Savinelli Autograph: Autograph Smooth Fan (00) (6mm) Tobacco Pipe

Savinelli's Autograph is the Italian marque's limited-production, handmade series, utilizing specially aged extra-extra plateau briar and being crafted by only three of the brand's most experienced carvers. From start to finish, the process of crafting a single one of these pipes is handled by a single one of these veteran craftsmen, the series providing them with design freedom and allowing them to express their personal creativity. Within this line of exceptional pipes are a number of different grades, though the highest are the "0" graded pipes, given between one and three zeroes based on the quality of the grain and shaping, with three being reserved for the best. The Fan is one of the most recognizably Italian shapes in the portfolios of many carvers, alongside profiles like the Hawkbill, and it is one that's regularly produced in the Autograph workshop: with this example receiving the coveted 00 grade. The shape comprises a broad expanse of briar that's connected through the transition and that flares out of a central heel that's extremely pronounced in silhouette. The shank is one with the bowl, and the unbroken arc of briar through the top is crowned with an expansive crown of craggy plateau, the stem arcing out of the aft of this plateau with a lengthy stretch of acrylic. Dressing the briar here is a warm, light stain that's sure to patinate nicely as this pipe is smoked and reveals some truly beautiful grain as the flanks are wrapped with dense streaks of flame.