B&M Find: Radice Oil Cured & Twin Bore (info?)

[dog_park_piper]

Not long ago I walked into a local B&M and found this Radice with a sticker from the early 2000s. It was from the previous owner of the location before the current owner moved in.

I know very little about the oil curing or the twin bore attempts.

Happy to learn anything you can share about it.

The info on the internet broadly is spotty. So, I come to the masters.

 

[Mike N]

Wow! Great find.

 

[mikethompson]

A twin bore!

 

[troutface]

Nice pipe. I think the twin bore is just a gimmick. Had one and sold it.

 

[Bbailey324]

Nice looking pipe. I've never been clear on what the twin bore part is supposed to accomplish. How does it smoke and can you get a pipe cleaner through the stem?

 

[dog_park_piper]

Nice looking pipe. I've never been clear on what the twin bore part is supposed to accomplish. How does it smoke and can you get a pipe cleaner through the stem?

I found my self ”sipping” it better than my other pipes. Or is it bias knowing I’m looking for differences?

 

[sasquatch]

They are... fine? I still have one, I broke the stem at some point and made a regular stem for it, no vast difference. They were pretty heavy, most of 'em. Good tasting pipe, clean smoker.

 

[dog_park_piper]

They are... fine? I still have one, I broke the stem at some point and made a regular stem for it, no vast difference. They were pretty heavy, most of 'em. Good tasting pipe, clean smoker.

Thanks

 

[kcghost]

I have never heard of or let alone seen a twin bore Radice. Incredible find.

 

[verporchting]

Nice looking pipe. I've never been clear on what the twin bore part is supposed to accomplish. How does it smoke and can you get a pipe cleaner through the stem?

I have one twin bore that I smoke infrequently but my understanding is that it was intended to help clenchers not bite through or crush the stem.

Not a huge fan, although regular pipe cleaners usually pass okay it’s a bit fiddly, and yes it smokes just fine. I don’t know that I’d call it a gimmick, but as with stingers and such more of an idea that didn’t prove popular.

IDK but I probably won’t buy another one and considered having a new stem made for it.

 

[Pipeoff]

My only comment is about the twin bore stem. The smoke is directed to both sides of the mouth. I don’t consider it a gimmic from a fine maker like Radice. The only drawback is only a narrow cleaner is required to keep an open airway.

 

[Uguccione]

Oil curing has been much mythologized over the years, but I have my doubts about how good this process is for the goodness of the briar. I rather think it was more of an expedient to shorten the long maturing times.
I believe that re-proposing it in the 2000s has more of a curiosity value than anything else.

 

[LotusEater]

Great find!
I’ve only seen a couple of other Radice twin bores.The only twin bore I have is a Charatan. It smokes well but I don’t think it is superior to a single bore in anyway and it’s a bit of a pain to clean.

 

[AroEnglish]

I've heard the oil curing flavor wears off in about 30 bowls and I don't know how much more pleasant a twin bore stem is. That being said, I want an oil cured twin bore badly. Nice find!

 

[sasquatch]

Oil curing has been much mythologized over the years, but I have my doubts about how good this process is for the goodness of the briar. I rather think it was more of an expedient to shorten the long maturing times.
I believe that re-proposing it in the 2000s has more of a curiosity value than anything else.

Oil curing literally and truly started as a way of hardening crappy briar, Dunhill is quite open about it if you read the patent.

I've had oil cured pipes from Radice, Wiley, Dunhill, Ashton, etc, and they all had a unique character, a flavor pertaining to the oil used, the process. But none of them were really good in the way that Castellos or the best offerings from Peterson are (for me, I realize this is subjective). So I stopped chasing that unicorn.

 

[tobakenist]

Great find, never seen a twin bore, it will take more pipe cleaners, enjoy.

 

[Wet Dottle]

The oil curing and twin bore ideas were suggested (pushed?) by R.D. Field onto Radice to rejuvenate and create excitement around the brand. I think this came around the time when he stopped importing the Ashton line. From talking to him, it seems to me he wanted another oil cured pipe in his lineup. Also, the idea of the twin bore was to mitigate tongue bite.

Mr. Field, with his wife, used to have a yearly trunk show at Edwards, in Denver, and they were always happy to talk to everyone about his wares. He got really pissed at me because one day, inadvertently, I mentioned that I used to buy my Radices and Ashtons in Europe (where they were half the price). He never payed much attention to me after that.

For those who don't know, for many years Mr. Field was the importer of Ashton and Radice pipes, among others. He had a web site with very valuable information, but it seems to have disappeared. Anyone knows?

P.S.- I should have also said that twin bore and oil cured Radices didn't sell well and were later discontinued because of it.

 

[bullet08]

A fine grains. Looks little busy near the shank, but definitely a beauty. How does it smoke?

 

[Wet Dottle]

Upon further looking at the OP's pics, the stem looks unusual. The common Radice logo consists of two longitudinal dots, while the twin bore stems had two dots placed transversally. Maybe this is one of the earliest twin bore versions? Is there a dot on the other side of the stem? Would like to know that...

 

[AroEnglish]

Upon further looking at the OP's pics, the stem looks unusual. The common Radice logo consists of two longitudinal dots, while the twin bore stems had two dots placed transversally. Maybe this is one of the earliest twin bore versions? Is there a dot on the other side of the stem? Would like to know that...

According to this one dot on each side means oil cured:

R-Raf -- Pipes: Logos & Markings

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