New (to me) Scotti-era Castello Collection KKK Bent Billiard

[davidsaulmarshall]

Browsing the Italian Estates tab on SmokingPipes has been an obsession of mine for the last couple months (much to the bewilderment of other students in the college library!). I finally pulled the trigger on this stunning Scotti-era bent billiard around a week ago. It has some of the most stunning birds-eye I've seen on a Castello and the shape is so very elegant.

I've been patiently waiting for it to hit the shores of Singapore, but as an outlet to my excitement, I thought I'd share here!

 

[cigrmaster]

Excellent looking Castello. I hope it smokes great for you, congrats.

 

[brooklynpipeclub]

Beautiful grain. Enjoy it!

 

[burleyboy]

Congrats, sir! I really like those slightly forward canted, yet classic and elegant Castellos!

 

[cshubhra]

Beautiful pipe!

 

[sandollars]

Browsing the Italian Estates tab on SmokingPipes has been an obsession of mine for the last couple months

A MOST DANGEROUS Pastime.

Gorgeous pipe! Castellos are among my favorite pipes.

Congratulations!

 

[mngslvs]

Very nice.
I have a similar Castello that I have clenching issues with......something off about the shape of the stem. Not a very big deal, cuz I don't clench often, just a minor irritant. One well known vendor told me that Castello stems are inconsistent.
Anyway, looking at the one you bought, wondering why I didn't buy it first !!

 

[voorhees]

I did the same thing. Wanted a Scotti era Sea Rock.

 

[k9shag]

Love Castello's Best of luck with it

 

[danimalia]

A truly beautiful pipe. I also love browsing the estates section of SP, though I've only made one purchase. Make sure you check the .eu site as well, as their selection is entirely different! I almost pulled the trigger on this Radice yesterday, but went with a new pipe from TP instead.

 

[timt]

Congratulations! I was eyeballing that very pipe a while back and actually had it in the cart. I'm betting you're going to love it.

 

[daveinlax]

Very nice! Looks like it should be graded at least KKK Collection Occhio de Pernice. I've got a small Epoca collection of that shape that I enjoy.?

 

[jpmcwjr]

Superb! Got it in hand now?

 

[davidsaulmarshall]

Superb! Got it in hand now?

Ah, apologies, just saw this. Ended up returning the delightful Castello when I found that someone had attempted to clumsily rebore the airway. Took the money to Tabaccheria Corti instead and bought myself a Natural Vergin Sea Rock Canadian!

 

[trouttimes]

I tend to like a larger airway but I'm smart enough not to try it myself. That's what the pros are for. I have had several opened up to say Barling specs but I didn't do it myself.

 

[Sonorisis]

Yes, I too have found issues with Scotti era draft. They are very different animals than the modern Castellos.

 

[oldgeezersmoker]

Ah, apologies, just saw this. Ended up returning the delightful Castello when I found that someone had attempted to clumsily rebore the airway. Took the money to Tabaccheria Corti instead and bought myself a Natural Vergin Sea Rock Canadian!

Reboring old Castellos and others was an unfortunate trend a few decades back. They draw fine, but it became trendy. Even the supposed pros turned some fine pipes into junkers. Some survived the process, some didn’t.

 

[davidsaulmarshall]

I'll see if I can find a photo of this rebore, but it was pretty shocking. I took one draw through the pipe when it arrived and knew something was wrong. There was little, if any, resistance.

 

[davidsaulmarshall]

SmokingPipes insisted this was a factory re-drill, but I wasn't so sure. It really is a crying shame. I loved the pipe and I am on the lookout for another one like it, though it's a rare pipe for Castello.

 

[oldgeezersmoker]

The one you sent back to SP was a fine looking pipe from the exterior pictures. But the “Carlo Scotti” stamp enclosed in an oval was used for well over a decade after his demise, as has also been true of the Carlo Scotti script signature. The shape is basically a 19, which is not at all uncommon, though really nice Birdseye examples like that one are very desirable from any era. Too bad it was butchered.

Smoking Pipes knowledge of Italian Pipes is laughable. They are presently promoting Radice pipes as if made by Luigi, Gianluca and Marzio Radice. Luigi Radice passed away several years ago. But people take what they say as the gospel truth.