My First Castello Estate

[peckinpahhombre]

Actually Al my understanding is that KK has nothing to do with the size on a smooth pipe - it has to do with grain, unlike a non-smooth pipe where it does signify size.

 

[dottiewarden]

Great score, congratulations!

 

[iamn8]

That pipe's a tad too nice... I wish a government agency would step in and regulate the amount of niceness a pipe is allowed to process. Niceness shan't be distributed all willy-nilly without great thought and consideration.

 

[newbroom]

I don't yet have a Costello, but I have a shape #65 by B.Barling&Sons...this one a 4065 I got a couple weeks ago on the bay for under $30.00 (always with me, they're cheap) The dark spot is water.

 

[shotime]

great looking pipe

 

[lochinvar]

You will love it, Estate Castello pipes are great smokers and great values (why take the depreciation of a new Castello?). Just be forewarned, they lead to more. My last seven pipe purchases have all been Castello, and barring the odd Rinaldo, the next seven probably will be too.

 

[swilford]

Yeah, looks like a 65 to me. And if there is no castle with a date code, then it is pre-87.

Not necessarily on the date code. Lots and lots of Castellos since 1987 haven't had the castle-date stamp. The only pattern I can discern is that they do it when they have lots of space for it (in the grand scheme of stamps, it is kind of a big stamp). It's definitely pre-2007, however, since it has the Carlo Scotti stamp.
I actually suspect that this is later, perhaps c. 1995 onwards from the shape of the bowl and angle & cut of the stem. But I don't really know. It feels like more recent work, but with Castello there's enough variation that I never feel like I can be certain making these sorts of assessments.
Beautiful pipe!
Sykes

 

[peckinpahhombre]

Very interesting, Sykes. Learn something new every day.
Is it true, as I have been told, that the k marking relates to grain on smooth Castellos and not size, or was I fed a line of bullshit on that score too, lol. Curious to know for sure.

 

[ssjones]

You are correct Peck in the K sizes, that only applies to Sea Rock & Old Antiquari (not smooth). The weight quoted threw me, smaller Castello's are not seen as often as the larger sizes.

 

[weedsnager]

Nice looking pipe !

 

[swilford]

Is it true, as I have been told, that the k marking relates to grain on smooth Castellos and not size, or was I fed a line of bullshit on that score too, lol. Curious to know for sure.

This is semi-true. It's definitely the case that Ks denote grain for Collection (and OP, Fiammata etc). For Trademark and Castello 'Castello' it's about size (as is the case with Sea Rock and OA).
Of course, grading is a really subjective process. And different people rate grain in different ways. For example, having watched Kino grade a bunch of times now, it seems he thinks a small wash of grain a serious sin, while loose birdseye not a problem. If I were grading Castello, I'd probably be the other way around (but, as I said, it's wholly subjective; there's no right or wrong here). He's actually remarkably consistent, once you get inside his criteria for what constitutes good grain.
Anyway, think of smooth pipes having a two step grading process:
The nicest smooth pipes are all Collections and are graded based on grain, and if they're big, they end up in Great Line (or Great Line Fiammata).
The remaining smooth pipes are either blah-mediocre grain (Trademark) or good grain (Castello 'Castello'), then are graded by size.
Oh, and if that's not all confusing enough, I think he sometimes downgrades really small Collection level pipes for being small. It sort of all makes sense in the end from a pricing-grading perspective, but it does make it difficult to figure out what he's trying to achieve.

 

[ssjones]

Thanks for clearing that up Sykes....!

For Trademark and Castello 'Castello' it's about size (as is the case with Sea Rock and OA).

Ah, there did might be some correlation to size with the K's on certain pipes.