Radice Rind, 1984 Signed Luigi Radice Panel Briar Pipe, Italian Estates [SOLD OUT]

Description

Radice is one of the great Italian workshop pipe makes, belonging to a historic lineage of such workshops. The company began as a family affair, being established in 1980 by Luigi Radice, along with his son, Gianluca, and father, Paolo. But Radice’s pipe-making ‘family’ is a little larger than that. Prior to founding Radice, Luigi ran Caminetto, which he had founded with Guiseppe Ascorti in 1968. Prior to Caminetto, Radice had worked alongside Ascorti in the Castello factory, under the supervision of its owner, Carlo Scotti. It’s quite an impressive genealogy, which is clearly reflected in the quality of Radice pipes.

This particular Radice is a particularly rare specimen. Unlike most Radice pipes made during the brand’s existence, it is dated (dating was reintroduced in 2009) and what’s more, it features Luigi Radice’s signature stamped on the bottom of the bowl. I’m not entirely sure what the signature means, but I would guess that it either designates pipes made by Luigi Radice himself (as the Radice workshop began as a collaboration between Luigi, his father, and his son), or was a means of branding, as Luigi Radice was already famous for his work at Caminetto. Either way, it’s a very rare pipe – this is only the second I’ve ever seen (the first was on pipelogos) and the first I’ve ever held.

The pipe itself is a beautiful example of Radice’s Rind finish, a slightly lighter and more subtle take on traditional Italian rustication styles. It’s a fairly large pipe, being six inches in length, but it isn’t particularly heavy. The rim is a little darkened, but other than that it’s in a fantastic condition, with no discoloration of its finish or scratches on its lucite stem.

 

Details:

Length: 6″

Bowl Width: 22.9mm

Bowl Depth: 1.9″

Weight: 1.6oz / 47g