Luciano: It's A Good Thing Your Pipes Are Good Looking...

[shutterbug]

They were cheap, and I thought beautiful, and at first smokes, thought I could live with the flaw. I bought two and two at the same time, and for me to send it back is way too much of a hassle to deliver back from Canada for the price of the pipes (around $90-110.00 each). Coming to terms with it, they're pretty enough to keep, but off putting just enough not to buy again.
Shutterbug

 

[mrjerke]

They do look great Shutter. Can't believe none of them live up to your standards. 0 for 4 is not good...
Maybe put them up for auction and get something you enjoy smoking?

 

[tbradsim1]

I only have one a nosewarmer and I must have lucked up, it's a good little smoker.

 

[sallow]

Just got this one and smoked it for the first time with no issues.
I could not resist the cant or the price.

 

[lestrout]

I've had much better luck with Lucianos. The first one was part of another forum's POY several years ago, and it's a wonderful puffer; so much so that I snapped up another. Much later, I got a mate for the POY which is on my to-be-broken-in list. I also got a lovely squat saucer/bullcap, and it's one of my best Virginia pipes. The last few pipe shows resulted in several more, as Luca brought nice displays of the new special editions. I figured, being later models, they would benefit from continuing improvements. Not only are they all beautiful designs, they were all were put together; as were all the other ones I inspected on his table.
One of the Lucianos was the pipe for the last Chicago CPCC Slow Smoke event, and so there were a hundred of identical Lucianos all being puffed at the same time. Not only is my pipe another great puffer, I didn't hear any feedback from the other slow smokers complaining about fit and finish.
Hopefully the problems reported a year ago were just flukes and growing pains.
hp

les

 

[voorhees]

Lestrout, I also have a saucer bull cap 289-c. I love it. Great pipe for the money and mine is a clear.

 

[easterntraveler]

I will stick with my Ser Jacopos

 

[cally454]

That drilling inst necessarily wrong or sloppy. Many times bits have to be angled to hit the bowl properly especially on bents. It looks like it's been sanded so that tells me it had to be drilled at that angle. I have many Italian bent pipes with the same thing and they smoke great. If you open the airway a touch as has been described you should be fine.

 

[lestrout]

Re that channel in the lip: I have a number of random bent pipes that have the same thing, and never thought too much of it as a problem. One exception was a full bent Winslow which had an air leak there. I hacked a successful repair by building up the leaky area with a little nail polish.
On the other hand, I was looking at a nice Italian pipe that Sally with The Pipe Tart had at a pipe show. She saw the channel in the lip and said that it was a defect, worthy of discount.
hp

les

 

[sallow]

Update - I have really been enjoying my Luciano. It smokes dry and sweet. Light as a feather.

 

[settersbrace]

Could it be there are more than one pair of hands in the proverbial soup? I've seen inconsistencies in other Italian hand mades that make me scratch my head and say, huh? It makes me wonder if the master is letting and underling complete some steps in the process and there's just not enough double checking going on. Just a theory.

 

[northernneil]

I have been very happy with my experiences with my Luciano. So much so I decided to pull the trigger on a new one that arrived earlier this week.

I have smoked a couple of bowls through her, and no complaints. Very comfortable, spot on engineering and a great ring grain sandblast. I would not hesitate to recommend them.

 

[mranglophile]

I bought a Luciano billiard in 2009 I think there second year in production...at the time it was the fanciest pipe I owned....once broken in it smokes just fine, smoked real wet before that. Sorry you had bad luck.

 

[frozenchurchwarden]

I complained about the same thing on my Briarworks, it sounds like drilling through the mortise is standard practice for certain shapes.

So it's not unintentionally defective, it's intentionally defective. I say if you can't drill it without hitting the mortise then don't make that shape, common practice or not.

 

[antbauers]

That drilling inst necessarily wrong or sloppy. Many times bits have to be angled to hit the bowl properly especially on bents. It looks like it's been sanded so that tells me it had to be drilled at that angle. I have many Italian bent pipes with the same thing and they smoke great..

I never saw this as an issue either. I rather have this little "issue" than not have certain shapes or have the drilling be off. One way some pipemakers have remedied this is by having a larger mortise, although that's really to have more free room to drill at different angles and perfect alignment because even with this you can still have that divot. If that divot in the shank was present and the draft hole was drilled high then I would agree it was sloppy work. I have a GBD that is drilled perfect but not without hitting the mortise, it must have bothered them also because it's filled in with a peice of briar. Someone mention it being sanded, which might have been done in the past and is not too bad of a solution.

 

[jackswilling]

I got this off Pipestud and it is drilled right and and more than beautiful, for $54

For sure I would buy another Luciano.

This is Pipestud's listing info:
"UNSMOKED! Stamped: Luciano, ITA 2014, G1, #08 B. I'm really impressed by these new Luciano hand made pipes coming out of Italy. This one has a very nice flame grain pattern around the bowl and birdseye peppered thick rim. The pipe's presentation is completed with a light ruby colored acrylic swirl stem."
http://www.ebay.com/itm/LUCIANO-UNSMOKED-HAND-MADE-GRADE-1-ZULU-SHAPED-PIPE-PIPESTUD-/151636807362?ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT&_trksid=p2047675.l2557&nma=true&si=EtoaTrBOmjy1yXukJ0rj4jq5YnY%253D&orig_cvip=true&rt=nc

 

[antbauers]

@jackswilling - That's a great looking pipe and you got it for a steal.
Also forgot to mention I have 5 Luciano's from when they were just starting out up to the newer ones. They all have been good smokers and the newer ones smoke great. I think they have been progressively making better pipes. I've spoke to Luca about this and he has said every year he makes less pipes, improving quality means reducing numbers. To add to that they are incredibly under priced.