Moretti

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Pipe Moretti: The Pipe and the Pipe Maker -- Both Italian Gems, by Joseph Hornsby

This article was originally published in The Pipe Collector, the North American Society of Pipe Collectors newsletter NASP, and is used here by permission. It's a great orginazation--consider becoming a member.

My name is Joseph Hornsby, and I have been a pipe smoker and collector since 1997. I am a veteran police officer in Greenville, South Carolina, presently working as a Forensic Technician. One day, I was dispatched to a residential burglary and met a man who would expose me to a true pipe artisan and a real gentleman, Mr. Marco Biagini.

"Well, sir, I have processed all areas that I believe were conducive and suitable to retaining fingerprints. I will take the collected fingerprints and run them through A.F.I.S. for any possible matches," I said. The stately, gray-haired gentleman thanked me and continued puffing on his pipe. "Sir, if I may compliment you on your beautiful pipe, beautiful grain." The gentleman's eyes lit up upon hearing my comment. "Are you a pipe smoker, young man?" I proceeded to tell him that I was, and suddenly, before we knew it, we had been chatting about the wonders and pleasures of the pipe and pipe smoking.

"What kind of pipe are you smoking," he asked. "Well, I have quite an assortment, from low grades to high grades, but I have developed a real fondness for Italian handmades." The gentleman asked if I had ever smoked a Moretti. "Smoked a Moretti? No, sir, I'm afraid I've not been exposed to those pipes." "You are missing a real treat, wonderful smokers, beautiful grain, that's what I'm smoking now." "May I ask where you obtained it from"? The gentleman replied that he had been given the light-stained Canadian by his daughter. "Well, sir, I'm going to have to find out more about Moretti Pipes." We said our farewells, and off I went to yet another call, not forgetting the brief pleasantries shared.

The following day, I began looking online for information on Moretti pipes. As it turned out, there it was, as easy as one could hope for: www.pipemoretti.com. As I browsed the website and read the history of PIPE MORETTI, I found that I kept looking at the various pipes offered for sale and was quite pleased with some of the prices. Some of the pipes started at 52 EURO, which is approximately $56.00. I decided to send Marco Biagini an e-mail and commend him on his site and the pipes he offered for sale.

As it turned out, Marco is a former police officer, or "Carabiniere," who began making pipes in 1983 after his father-in-law, Mr. Igino Moretti, was no longer able to maintain the business alone. Marco and I immediately hit it off, with repeated e-mails back and forth. I found Marco to be a true gentleman and a sincerely honest man who was kind and friendly, referring to everyone as "friend." After looking and asking repeated questions of Marco, I finally narrowed my choice down to four pipes and asked Marco to provide his opinion as to the grain of each. Marco was inquisitive as to my likes and preferences in pipes. I eventually decided on a bent billiard and placed the order on Feb. 28.

Marco and I continued to chat while I eagerly awaited the newest member of my pipe family. On March 10th, after running the mail carrier down, I finally had the package in hand. The pipe was far more beautiful than the picture indicated, and the feel was excellent. Much to my surprise, Marco had also enclosed one of his carved briar tampers.

The next day, after rubbing a little maple syrup on the inside of the bowl, I packed "Blondie," as she is affectionately called, with Caledonian Highland Cream from AC Peterson. WOW! I was amazed at just how well the pipe smoked and how little lighting I needed to keep the tobacco burning at a nice, cool, dry smoke. My wife, Aimee, as she always does whenever I obtain a new pipe, asked what I thought. Upon seeing my smile, she simply said, "That good, huh?" And yes, it was that good and even better.

So I had to learn more about Marco and Pipe Moretti, since obviously Marco had gained a fan and friend for life. I asked Marco how many pipes he produces a year. With an average of 1,000, Marco says that most of his pipes are smooth, natural finishes. Marco uses only Calabrian briar because, in his opinion, the briar is the most resistant to heat. Marco says that he allows his briar to dry naturally between 10-12 years and sometimes as along as 15 years. Marco says that most of his mouthpieces are pre-formed, but he does make some by hand on occasions. Marco inserts a briar dot in each mouthpiece, a symbol of Moretti Pipes.

Marco does smoke a pipe on occasion but finds that he usually smokes cigars and cigarettes. Marco says that he enjoys making all shapes of pipes but most enjoys making the Dublin, Rhodesian and prince. Marco says that it usually takes between 5 to 12 hours on average to produce a new pipe. All his pipes are finished with 1200 sandpaper. Marco believes that the quality of the briar and the individual attention given to a pipe are what produces a quality smoke. Marco doesn't believe in filling flaws, preferring to leave sand pits and other minor flaws visible. Marco says, and I quote, "A beautiful woman is beautiful even if she has flaws, as is briar with its sand pits." Marco's pipes run from the $56 I mentioned up to $800 for some straight-grain horns I have viewed. Marco makes a lot of really large pipes. All his pipes are simply stamped "Moretti" and below that "Recanati."

Marco is still assisted on occasions by his father-in-law, Igino, who is now 73 years old. Marco says that a piece of briar with too many flaws is simply discarded instead of being blasted or rusticated. Marco prefers to sell to pipe smokers and collectors more so than dealers, though he and his family do run a retail shop in Recanati, Italy that carries his pipes. As Marco says, "I make all pipes with the same care because I want the best for my friends." Marco Biagini and his wife, Emanuela are charming, accommodating people who know no strangers and treat everyone as though they are life-long friends.

I often believe that the character of a pipe maker is evident in his or her work. Marco's character is reflected in the care and love he places in each pipe, making and sending them to friends yet to meet and friends never met, but nonetheless to friends.

