Ercole Bogni Rusticated Apple Estate Briar Pipe, Unsmoked

Hailing from a family of pipe makers in Italy, Ercole Bogni got his start working in his grandfather’s pipe factory, before moving on to work for some of his country’s most established pipe companies. In 1963, he went solo, creating the ErcolePipe brand. As such, Ercole has been making pipes for longer than most of us (both inside and outside of the industry) have been alive, and in keeping with the family tradition, he was later joined by his son, Raffaele. Together, the two continue to craft handmade Italian pipes together as a father and son artisan duo. In addition to his own pipes, Ercole Bogni has, over the decades, continued to work with many of Italy’s other famous pipe companies, and this is largely for one specific reason: he is a master in the art of rusticated finishes. I have heard, for example, that Bogni played a part in developing Savinelli’s post-war rusticated lines and, looking at this Ercole apple, I have to wonder if he could have played a part in conceiving the Punto Oro Corallo, on which Mauro Armellini (another Italian artisan) also worked. Dressed in a particularly sharp, pebble-dash finish and wearing a near-naked stain, I’d imagine this apple would, over time, develop a nice, golden patina as it absorbs residue from the smoke, just as the Corallo does. Either way, it’s a great little pipe, with a great deal of history behind it. This pipe is completely unsmoked, with an original bowl coating.   Details: Length: 5.3″ / 134.62mm Bowl Width: 0.85 / 21.59mm Bowl Depth: 1.59″ /40.38mm Weight: 1.4oz / 40g