Sandblasted Impossible Bent Dublin Tobacco Pipe

Il Cerchio pipes are handmade by Angelo del Prete in Pordenone, Italy. Translating to "The Circle" from Italian, the name Il Cerchio references the concepts of balance and consistency that del Prete prioritizes in each of his designs — elevated by his premium craftsmanship and creative aesthetic eye. With a degree in furniture design and decoration and the owner of a tobacco shop, del Prete boasts a longstanding passion for both woodworking and pipes and tobacco, a passion he now leverages as one of Italy's most established artisan carvers. Having received early training from fellow carvers Maximiliano Rimensi of Il Duca and Davide Iafisco, del Prete crafts innovative and reliable pipes, offering distinctive aesthetics alongside meticulous engineering.

This bent Dublin is one particularly inventive piece, dubbed "Impossible" by the Italian artisan. When sketching the design, del Prete realized that the shank's curve and length made drilling the airway virtually impossible, but he wanted to find a way to realize the form without shortening the shank or altering its curvature; he liked the design and didn't want to sacrifice anything to create it. To solve the shape's impossible drilling problem, del Prete cut the shank in half after shaping the stummel. Then, he drilled both sections of briar and reattached the shank as if it were an accent of briar — even lining up the grain to ensure the smoothest, most seamless transition possible. The result is a stunningly elegant bent Dublin, and the pipe's dual sections are echoed by the gradient finish, which lightens into a deep ruby red as it travels up the bowl. Moreover, the bowl is asymmetrically shaped to favor the right side, and the flaring shank end angles leftward to tastefully balance out the asymmetry. A stunning and creative piece from del Prete, this piece is as innovative as it is compositionally complete.