A New Rossi Vittoria 8320

[pipeanddrum]

My new Rossi Vittoria 8320 came in the mail today and I broke it in with an inaugural bowl of GL Pease Gaslight plug. After wanting a 320 for a while and having read favorable reviews of the Rossi pipes, including on this forum, I decided to add this shape to my humble collection. At $35 on BnB Tobacco, I couldn’t pass up the deal - especially as the Savinellis go for at least twice as much.
The fit of the vulcanite stem is perfect but I found the dark stain on the pipe to be a bit tacky to the touch and the rustication process left a few sharp burrs which I would have preferred knocked down. There was a carbon coating in the bowl and I took some of it off with sandpaper. It is a gerenous sized bowl which held a good amount of cube cut plug.
I’m a clencher but found the pipe too heavy to do so comfortably which is fine because it feels great in hand and the bulbous 320 shape is satisfying to wrap your fingers around. It took a few passes with the flame to get a good charting light but when it took, the pipe readily offered copious amounts of the deliciously thick, oily smoke that I love so much about Pease’s Gaslight. It seemed to be smoking itself. During the middle third of the bowl I found I had to expel moisture from the bowl every few minutes - turning the pipe around I my hand, placing my thumb over the bowl and flicking my wrist. This didn’t bother me much as, in my experience, I find this is common with some new pipes and that they collect less and less moisture the more they are smoked.
All in all, I’m very happy with this purchase and find this Rossi 8320 to be an excellent value for the money. I know with time that this pipe will become an ever better smoker and I’ll enjoy further breaking it in. I’m already considering picking up a Rossi 673 shape so I can have my very own (budget) Friday Savinelli.

 

[anthonyrosenthal74]

The 320 is a favorite shape of mine, when I originally thought they were ugly as sin. Once in hand they look far better than they do in photos.... not very photogenic I suppose. But one thing I learned quickly, is that they smoke like nobody's business, and the wide chamber seems to work wonders for the flavors you can get from complex blends, such as balkans or english, as well as aromatics. I hope yours brings you many years of enjoyment. Enjoy the heck out of it :clap:

 

[bouwser]

Looks great! I love my 320. Enjoy the heck out of it.

 

[mso489]

One hell of a deal I'd say. I have authors by other makers -- Kaywoodie, Peterson, and Luciano. But I really like my Rossi's -- a Vittoria prince and a Palermo yacht. The Rossi's were excellent deals, but not quite as excellent as yours.

 

[haparnold]

I'm a big fan of the Vittoria line, although I have found the first few smokes to be particularly funky tasting if you're smoking something really delicate.

 

[pipeanddrum]

@anthony - I think the pipe came out looking pretty good in my pic though it really isn't easy to capture it's voluptuousness! It sure does smoke great as you say. Thanks!
@bouwser - Thank you. Which 320 do you have?
@mso489 - I never really checked out BnB Tobacco until I found this Rossi on their site. What a great price!
@hap - I did read that the Vittoria precarbon treatment imparts a flavor which is why I sanded most of it off. I think the strong flavor of Gaslight masked any funky taste.

 

[haparnold]

I did read that the Vittoria precarbon treatment imparts a flavor which is why I sanded most of it off. I think the strong flavor of Gaslight masked any funky taste.

Definitely. I've got two Vittorias, one of which only gets stuff with Latakia (Black Frigate, Old College, and a couple others), and the other which only gets Virginia flakes. The Latakia pipe has never tasted funky, but the Virginia pipe is still getting broken in after a half-dozen smokes or so. My fault for not sandpapering like you did.

 

[irishearl]

Have the exact same pipe and it is now my second favorite. Love the look of it and great bowl capacity. For me, getting it for $42 was the deal-maker.