.gif)
Bayboaz45,
I'm surprised that the B&M who sold you your Castello didn't offer a returns policy, it would of course had to have been discounted on your return, because it had been smoked, but then perhaps they don't trade estate pipes.
Anyways, as I'm sure you know, buying on-line can be a whole different experience. I would recommend that you check with the dealer about returns policy, if you've smoked it, etc. I don't mean to sound as if I'm teaching gran'ma to suck eggs here, but during the excitement of searching, finding and pulling the trigger on pipe, it sometimes gets forgotten.
catput has listed a couple of places in Italy where you can buy Castello, I've done business with them both before and have had great service.
To answer your question, "is it really worth buying?", I would say that if you like the shape & finish of the pipe you're looking at, and you are happy to part with a not inconsiderable amount of cash, then yes, absolutely, Castello's are great pipes. My only quibble, in fact I wouldn't go as far as to say that, if I'm completely honest, but a couple of guys have mentioned it, is that the button is larger than my Dunhill's pipes. Certainly no game changer and if you're any good with hand-tools, you could file and polish the excess to your preferred sizing.
Hope this helps with your decisions.
