1970s Unsmoked Castello Sea Rock bent Billiard with Military Mount

[Ben.R.C]

Are the Castello pipes with the gem in the stem the Carlo models? And the newer ones with the stripe style mark the Kino? I wondered why they changed their marque.

The gem is not a real gem, but it’s still a nice touch, I think they might still do it sometimes? Someone else might have more details.

 

[Ben.R.C]

I got some 60s Castellos that are made like that and have never had a problem. Often the "sticking" problem is caused by the pipe needing a good cleaning and a little heat or cold can unstick it.

Good to know, thanks!

 

[Ben.R.C]

Castello's are hard to resist once you try one. I've always felt that Castello always made the finest factory pipes in the world. Many people think otherwise.

As far as Italian pipes, I’ve had Caminettos and Ser Jacabos, I traded them for Castellos eventually. Lol. All fine pipes of course, just prefer Castello.

 

[Searock Fan]

The stem "fusing" is probably because of tobacco juice that has dried on it and is acting like a glue. Overnight in the frig and then a gentle rocking and twisting will usually fix it. Then give it a good cleaning. If the frig doesn't work try the freezer. By the way... sweet pipe.

 

[gwtwdbss]

I like the stems with the bar the best. I have one with the older stem with the “Diamond” inlay but it was drilled at a size that made it draw more like a Dunhill. I like my Italian pipes with a wide open draw and can easily pass a fluffy pipe cleaner.

I drilled mine out a wee bit and it smokes great now. Although I realize that I have lessened the value of the pipe, I enjoy smoking it much more now. It draws more like my newer Castellos with the bar inlay.

 

[Ben.R.C]

I never wound up getting this pipe, I think it may be available if anyone is interested.

 

[warren99]

Castello's original logo was a white bar. When they started to export to the U.S. they discovered there was already a brand here called "White Bar" with a similar logo. They created the "diamond" logo for their export pipes.

Wally Frank was the one who had already registered the white bar trademark in the US when Castello started importing to the States.

 

[warren99]

Beware of the design itself.

The way Castello executed it, anyway.

The shank extension is made from the same material as the stem, and the two can actually fuse together under the right conditions.

The catch is no one knows exactly what those conditions are. Some combination of surface contact area, pressure, heat, etc., of course, but not knowing precisely means it's a matter of luck that not much can be done to avoid. One day you give the stem a twist and it she no move. Try to force it, and the extension shears from the shank or the stem snaps.

I've lost count of the number of cases I've seen. One sent to me by one of the most well known pipemen in the world, so it's not a lack of experience thing, either.

I have two military mount Castellos with the shank extension and have never had that problem. i guess I’ve been lucky So far.

 

[georged]

I have two military mount Castellos with the shank extension and have never had that problem. i guess I’ve been lucky So far.

It appears to be an inadvertent case of friction welding.

Investigating friction spin welding of thermoplastics in shear joint configuration - SN Applied Sciences

The welding of thermoplastic pipes under a shear joint configuration using friction spin welding is investigated. The shear joint configuration consists of two cylindrical and concentric polypropylene plastic parts joined with each other at their interfacing cylindrical surfaces through...

link.springer.com

No doubt the joint clearance, cross sectional accuracy of the mortise & tenon (deviation from perfect circularity), what chemicals have recently been in contact with the surfaces, and etc. must be combinatorially exactly a certain way for it to happen, but it absolutely can. I've seen maybe 20 cases over the years. Might-as-well-be-a-single-piece acrylic stem fused into a shank extension made of the same stuff.

If the stem is misaligned / crooked / etc when it freezes, the fix ranges from difficult to impossible. If it happens with things lined up, long term use of the pipe depends on how much it is smoked, and what is smoked in it.

The takeaway is the situation becomes a non-issue if dissimilar materials are used for the extension and stem to start with (or at least where they make contact, such as by sleeving the shank).

 

[oldgeezersmoker]

Beware of the design itself.

The way Castello executed it, anyway.

The shank extension is made from the same material as the stem, and the two can actually fuse together under the right conditions.

The catch is no one knows exactly what those conditions are. Some combination of surface contact area, pressure, heat, etc., of course, but not knowing precisely means it's a matter of luck that not much can be done to avoid. One day you give the stem a twist and it she no move. Try to force it, and the extension shears from the shank or the stem snaps.

I've lost count of the number of cases I've seen. One sent to me by one of the most well known pipemen in the world, so it's not a lack of experience thing, either.

I have not one, not two, but three Castellos that have over the course of the years fused together. I have zero clue as to how to fix them, and I am not convinced anyone else does either.

 

[oldgeezersmoker]

The stem "fusing" is probably because of tobacco juice that has dried on it and is acting like a glue. Overnight in the frig and then a gentle rocking and twisting will usually fix it. Then give it a good cleaning. If the frig doesn't work try the freezer. By the way... sweet pipe.

Not in my case. I keep pipes scrupulously clean. The freezer trick hasn't worked.

 

[Zero]

https://www.smokingpipes.com/pipes/estate/italy/moreinfo.cfm?product_id=547039

I think it’s very beautiful

It's a purdy pipe, but that breezeway between the mount and shank would drive me crazy. I couldn't live with it...it would just gnaw at me and mock me with it's silence.

 

[Ben.R.C]

Whoops wrong thread

 

[Zero]

.

 

[autumnfog]

It's a purdy pipe, but that breezeway between the mount and shank would drive me crazy. I couldn't live with it...it would just gnaw at me and mock me with it's silence. View attachment 239746

I noticed that as well.
But, I always look at the shank-stem alignment.

 

[bayareabriar]

Get a KK if you’re going with Castello. Just my personal preference. I have had about 40 of them. Also, several Castello pipes not only have that gap at the shank as mentioned earlier, but also a gap at the stem to shank by a hair. If you get that, send it back to have straightened out or re-stemmed if you’re paying for new (not unsmoked like this one). Their quality control seems to lack attention in that area at times.

 

[Searock Fan]

Get a KK if you’re going with Castello. Just my personal preference. I have had about 40 of them. Also, several Castello pipes not only have that gap at the shank as mentioned earlier, but also a gap at the stem to shank by a hair. If you get that, send it back to have straightened out or re-stemmed if you’re paying for new (not unsmoked like this one). Their quality control seems to lack attention in that area at times.

I'm not sure, but.... I suspect the little gap between the briar and the lucite was not there when the pipe left the factory and the problem developed later because of a difference in the amount of shrinkage and contraction of the two materials as the pipe heats and cools.