Rustication Outmoded?

mso489 · Apr 2, 2013

I have only one sandblasted pipe, a Joh's diplomat with a walnut grain band. All of my other pipes are smooth, smooth and carved, smooth with

some rustication, or rusticated. I can see that sandblasting took textured pipe bowls and stems to a whole new level, using the grain in the wood

as the pattern for giving it texture, rather than imposing a carved or machined-in pattern. Still, I enjoy the texture provided by rustication, and

I don't find the entirely rusticated bowls breathe less well. In fact, they show less wear. Many smooth bowls tend to matte out somewhat -- an

effect I like, as giving a pipe character, but certainly a sign of wear. So I wonder if rustication is on its way out or if it will hang on as one

alternative way to finish pipe bowls. If it goes way out of style, it may actually be a virtue, dating pipes and giving them that certain look,

like tail fins on collector cars. What's your take on rustication? Love it, hate it, ambivalent, or indifferent? Have you bought a rusticated pipe

in the recent past?

cortezattic · Apr 2, 2013

Now that arthritis has reared its ugly head, I find smooth pipes too difficult to hold securely.

So I favor rusticateds and sandblasts since the texture helps fingers that can't squeeze tightly any more.

numbersix · Apr 2, 2013

Funny how tastes change. There was a time when I could not imagine smoking a rusticated pipe - just didn't like them.
I own a few rusticated pipes and I like them - but it depends on each individual pipe since they are somewhat of an artistic interpretation. Generally speaking I prefer sandblast over rusticated, but there are fewer well-done sandblasts that I can afford.

john218 · Apr 2, 2013

I think the rusticated finish has been raised to an art form by the Italian pipe makers and is used by many of the highly regarded pipe makers. The Castello Sea Rock finish is one example.
There are also the carved finishes which I consider a separate category, such as the Dripped Wax Finish or the Radice New Dear finish.
I have some Italian pipes with rusticated finishes and I they think are really nice looking pipes.
I can't see rusticated or carved finishes ever going out of style.

salewis · Apr 2, 2013

Rustication is definitely here to stay. Cavicchi has used it very effectively and a unique rustication, almost a carving is Ascorti's New Dear series.

teufelhund · Apr 2, 2013

The smaller a pipe is the more I tend to like texture either sandblasting or rustication (including partial) It just gives it that something extra. As pipes get bigger though the more I appreciate smooth bowls and looking at the grain of the briar. And I'll just throw this out there; regardless of which of these the pipe most represents I just can't help but love the plateau on a nice top cut piece.

homeatsea · Apr 2, 2013

I think rustication gets a bad name because it can indeed (and I'm sure many times it is) be used by an artist as a way out of a mistake on a smooth finish. And/or because it is viewed as more simple than a sandblast, especially in that it ignores the briar's grain for the most part.
However, I think that rustication can be beautiful and give a pipe a meaning or dimension to it's owner that a sandblast or a smooth finish couldn't achieve. I personally own only one rusticated pipe and I believe that the finish fits the other qualities of the pipe perfectly and I wouldn't have it any other way.
Therefore, I think rustication will always have it's place among pipe finishes, although it may fluctuate in popularity at any given time.

petergunn · Apr 2, 2013

I'll admit to a bias against rustication but if the process can save a pipe from being scrapped out that can't be a bad thing. As to whether it's outmoded I think just the opposite, if there's ever (for whatever reason) a debasement of the briar supply rustication would keep pipes on the market.

sasquatch · Apr 2, 2013

As long as people use briar for pipes, there will be rusticated pipes, it's literally that simple.
Lots of briar is perfectly sound, well cured, good smoking and ... just plain ugly. Bad cutting, bad grain, just the way the root grew... not every block is great looking. And that's the ones that have no outright flaws. And yes, rustication often hides flaws - you are trusting the maker to not be hiding any life-threatening flaws.
So you take an average or plain washy-grain cross-cut block, you make a pipe from it and nobody wants it. Texture the hell out of it, call it something neat, and it sells.
Sandblasting requires very good briar as well, and thinking that you'll remove a flaw by sandblasting is pretty backward - usually they get worse! So there's a large percentage of pipes where the maker is left with a pretty ordinary at best finish, and texturing the pipe somehow lends visual and tactile appeal.
I really enjoy rusticated pipes, I have a lot of them, and it's never been something that I thought of as sub-standard. As a maker, I enjoy carving the textures and presenting a pipe with a more laid-back finish once in awhile.

