Cavicchi CCC Smooth Volcano Estate Briar Pipe, Unsmoked

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.

I think this might be the first Italian pipe I’ve seen to employ a technique used occasionally by Preben Holm. By this I mean not just incorporating briar plateau into a pipe design, but by putting it on the bottom of the pipe. This might not seem like much of a big deal, but in this instance, it’s actually pretty ingenious. The reason for this is that, with a block of plateau briar, the striations that travel from the center of the briar to its plateau edge naturally “fan” out. This means, for a conventional Danish-style freehand, orienting the plateau at the pipe’s rim can allow you to capture these striations in the form of straight grain patterns. But what happens if you invert the briar block? Well, if you’re skilled enough, you might make a remarkable looking volcano – which is exactly what Claudio Cavicchi has done here.

The only thing more remarkable than the design and grain of this pipe is that it is completely unsmoked. Having come to us via our trade-in program from the estate of an Italian high-grades collector. The pipe also comes with its original, Italian leather sleeve.

 

Details:

Length: 6″ / 152.4mm

Bowl Width: 0.85 / 21.59mm

Bowl Depth: 1.92″ / 48.76mm

Weight: 2.8oz / 80g