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Cavicchi

Tier:

Country: Italy

Price: € 100+

Production method:

Notes: Claudio Cavicchi has been carving pipes since the mid-1970s and is now considered one of the top makers in Italy. Sometimes described as a Danish-style carver, he nonetheless refuses to raise prices to the level of Scandinavian high-graders. For this reason, his pipes are globally known as some of the best value-for-money deals in the business. In all fairness, however, it must be noted that Cavicchi espouses such mid-grade features as acrylic stems. He makes about 1000 pipes a year.

Grading is by the number of 'C's stamped on the shank, from one to five (in ascending order).

Comments: No one in Italy beats Cavicchi and Tom Spanu for grain-sensitive shaping.

In my opinion and that of many others, Cavicchi is as deserving of high-grade classification as Castello - more so, in fact, due to a greater variety of shapes. That said, Cavicchi is not really underrated, as some have maintained. Rather, Castello has always been somewhat overvalued. Neither brand boasts the attention to detail and finish displayed by the top Danes and Germans. For this, one must turn to the true Italian high-graders such as Paolo Becker and (my opinion) Maurizio Tombari of Le Nuvole.

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