Castello Pipes

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LudwigB88

Starting to Get Obsessed
Nov 4, 2023
259
377
I’ve been curious about Castello pipes because some people hold them in such high regard and rave about their smoking properties. I find many of the ones I see as aesthetic abominations. However, I do find their more classic/traditional shapes appealing. I suspect I would prefer ones from the ’60s over anything recent.
You must see them in person. Photos don’t do them justice. Great things about them : the briar seems uniquely aged and sweet; the finishing work is immaculate; something about the draw is perfect. I find that I’m not fussing with the tobacco so much (in fact, not at all !) Their bowl interiors are like glass with no pits. Draft hole perfectly drilled. This is simply based on the first and only one I have. Suffice it to say, I will buy another !
 

Chasing Embers

Captain of the Black Frigate
Nov 12, 2014
44,991
117,746
I’ve been curious about Castello pipes because some people hold them in such high regard and rave about their smoking properties.
If you've smoked for any lengthy amount of time, they really smoke no different than any other pipe. The ones with a chamber coating taste like they've been coated with stain for several dozen smokes. Some have had to file down the buttons though. Very thick with sharp edges.


Yeah, I view Castello as the arsty/eccentric brother of Savinelli. They might do similar shapes in the Italian style but Savinelli is much more reserved and traditional where Castello will stray from conventional proportions.
That's what Savinelli's Autograph line is for.
 

hoipolloiglasgow

Part of the Furniture Now
Oct 14, 2023
575
4,212
United States
I bought my first one recently and am already looking for another one. The open draw is unique in that it makes sipping different than my tighter Dunhill and Comoy’s. I’ve always been an English pipe guy, but I do enjoy Castello’s and Radice for their unique Italian style and the way they smoke. That draw is good for flakes I’ve noticed.1000000708.jpeg
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LudwigB88

Starting to Get Obsessed
Nov 4, 2023
259
377
I bought my first one recently and am already looking for another one. The open draw is unique in that it makes sipping different than my tighter Dunhill and Comoy’s. I’ve always been an English pipe guy, but I do enjoy Castello’s and Radice for their unique Italian style and the way they smoke. That draw is good for flakes I’ve noticed.View attachment 320992
View attachment 320993
That’s a beauty. I agree 100% !! So easy to just sip those flakes. They call it “open draw” but I just think of it as correct draw. My guess is that Castello experimented over the years and arrived at an ideal formula for draft hole size relative to bowl size. I’d love to know if this is true. I also believe they have developed the correct tools to produce a pipe that is both gorgeous and functional. And I would assume they keep those tools in excellent shape and well calibrated.
 

LudwigB88

Starting to Get Obsessed
Nov 4, 2023
259
377
I’m in trouble now ! Just ordered my second new Castello, against the advice of my financial planner. This first one has immediately become my favorite pipe. I’ll see if the second lives up to it. Smoking my Castello Virgin just now, and had an amazing taste, especially toward end of bowl with a McClelland mix of 1/3 Blackwood flake; 2/3 St James Flake. I was getting a note of what I can only compare to the aroma of baseball card bubble gum. But in a good way. Interestingly, it is the taste I remember from when I first smoked Frog Morton original at the beginning of my pipe smoking journey. Maybe it’s the McClelland processing, and their red Virginias. Whatever it is, it’s amazing !
 

LudwigB88

Starting to Get Obsessed
Nov 4, 2023
259
377

Chasing Embers

Captain of the Black Frigate
Nov 12, 2014
44,991
117,746
Raw uncoated bowl all the way !!! That way you can see the quality of the briar as well as the finishing.
Flaws can also lie just under the surface and not reveal themselves until smoked. There have even been posts here about crooked drilling in Castellos. I prefer the look of a blackened chamber. In the end they are all just pipes.
 

Uguccione

Can't Leave
Jan 22, 2024
340
818
Italy
Sure, but if you blacken the chamber it's always to hide some imperfection or blemish, which is why I'm surprised that companies like Dunhill or Castello (which don't do grouting) market pipes with blackened chambers.
 
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LudwigB88

Starting to Get Obsessed
Nov 4, 2023
259
377
Castello do both but the uncoated tend to be Virgin and their Neutral or lighter stains, if its fumed, black, brown or red stain it will nearly always have a stained/carbonised chamber.
Just ordered black sea rock … no coating.
 
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