Buongiorno a tutti,
questa volta non tesserò grandi lodi ad un marchio storico bensì scriverò ( con la solita sincerità e schiettezza ) della mia personalissima esperienza con queste pipe.
Non sono tantissimi anni che fumo la pipa ma di Castello ne ho avute più di venti... di tanti i finissaggi: dalla Sea Rock alla Collection, dalla Perla Nera alla Occhio Di Pernice. Tutte pipe buone, oneste... ma sono poi così buone? Sono fatte davvero così bene? A mio parere non meritano ( almeno le ultime produzioni ) la grande fama di cui godono.
Il dente della pipe spesso è scomodo e realizzato con un metacrilato troppo duro e tante volte trasparente in contro luce. Passiamo al sistema di assegnazione delle "K"... ho riscontrato che nelle Castello marchiate Carlo Scotti l'assegnazione seguiva questi criteri:
rusticate e sabbiate: assegnazione delle K in base alla grandezza della pipa,
Lisce: assegnazione delle K in base alla bellezza della radica.
Negli ultimi tempi pare che questo metodo sia cambiato: le K molto spesso sembrano assegnate a caso senza troppa attenzione alla pipa stessa. Mi sembra quanto meno strano trovare una Old Antiquari KKKK più piccola di una con 3K. Così come è strano vedere una Collection KK meno fiammata di una con 1K.
Il problema di fondo, personalmente, è che Castello è una fabbrica e non una bottega. E quindi ecco le piccole disattenzioni, le imprecisioni e distrazioni che alla fine mi hanno portato a dire: "mai più Castello".
Non è stata certo una decisione facile e presa a cuor leggero decidere di liberarmi di tutte le castello, molte erano veramente belle e tutto sommato buone da fumare ma nella mia ricerca della pipa d'autore, personalizzata e curata al 100% per questo marchio non c'è posto.
Ci sono ovviamente anche delle eccellenze come la serie Flame... bellissima e veramente preziosa, abilmente scolpita e realizzata con radica "da paura". Ma alla fine cosa ti resta in mano? Una pipa che fuma abbastanza bene, non troppo comoda, che tanto spesso ( almeno nel mio caso e per quelle che mi sono rimaste ) rimane in un cassetto.
Francesco
Hello everyone,
this time I'll not weave high praise to an old brand but I will write ( with my usual frankness and sincerity ) of my personal experience with these pipes.
I don't smoke pipe for many years but I've had more than twenty Castello... all finishes: from Sea Rock, to the Collection, the Perla Nera to Occhio di Pernice. All pipe good, honest ... but they are so good? They are made really good? In my opinion they do not deserve (at least the last productions ) the good reputation that they enjoy.
The tooth of the pipe is often uncomfortable and made with a methacrylate too hard and so often transparent to the light. Let the system of "K"'s allocation... I have found that in the Castello Carlo Scotti marked assignment followed these criteria:
rusticated and sandblasted : assignment of K depending on the size of the pipe,
Smooth : assignment of K according to the beauty of the briar.
Lately it seems that this method is changed : the K very often seem randomly assigned without much attention to the pipe itself. It seems at least strange to find an Old Antique KKKK smaller one with 3K. Just as it is strange to see a Collection KK less flamed with a 1K .
The basic problem, personally, is that Castello is a factory, not a workshop of craftsmen. So here is the small oversights, inaccuracies and distractions that eventually led me to say, " never more a Castello ."
It was no an easy decision, taken lightly, to get rid of all the Castello, many were really nice and all in all good to smoke but in my research of the author's pipe, personalized and cured at 100% for this brand is there no place.
There are of course also of excellence as the series "Flame"... really beautiful and precious, skillfully carved and made of briar "scary."
But in the end what remains in your hand? A pipe that smokes pretty good, not too comfortable, so often (at least in my case, and those that have remained) remains in a drawer.
--------------
Hello everyone,
this time I'll not weave high praise to an old brand but I will write ( with my usual frankness and sincerity ) of my personal experience with these pipes.
I don't smoke pipe for many years but I've had more than twenty Castello... all finishes: from Sea Rock, to the Collection, the Perla Nera to Occhio di Pernice. All pipe good, honest ... but they are so good? They are made really good? In my opinion they do not deserve (at least the last productions ) the good reputation that they enjoy.
The tooth of the pipe is often uncomfortable and made with a methacrylate too hard and so often transparent to the light. Let the system of "K"'s allocation... I have found that in the Castello Carlo Scotti marked assignment followed these criteria:
rusticated and sandblasted : assignment of K depending on the size of the pipe,
Smooth : assignment of K according to the beauty of the briar.
Lately it seems that this method is changed : the K very often seem randomly assigned without much attention to the pipe itself. It seems at least strange to find an Old Antique KKKK smaller one with 3K. Just as it is strange to see a Collection KK less flamed with a 1K .
The basic problem, personally, is that Castello is a factory, not a workshop of craftsmen. So here is the small oversights, inaccuracies and distractions that eventually led me to say, " never more a Castello ."
It was no an easy decision, taken lightly, to get rid of all the Castello, many were really nice and all in all good to smoke but in my research of the author's pipe, personalized and cured at 100% for this brand is there no place.
There are of course also of excellence as the series "Flame"... really beautiful and precious, skillfully carved and made of briar "scary."
But in the end what remains in your hand? A pipe that smokes pretty good, not too comfortable, so often (at least in my case, and those that have remained) remains in a drawer.
Francesco
