Cavicchi 1C Smooth Pickaxe Estate Briar Pipe, Italian Estates

Description

In 1974, after growing impatient waiting for a pipe he’d ordered, Claudio Cavicchi decided he would simply make his own pipe instead. The former farmer from Bologna, Italy, spent the next 15 years making pipes, until his work took off and received widespread acclaim. Cavicchi’s pipe-making exploits have only become more renowned in the decades since, while his pipe-smoking exploits have earned him 1st place in numerous slow-smoking competitions.

Like many artisans of his generation, Claudio Cavicchi’s output is divided into various grading schemas. There are (in ascending price) his rusticated pipes, his black and brown sandblasted pipes, his brown, smooth pipes, and his graded pipes proper, which are for the most part differentiated by anywhere from 1-5 “C” stamps. This one is a very respectable 1C grade (though I personally would have bumped it up a little higher), taking the form of a pickaxe Dublin, dressed in the signature natural stain used for all of Cavicchi’s C grades. And, as with all of Cavicchi’s C grade pipes, this one exhibits beautiful straight grain all around its bowl.

The condition is good. Some darkening and general wear to the rim, and slight handling marks.

Details:

Length: 6″ / 152.4mm

Bowl Width: 0.88 / 22.35mm

Bowl Depth: 1.77″ / 44.95mm

Weight: 1.8oz / 52g