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(New page: Moretti's [http://www.pipemoretti.com website] '''Pipe Moretti: The Pipe and the Pipe Maker -- Both Italian Gems, by Fred Hanna''' ''This article was originally published in The Pipe Col...) |
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Moretti's [http://www.pipemoretti.com website] | Moretti's [http://www.pipemoretti.com website] | ||
== Articles about Pipe Moretti == | |||
=== 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 | ''This article was originally published in The Pipe Collector, the North American Society of Pipe Collectors newsletter [http://www.naspc.org/ 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. | 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. | ||
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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. | 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 | ''This article was originally published in The Pipe Collector, the North American Society of Pipe Collectors newsletter [http://www.naspc.org/ 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 [http://www.naspc.org/ 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: maitlo:marco@pipemoretti.com | |||