Not Many Ascorti's Get Posted
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The first pipe I bought that didn't come in plastic from a drugstore was an Ascorti. A large, military stemmed Billiard in the light Business finish. I remember walking out of that Tinder Box not being able to believe I had spent $60,00 on a pipe! I really wanted it's smooth finished brother but, couldn't imagine spending $100.00. Man, was I in for many surprises in the years to follow. That was 1987 or 1988.
Mike S.
Mike S.
I like a lot of the old caminettos, but the modern radice/ascorti look so weirdly proportioned. They also tend to be in huge sizes
Some folks aesthetics and perceptions are oddly proportioned.
Interestingly, Smoking pipes does not sell Ascorti. Has to be one of the few known brands they don't sell. And surprisingly, it is one of the only brands tinderbox sells. I had heard of tinderbox and thought they didn't exist but was surprised to see that there are still quite a few stores scattered around the country. They look like nice pipes (some of the more conservative ones at least).
Radice is far worse at this.
all of them are somewhat similar so to say you like Caminetto but not Ascorti or Radice is kind of goofy. I’d actually say Ascorti is the closest to the older Caminettos.
I really like that New Dear, Jim!!
man, if these had a mustache you’d sure think they could be Caminetto.......
I love the way those New Dears color.
So style aside, in terms of overall quality of briar, engineering (including drilling and comfort of bit),, consistency, an value, how do Ascorti's rate compared to castello, cavicchi, caminetto, and radice. I know its a broad and subjective question and maybe I'm opening too big of a can of worms that deserves a separate thread and has probably been beaten to death and beyond. Maybe there is no good answer. But I'm curious. I've seen the view that Castellos are sort of the king of Italian pipes.
I'd say Ascorti are better than Castello as all the stems are cut from stock rather than pre-molded stems... at least in that department. As for all the other things they can be pretty subjective.
Caveat: I haven't owned a Castello because for the price I have always figured I could get an equal to or better than pipe.
For me a typical Italian pipe is a huge rusticated pipe in neo-classical (oddly proportioned) shape.
The well proportioned elegant ones belong to the british/french school of pipe making.
Not all Ascorti's are ugly. This is my Ascorti Business KS
Here’s my Ascorti. Definitely one of my best smokers. Purchased new in person from Knox Cigar probably about ‘05. Was the only time we were in Tennessee. I bought a new Ardor at the same time and they were very kind to with with the pricing so I could afford both. That said, it smokes as well as the Ardor which is also one of my best smokers. Apologies as it does need to be cleaned a bit.
What are you going to do ion India? Go lookup some gurus?Hah! You remember correctly.
I'll post a pic but I've got to find it again to do so. Been packing to go back to India so it's somewhere in the boxes going into storage.
Yes, Castello is king, and they don't go cheap.
If you consider all of the Italian brands, you will find Pipa Croci and Ascorti offering pipes at prices too good to believe.
Are these briar pipes? Yes. Are they drilled correctly. Yes. The prices are not to be ignored. If you really want to make a killing, consider estate Savinelli Autographs that sell at no more than $70. That's a lot of pipe for the price. Too much for many as the chambers run large to very large.
My first good Italian pipe was an ascorti business dublin followed by an escort business poker made for tinderbox. Both nice pipes long traded. However, in my view Luigi Radice is the winner out of the caminetto stable both in terms of price and quality. Both Ascorti and their revival of caminetto are seriously overpriced for the quality. I personally hate the new dear carving as it has always reminded me of bad surgical scars (I also hate the Radice version as well for the same reason). Castello exceeds Ascorti and the new caminetto brand. Cavicchi does too. For my money, Radice is the best value and their stem work is superior to all including castello.
Nah mate, work called. I'm back in the states now but looking for a new country to traumatize with my presence
I look at the Ascorti's often, haven't pulled the trigger on them yet. Often they are too large for me either in chamber or in weight. Not much in my stable over 35gr. Like any pipe outfit i am sure they make something that would work but haven't been motivated enough to pursue it.
I do have two wonderfully smoking Radice's and a Caminetto that are well drilled and proportionally good looking to me.
I do have two wonderfully smoking Radice's and a Caminetto that are well drilled and proportionally good looking to me.
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