My first Savinelli, Punto Oro 122 Straight grain?

[yngwie]

Hi!
New member here. I've been a long time lurker, but now I just won the ebay auction for an estate Savinelli Punto Oro 122, and felt I wanted to share. I paid $84 + $12 for shpping from Greece to Sweden. (Any other swedish pipe smokers around?)
What do you think about the purchase? What do you think about the grain? Would it be correct to call it straight grain?

Now I'm eager to get it and smoke it! My only other decent quality briar pipes have been three Mario Grandis, one poker, one vulcano and a bent egg. Will this Savinelli smoke better, what do you think?
Link to the auction: eBay auction
Pics below if I did it right:

 

[husky]

Välkommen Yngwie!

 

[jaytex1969]

Welcome to the forum. That's a nice looking pipe. I'm fond of the pot shape. It looks well cared for, also.
I'm not certain what qualifies as a straight grain. It looks straight on the front and sides with maybe a loose bird's eye on the back of the bowl, sort of a diagonal cross grain, maybe? Still a good looker.
Nice, thick walls on the bowl should provide a reasonably cool smoke. All of my Savinelli's have been winners, You should enjoy it.
I'm not familiar with Mario Grandis. May put up a few pics when you get a chance?

 

[yngwie]

Tack, Husky! Thanks, jaytex969!
Here are my Mario Grandis:

 

[husky]

Nice little collection!

I like the second one. The black and yellow go together in a kind of "fireplace" way

but the first one has an ...unusual stem?

 

[PaulTheScandinavian]

Welcome from the neighboring Finland,as for the Savinelli(9mm?)I'd say the price was just about right,Congrats ,I have one Savinelli Punto Oro,of recent production,my guess is these older ones might be superior quality wise

 

[danimalia]

I really like that Savinelli pot shape, too. With the thick walls and wider bowl, I think it would be very versatile. Could be great for flakes and English/Latakia blends.
I couldn't guess how it would compare to your others, but my favorite pipe is a Savinelli Unfinished. I only have a few pipes myself, all factory pipes. The Savinelli is extremely light despite being a KS size, and it smokes wonderfully. Pretty much everything I throw in it tastes good.
All in all, this is the kind of listing I'd have been interested in if I was in the market for an estate pipe on ebay. Looks like a fine buy! Hope you enjoy it, and welcome from San Francisco, USA.

 

[yngwie]

Thanks for the nice comments!
husky, yes the stem is pretty cool and actually quite comfortable when clenching, it sort of anchors to my chin.

Is there a way to date a punto oro?
danimalia,

Yes the pot shape is growing on me. My first cheapie briar was sort of a pot shape, so first I was associating it with this cheap ugly pipe with bubbling finish. But after browsing loads of pipe sites I now really like this 122 shape, and also the Castello 55 shape - so I might be looking for one of those in the future.
Been looking for other Sav 122 finishes as well, and some naturals caught my eye, like the Noce. Which series is yours from, do you want to post a pic?