This article was originally published in The Pipe Collector, the North American Society of Pipe Collectors newsletter NASP, and is used here by permission. It's a great orginazation--consider becoming a member.

More on Moretti, by Fred Hanna

I found myself nodding in agreement throughout the entire article on Moretti pipes, recently written by Joseph Hornsby in the Pipe Collector. I have owned and smoked many Moretti pipes since my introduction to them in 1999, and I have been consistently pleased with the workmanship and quality that pipe maker Marco Biagini provides at very reasonable prices. In addition to such details as air curing his Calabrian briar for 10 or more years, making 1000 pipes per year, and other particulars noted so well by Mr. Hornsby, there are a few more points that I would like to add.

Marco has told me that he likes to buy as many magnum-sized blocks as he can afford. This amounts to approximately 100 per year. He loves to make gigantic pipes, and these are readily observable on his website, www.pipemoretti.com. Many of these end up being rusticated or partially rusticated due to flaws in the briar, and Marco sells these pipes for the remarkably low price of $60 (give or take) on his website. In my experience, there is no better deal for magnum- sized or rusticated pipes anywhere. Although the cost of shipping from Italy must be figured into the cost, these pipes remain highly reasonable.

There are a few more details that I would like to mention. Marco's stems are Lucite, but he will make a vulcanite bit for a pipe if asked. Marco seems to be very concerned with making sure that his pipes pass the pipe-cleaner test, especially in recent years. I have had several magnum-sized Moretti deep bents that take a pipe cleaner effortlessly, without any twists or turns. Marco has told me that he considers this to be a very important aspect of pipe making, and I couldn't agree more. I have noticed that some $1000+ brands do not attend closely to the pipe- cleaner test, and many such pipes allow a cleaner to pass only with contortions and gymnastics. There's no excuse for this oversight in pipe making.

A curious aspect of Moretti pipes is the surface of the inner walls of the tobacco chamber. Marco does not sand these to any great extent, and one will find the inner walls to be quite rough. This gives the illusion of lack of detail and finish and may turn off some American collectors. However, this is deliberate. I asked Marco about this, and he says that he considers a rough surface to be ideal for forming a cake sooner rather than later. Interestingly, I have owned some pipes whose inner walls were so smooth that accumulating a cake was difficult in these pipes. I am not a great believer in forming a thick cake, but I do believe that at least some cake seems to be important in breaking in a pipe. There are many perspectives on this point. Whatever the case, most of us have come to expect smooth, carefully sanded or coated surfaces in our tobacco chambers, and Marco challenges us to reconsider this view. As far as I am concerned, after I smoke my Moretti pipes a few times, the chamber walls are no longer visible anyway.

Marco is very careful to drill the draft hole, or air hole, of a pipe centered and flush with the bottom of the bowl. Once again, this is not always the case with all pipes from major brands, even with some far more expensive high grades. Marco also does not believe in wide tobacco chambers--that is, chambers with great diameter. Most of Marco's chambers measure right around .875 inches. Lou Zisholz made some interesting comments on this point in the last issue of the Pipe Smoker's Ephemeris in the context of Dunhill and BBB magnums. Specifically, Lou told us that chambers too wide in diameter tend to provide a poor smoke. For the most part, I agree with Lou, although I want to experiment with this a bit further. Nevertheless, Marco Biagini has told me that a chamber with a diameter of 13/16 to 14/16 inches makes for a better smoke. We can debate the pros and cons of this point, and there are many. However, the point here is that this is the reason why you will not normally see a wide, huge tobacco chamber, even in a Moretti magnum, although there are exceptions. Having said that, the bottoms of Marco's chambers are nicely shaped and promote the combustion of tobacco all the way to the bottom of the bowl.

Marco, to my knowledge, does not use putty or other fills. However, you will see sandpits in many of his pipes. If sandpits bother you, then carefully inspect Moretti pipes before you buy, for there can be quite a few in some pieces. We all know that Italian makers are not as concerned with removing sandpits as much as are the Danish makers. Marco does not try to hide sandpits, but he does not charge much for them either. Thus, one can get some very well-grained, all-smooth pieces with a few pits for as low as $100. Cleaner pieces with great grain cost more, of course.

Speaking of grain, Marco produces many nicely grained pipes. I currently own 2 Moretti magnums with incredibly tight straight grain all around the bowls. If these were Castellos, they would cost well over $2500. Similarly, I recently owned a spectacular, truly gigantic Moretti with 360 degrees of tight, dense birdseye on a pipe nearly free of sandpits. It is always quite a spectacle to see a pipe rim displaying that striking sunburst, radial grain pattern typical of the ultra-rare 360 birdseye pipe. But on this Moretti, the sunburst, radial grain pattern was on a rim nearly 4 inches in length, and the bird's-eye was plastered all around a pipe nearly 4 inches high! One look at this piece and one instantly recognizes the great skill possessed by its maker.

It is worth noting that Marco has the admirable quality of being open to feedback from his customers. I know that he has followed the advice of Tarek Manadily and Tony Soderman, and he has also patiently listened to some of my own minor suggestions as well. In closing, if I seem enthusiastic about Moretti pipes, it is because I am indeed. If the reader is interested, Marco has some amazing pipes on his website, and, like Mr. Hornsby, I encourage pipe smokers to check them out.

This article was originally published in The Pipe Collector, the North American Society of Pipe Collectors newsletter NASP, and is used here by permission. It's a great orginazation--consider becoming a member.

Contact information

Vicolo dell’Olmo
7 – 62019 Recanati (MC) ITALY
Tel. +39-0717570063
Fax +39-0717572459
Email: mailto:marco@pipemoretti.com
Website: Pipe Moretti