pipes for decades, with the flagship series from that workshop being the Autograph. But while there are a few other non-Autograph handmade Savinellis (such as the Mignon, or the Artisan), the nature of the series whose name is simply “Hand Made” is still debated. Perhaps they’re Autograph seconds, as some have suggested, or perhaps they were simply another subseries, like the aforementioned Artisan, made in Savinelli’s freehand workshop, but which is not an Autograph.

Whatever the case, all of the Hand Mades I’ve seen thus far have been excellent pipes. This one has a strikingly classical theme to it, especially for a hand-turned Savinelli. Though it’s certainly larger than the early briars of England and France, its claret-hued bowl and amber-toned mouthpiece are strongly evocative of the pipes of old. A closer inspection of the bowl, however, reveals a remarkable consistency of straight grain patterns, something far more typical of Savinelli’s more modern, high-end output.

This pipe is completely unsmoked. As with most modern Savinelli pipes, it is chambered to allow for the use of 6mm filters, such as Savinelli’s own balsa filters, if desired, but will perform perfectly well without one.

Details:

Length: 6.1″ / 154.9mm

Bowl Width: 0.82″ / 20.82mm

Bowl Depth: 1.86″ / 47.24mm

Weight: 2.3oz / 66g