I had no idea that Brebbia was capable of producing a pipe like this, although considering the number of blocks they go through, It should have been apparent that at least once in a while, a magnificent block of briar would come down the pike. This is that magnificent block. Before even getting to the quality of the grain, let’s talk about the size and the clarity of the wood. How large is it?
I can get my thumb into the chamber fairly easily, yet the chamber wall is over 8/10” in its thinnest part and over 1” thick in the thickest. I see no flaws in the briar, not even a little pit, but it’s possible I’m missing something. Still, the Brebbia people had enough trust to keep the stain to a light tan. Whatever might be here, you will be able to see. The tight straight grain you can see in the photos. The draw is open, a cleaner flows to the chamber bottom, and the construction is spot-on. The stem is acrylic. New.
I love my readership, and here’s why. One of the regular visitors to this site wrote me about the insane quality to price ratio of this briar and he reminded me of something you all might want to consider in your (our…I certainly fall into the same thoughtless trap, believe me) smugness regarding high grade vs less highly regarded brand names. Let’s stick with Brebbia. They turn out lots and lots of pipes (sometimes made for them by smaller, independent craftsmen), mostly with as much machine help as possible. So, they don’t get rated as highly as individually crafted, ballyhooed pipes and even their best pieces, like the one above, don’t command the same high prices. And that’s understandable. But then consider this: Brebbia has been around a long time, since 1953 according to Pipedia, and they have much, much stronger buying power than individual craftsmen…and they buy in much, much bigger lots, allowing, if not forcing them, to age and cure their pipes for much, much longer than can most individual craftsmen. Thus, when, among that bulk amount of briar they come along with a pipe grained like this one, it’s actually likely, if not totally assured, that it’s going to smoke much, much better than barely aged briar from that expensive, talented (no doubt about that) individual pipe maker. The wood is tremendous, the grain is non-pareil, and the price is nearly a gift because the sale of all their other pipes helps keep the price of any one individual pipe down. It’s a simple business calculation. If you have to live from the production of 100 pipes, you must garner much, much more money from the sale of each individual pipe than if you make 15,000 pipes a year. Some smart and lucky slob is going to be astute enough to buy this gem. Probably not you, though, huh?
7.75” long, bowl 2.7” tall. Weight: 4 3/8 oz., 124 grams.