pitchfork · Apr 2, 2013

Rustication can be very artfully done. Here's a really cool example:

I like this one as well:

briarben · Apr 3, 2013

Wow! those are beautiful. I actually lean towards rustication. It gives a pipe character or uniqueness.

guhrillastile · Apr 3, 2013

I look at them on a case by case basis. Some I see and they are striking and I whole heartedly feel its beauty just blooms and beams, but then one right next to it just looks awful and indeed like a bristling briar trainwreck. For some reason I typically much prefer the very dark rusticated specimens.
For some other reason I am crowning myself king of run-on sentencing this morning....

petergunn · Apr 3, 2013

But a spectacular rustication takes more thought and artistic accumen. Well done, it's quite amazing.

Northern Briars rustication looks much more palatable to me then say the Donegal line from Peterson so yeah artistic acumen does make a difference and if I wanted to buy a rusticated it would definitely be from an artisan.

shaintiques · Apr 3, 2013

I am a wood guy and personally love to see the grain and natural beauty of wood. I do however own a couple rusticated pipes, but just can't bring myself to rusticatimg a perfectly nice piece of wood while pipe making.

rmbittner · Apr 3, 2013

I don't call the work done by Castello, Ascorti, and Radice "rustication," although I guess technically that's the category where their work sometimes falls.
To me, "rustication" means those awful claw marks, gouges, and random patterns that people carve on lower-quality pipes to remove flaws that can't be fixed with fills. I can't stand those and would never buy a pipe that had rustication of that type.
Bob

cigrmaster · Apr 3, 2013

I do not buy pipes that are rusticated anymore. I just like the look of a nice ring grain blast much better and the cost is not that much more so I would rather pay the extra money for a great blast. I do have 6 rusticated pipes in my collection and all but two were bought years ago and they smoke very well so I will definitely keep them. All of mine are Italian made pipes.
1970's Caminetto

Mastro De Paja bent Apple.

My first pipe I ever bought, Savinelli Linea Piu 5

1970's Caminetto

Don Carlos Billiard

The last rusticated pipe I bought was last summer and it is an Ardor Urano Fantasy bent apple.

chubbster · Apr 3, 2013

I don't care for smooths. I like rusticated, when done well, and blasts.
Check out Larry Roush and his rustication. I have one and it is one of the best feeling pipe in own. A joy to smoke and hold and look at.

mso489 · Apr 4, 2013

pitchfork, that first photo of the rusticated pipes is really amazing. The surfaces look like the old Damascus steel shotgun barrels,

with the metal hammered into form. I have a weakness (it seems) for obviously tooled-in carving. I saw a good-sized La Rocca

poker at my local independent pipe shop, and I resisted for a month. But when I went back, I'd decided, if it was still there, I'd buy it,

and i did. It is not high art, just little loop patterns all over the pipe, on the bowl, bottom, rim and stem. It looks kind of folksy

and unpretentious, but I have the sense, with time, it will be quite distinctive. Wear can take away the clumsiness and give a pipe

character.

ohin3 · Apr 4, 2013

I do love a well done rustication. I sometimes fondle this pipe while thinking or pricing something just because I love the way it feels in my hand. Smokes like a dream too.

Rustication Outmoded?

Log in

SmokingPipes.com Updates

PipesMagazine Approved Sponsor

Site Sponsors

PipesMagazine Approved Sponsor

PipesMagazine Approved Sponsor

PipesMagazine Approved Sponsor

PipesMagazine Approved Sponsor

Lifer

Lifer

Lifer

Part of the Furniture Now

Can't Leave

Lifer

Part of the Furniture Now

Starting to Get Obsessed

Lifer

Lifer

Lurker

Starting to Get Obsessed

Starting to Get Obsessed

Lifer

Lifer

Lifer

Starting to Get Obsessed

Lifer

Lifer