Show Off Your Castello Pipes Here!
- Thread starter smokeybear
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Luca at Tabaccheria Corti’s shop in Lecco is of course near the Castello shop in Cantù and he always has top Castello pipes. I love my Le Dune‘s but was still surprised to see this description of that series by Luca tonight in his newsletter:
Dear Pipesmoker,
We are super pleased to have for Our pipecollectors, customers one of the greatest selection of Leduna pipe, this is without doubt the most rare finish made by Castello - Leduna are carved by hand from the oldest artisan at the factory - He is nearly 80, amd We are not sure what happens when He retires,
Luca is one the leading experts on what is and what is not “without doubt the most rare finish made by Castello,“ but I always thought it was the Perla Nera (Black Pearl) finish. Thoughts?
80 years old and he is still carving excellent pipes! This is a passion, not a profession.
Here are a few Le Dunes; the apple on the left is a rarer downward, reverse carving. On the far right is a Le Dune opera.
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Passion? Passion does not even come close to explain the feeling at Castello. I've been lucky enough to visit the workshop twice. It's not just a place in which employees go each day to knock out 8 hours of work. The air is filled with the aroma of briar. Each and every artisan has a face laced with dedication to the goal. BUT, if you watch closely every once in a while you can see a crease of their lips, as what they are working on begins to unfold into something incredible. An ear to ear smile, a proud glint in the eyes. A Castello pipe is born.
The book - Le pipe, mie figlie, ( the pipes, my daughters ), by Franco Coppo ( RIP ), is a must read for anyone interested in Castello and the absolute fanatical love Franco and his team have for their craft. The book is in both Italian and English languages. The majority of the book is in text, but the images within are spectacular as well. It is available from smoking pipes.
https://www.smokingpipes.com/accessories/books/moreinfo.cfm?product_id=406209
No wonder these cost so much. The hours of labor it must take to carve one has to be very high. I guess I'm lucky, although I appreciate the workmanship, they are not my style.
Le Dune was never my favorite finish but I respect the hell out of any carver who can do that.
A couple of Princes with two stems. Gotta love the boxwood Castello stem with the black dot rather than the traditional bar.
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The Boxwood Stems are gorgeous and that has to be a really fun option to swap between them and the acrylic depending on your mood and attire .
Thank you.
It is an absolute pleasure to smoke.
I'm afraid I'm going to spoil myself with these 2 and end up with a lighter wallet, but with more nice pipes.
Some Great Looking Wood! Congratulations to all!
My latest GG15 with a silver band has both Castello in script and the castle was almost a must have piece and arrived thanks to @Sigmund.
My latest GG15 with a silver band has both Castello in script and the castle was almost a must have piece and arrived thanks to @Sigmund.
Nice tobacco bucket, really beautiful
This inspired me to smoke my G Canadian this morning
Had almost no choice snagging this Great Line Collection KKK the other day. The price was right and my "bid now" finger took on a life of its own. Then again, the doctor did just tell me not to make any big decisions while in treatment. So, potentially temporary medically induced psychosis? Guess we'll see once i get it in my grubby mits and take it for a spin. 
If you will pardon my towering immodesty.... It kind of reminds me of this pipe I made. Although, I think my bowl shape is more elegant.Had almost no choice snagging this Great Line Collection KKK the other day. The price was right and my "bid now" finger took on a life of its own. Then again, the doctor did just tell me not to make any big decisions while in treatment. So, potentially temporary medically induced psychosis? Guess we'll see once i get it in my grubby mits and take it for a spin.
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Towering immodesty, indeed!If you will pardon my towering immodesty.... It kind of reminds me of this pipe I made. Although, I think my bowl shape is more elegant.
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Nice work, tho! You laid that out on the block just right. My brother also makes pipes. Fun process. I was always too busy building bigger things outta wood to have the time to set up my shop for pipe tinkering.
Although i've done quite a bit of restoration work years ago, just buying, fixing, flipping for extra pipe/cigar money when i was younger. Property development is my thrill and my career. We'll see how much longer that lasts, but for now, this new-to-me Collection pipe will be a fitting pacifier.
I forgot to mention, the grain is just as nice all the way around as what you see....If you will pardon my towering immodesty.... It kind of reminds me of this pipe I made. Although, I think my bowl shape is more elegant.
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It is a beautiful book for sure protected by a lovely cardboard box , but is a good read ?
I mean; there's only 200 pages in Italian/English and plenty nice pictures of .... uh, pipes.
Or is it a nice marketing plot also ?