As I've gotten into the habit of purchasing pipes for myself around my birthday, this year I decided I needed an Italian pipe. Up to now, I've managed to amass pipes from Ireland (2), Denmark (2), Turkey (1), and Germany (1).
Ardor is a top end brand of which most new pipes sell for $350 to over $500. I wanted to add to the quality of my collection, but I didn't want to break the bank doing it. This pipe was offered as a barely used estate pipe at smokingpipes.com, my favorite online pipe retailer.
The things that drew me to this pipe were the sort of calabash shape, the rustication with the smooth rim, and the red satin bit, which just seemed to complement the rough textures beyond.
It's not as heavy as it looks, though somewhat long with an extra wide bit. It's not as comfortable just resting in my teeth and suits itself better to remaining in hand when smoked. It has a large chamber and does seem to collect more moisture than some of my other pipes. Truth be told, I mostly smoke aromatics in this. I think they lend themselves to the "fantasy" more than an English blend would.
I wasn't sure what put the "fantasy" in this pipe. We can see the refinement in the acrylic cap at the end of the shank, the blue dot is a mark of the highest level of craftsmanship at Ardor, and of course it has the sparkling silver ring just before the tenon. The rim is smooth and has beautiful birdseye, swirls reminiscent of a chain of storms. I think the fantasy is everything in between. As the edge of the rim approaches the rustication it starts to break off, unevenly itself. Intentional, though it is, it hearkens back to days when the tools weren't available to create a perfect cut in wood as hard as briar. Indeed, the deeply gouged exterior looks of charred wood or root and deliberately avoids any semblance being a planned shape. The rough cut with the finer details seems to feel very much at home in the shire.
Happy Puffing!
T
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