My First Castellos
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Great pipes, and what a fantastic b-day gift! The “K”s stand for sizing in rusticated/ blasted pipes, and grading in smooth pipes, although there seems to be variation in how they are applied to the rusticated/blasted pipes. The grades/sizes are: K, KK, KKK, KKKK, and G.
So these have fairly small bowls. Does that work with the Ks?
I had a Sea Rock 92 years ago. It smoked okay but the acrylic stem and small chamber kept it from being a keeper.
That is why I like these. Well, the small bowl is.... I am not bothered by the acrylic stem but do prefer a more traditional. Also, the fit and finish is immaculate. Unlike you, I will happily keep these and smoke them. To each his own.... Yadayadayada...
Nothing implied, their shaping is spot on Italian and their drilling is perfect and I do love the Sea Rock rustication.
Yes, K’s are the smallest. Beautiful blast on the antiqauri! Congrats, castellos are excellent pipes.
I only see one pipe, the Old Antiquari. Very nice. All I can say is that I would have guessed it would be stamped kkkk. Why? Because it is a nice pipe, it clearly wouldn’t be a G or GG, so tha grading reflects the value Franco Coppo thought was appropriate. The oft repeated statement that k grading on Sea Rocks, Natural Vergins and Old Antiquaris reflects size is correct most of the time, but frequently isn’t. And some shapes tend not to be seen very often with very large bowls. That is one.
Here is the Sea Rock. So as KKKK, these should have smaller or larger bowls? Because they are smaller. Which is perfectly fine with me since I like shorter smokes.
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k is tiny, kkkk is a good size. G you move to genuinely large thumb-sized chambers.
As I said, I would have guessed the Old Antiquari would be a 4K because howl size just simply isn’t the only determinant for grade despite the fact that most of the time it is.
The Sea Rock looks like it could be a 3k or 4k depending on what side of the bed Coppo got out of that morning?.
There is an article by the late Robert Hamlin that used to be on a site titled pipes.org. It can be found if you are skilled in the use of the way back resource. He explains Castello grading. The main point is that Castellos are graded after the dealer has made his selection. Coppo has some absolute standards in mind, but the dealer’s overall selection can influence how the grading shakes out. These are all hand turned pieces, so it isn‘t like they came off copy lathes set to a particular size.
Those are two very nice pipes, btw.
Nice pipes, I’ve always loved the blast on the sea rock briars
Your are correct. And my eyes suck. The Sea Rock is a KKK. Good eye on your part. I found an article at briar blues. It explains it will and may be a reprint of the article you mention.
Super pipes, you got a couple of winners there.
Much like Savinelli's Capri line, the Sea Rocks are rusticated not blasted.
Mike (Briar Blues) drew heavily on our mutual friend’s work. The article is worth searching for even though dated and flat incorrect in a very few places that aren’t that critical.
Sea Rocks might be more famous, but the Old Antiquari blasts can be really beautiful, like your bulldog. The shape of that Sea Rock is really cool, too.
I just recently got my first Castello, A Sea Rock KK. I feel like I am still breaking it in, but I love the way it feels in the hand and the clench. Just very well balanced and comfortable.
I just recently got my first Castello, A Sea Rock KK. I feel like I am still breaking it in, but I love the way it feels in the hand and the clench. Just very well balanced and comfortable.
Congratulations. Those are some kind of great birthday gifts. Smoke them in good health. The Briar Blues site has, or at least had, a pretty good article on Castello history, shapes and sizing. It would be worth a look. There are a number of great pipemakers in this world and the artisans at Castello are absolutely among them.