Lorenzetti Italy Firenze Bent Billiard Estate Pipe - Black Acrylic Fishtail Stem, 9mm Filter

The shank reads lorenzetti Italy firenze, stamped in three words that name a maker, a country, and a city.

A bent billiard in briar, fitted with a shiny black acrylic stem cut with a fishtail slot at the bit and bored for a 9mm filter.

Bowl: briar
Stem: acrylic
Mouthpiece: fishtail
Filter: 9mm
Stamped: "lorenzetti Italy firenze"

The billiard is the shape most collectors learn on first, and for good reason. A cylindrical bowl set at a right angle to a straight shank, here bent downward toward the stem, gives the classic proportions against which every other pipe shape is measured - not too tall, not too wide, the chamber walls thick enough to hold heat without turning the outer wood too hot to hold. The bend on this example moves the bit down and back toward the smoker's jaw, which is a matter of comfort in the hand and in the teeth rather than a change to how the tobacco burns. A bent billiard sits differently on a rest than a straight one - the bowl tips forward slightly, and the stem curve becomes part of the pipe's visual line rather than a straight continuation of the shank.

The finish is smooth, per the maker's own working of the bowl surface - no sandblast, no rustication, the wood left plain so its own surface does the talking. A smooth finish asks more of the underlying briar than a blast or rustication does, since there is no texture to distract the eye from a fill or an uneven patch; whatever grain and color this particular bowl carries is best judged from the photographs rather than described here.

The stem is acrylic, not vulcanite - a material choice that matters mostly in how the two age. Vulcanite (hard rubber) oxidizes over years into a brownish or greenish cast and needs periodic polishing to hold its black; acrylic holds its color and shine indefinitely and does not oxidize the same way, which is why a shiny black acrylic stem can still look new on an older pipe while a vulcanite stem of the same age has usually dulled. The bit is cut fishtail rather than round or oval in cross-section - the slot flares slightly at the tip, which is mostly a matter of feel between the teeth and of how the airway opens into the mouth, rather than a change to draw resistance itself.

The bore is set for a 9mm filter. That format takes a cylindrical paper or charcoal filter of that diameter fitted into the shank-side of the stem, which pulls some moisture and tar out of the smoke stream before it reaches the mouth and changes the draw resistance somewhat compared to an unfiltered airway of the same bore. Whether a given smoker prefers the pipe with the filter seated or run open (with an adapter or simply left out) is a matter of taste; the bore accommodates either use.

THE MARKS
- Stamped: lorenzetti Italy firenze

Condition: not yet graded - refer to the photographs; a detailed condition report is available on request.

THE MEASUREMENTS
Length 125.0mm (4.9") - bowl height 49.0mm (1.9") - bowl width 40.0mm (1.6") - chamber diameter 20.0mm (0.8") - chamber depth 36.0mm (1.4") - weight 51.0g

Finish and grain: see the photographs.

Ships from the Faridunhill / Pipe Collectors Encyclopedia archive. Worldwide shipping and professional sanitation on every estate pipe.

SKU: 407