Sivelli Filtro Special Smooth Straight Billiard Vulcanite Saddle Stem Fishtail Estate Pipe

The shank carries no shield, no cursive script - just the full specification stamped plain: SIVELLI FILTRO SPECIAL, IMPORTED BRIAR, ITALY.

This is a Sivelli Filtro Special, a smooth straight billiard fitted with a vulcanite saddle stem and a fishtail mouthpiece. The bowl takes a 6mm filter element seated in the shank bore. No grade line or shape number accompanies the stamp beyond the model name itself.

The stamp told the retail buyer that the material, at least, had come from the right ground.

The filter system itself is a simpler piece of engineering than it looks. A 6mm bore in the shank accepts a disposable cartridge that sits between the tobacco chamber and the draft hole. It does two things: it strips some moisture out of the smoke stream before it reaches the mouth, and it opens the airway compared to an unfiltered bore, which changes how the pipe draws. A fishtail bit, the flared, notched profile at the button end of the stem, is built to seat comfortably between the teeth and spread that airflow evenly across the tongue rather than deliver it as a single jet.

THE MARKS
- SIVELLI FILTRO SPECIAL, stamped on the shank
- IMPORTED BRIAR
- ITALY

The billiard is the oldest and most imitated shape in pipemaking: a round bowl, vertical or very slightly flared walls, set on a cylindrical shank in a fixed ratio to bowl height, with a straight stem continuing that same line to the button. Every other classic shape is a variation worked off this one - the bulldog with its diamond shank, the dublin with its tapering bowl wall, the apple with its rounded chamber. A straight billiard is meant to sit level in a rack and level in the hand; there is no bend to orient toward the smoker's face, so the stem simply extends the shank's line. It is the shape most collectors learn to judge proportion against, because its geometry has no bend or flare to hide behind.

Finish and grain: see the photographs. The pipe is finished smooth rather than sandblasted or rusticated, meaning the surface has been sanded through successive grits and stained rather than textured, leaving the block's natural grain visible under the color.

Condition: graded very good, with visible signs of prior use. Tiny darkening is present at the rim. Light stain scratches are noted to the bowl surface. No cracks, fills, or repairs are indicated.

THE MEASUREMENTS
Length 147mm (5.9") - bowl height 50mm (2.0") - bowl width 38mm (1.5") - chamber depth 40mm (1.6") - chamber diameter 20mm (0.8") - weight 1.7oz

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

SKU: 355