Ascorti?

[Boxerbuddy]

I've been on Ebay looking at estates, and it seems that pretty much every rusticated Ascorti I see goes for right around $50. I took the plunge not knowing much about this brand and bought an Ascorti straight dublin shape that looked to be in pretty good condition for $51. It had a little rim darkening but thats all I could see was wrong, and the seller had a 100% satisfaction rating. I suppose if it sucks im only out 50 bucks.

Do any of you guys have any experience with this brand? Opinions?

 

[Kyle Weiss]

The only girl pipe smoker I know, Krista, who works at the Tinder Box here in Reno (known her for years, awesome gal)--is a HUGE Ascorti fan. She has many of them and smokes them regularly, sells them constantly and talks them up highly. The only reason why she hasn't gotten me into one is new, they can be a little higher in price than I can usually put out, and there's never any estate models locally.

I would totally own one, I love the way they look, and hear only good about how they smoke.

$50 is a VERY keen price. 8) PM me if you see one for that cheap, I never get that lucky.

 

[plumbernater]

I havent got one yet. But I have bid on a couple and lost. I look for particular things when looking at ebay estate pipes. The ones that have been cleaned already I cant tell much about. But the ones that have been smoked a good bit and have been took good care of no matter how old. say looks like some one charished a certain pipe of theirs. That is a pipe Im interested in. Many like that in many brands. Some one liked the way they smoked if you get what I mean.

 

[joshoowah]

Ascorti is ran by Roberto Ascorti, son of the late Giuseppe "Peppino" Ascorti (one of the makers of the famous Caminetto brand). Roberto began creating his own pipes in 1980, but Caminetto wanted nothing to do with him. Thus, he made pipes under his own name "Ascorti," a company in which Giuseppe would soon join. After Caminetto caved in, Giuseppe joined his son in making pipes for Ascorti. Many of the other makers of Caminetto also came to Ascorti because they basically resembled the tradition of Caminetto, as well as their style of pipes. Take a look at an old Caminetto and an Ascorti, they are similar in construction. In 1986, Robert reopened the name and brand Caminetto. In doing so, the style and famous rustications of the Caminetto of old were resurrected. Of course, they are not exactly the same and people swear they are different. I own both types of Caminetto's and an Ascorti, so se le vie. In any case, Ascorti comes from the tradition of Giuseppe Ascorti, who was an original carver and partner in the Caminetto brand. To answer your question in the simplest answer possible: Ascorti is a fine, fine brand and I honestly believe the prices they go for on e-Bay are a steal. You should enjoy that pipe if it is in decent enough condition.

 

[Kyle Weiss]

Great history recap, Josh. I remember reading about it in my Hacker book...the Ascorti lineage is from a good heritage of Italian pipemakers.

 

[KevinP]

A very fine brand and a steal at those prices. The first pipe I bought that didn't come from a drugstore or the basket was an Ascorti and I bought several more since. Haven't bought one since the local Tinder Boxes went out of business, but those I have have served me well over the decades. Well-constructed and aesthetically pleasing Italian pipes.

Smoking a Caminetto now...

 

[Anonymous]

Roberto began creating his own pipes in 1980, but Caminetto wanted nothing to do with him

Problem was that Ascorti & Radice were increasingly parting ways over whether to carve for quality or volume ; Davoli figured that adding Ascorti's son to the shop would have tipped the influence balance into the rupture that happened later anyhow so he kept him out ("Caminetto" was Davoli's company and used his production shop & equipment).

Never had a 1st generation (thin gold moustache) one but two second generations (Roberto) (white moustache) smooths have been masterpieces of carving & styling. Except for the cast stems (that need opened and, being brittle old castings, tend to explode when they are), they're dynamite.

(Explosion : not an old wives tale. Happened to one I gifted a friend not many months ago when he -- very carefully -- tried it). (Notice the disclaimer on Ronnie B's site that he won't be responsible for damage to lucite stems).

FWIW

:face:

 

[KevinP]

In the years after the first edition of Hacker's book, I bought I think three Caminettos. I began to think, 'For a supposedly hard-to-find collectors' item, these are surprisingly easy to come by...' Turns out Caminetto had been back in business for a couple years and I was buying new ones without knowing it. Ah, pipe collecting in the pre-information age!

Happy ending: it turned out that only one of them was from the new production line, and it's just as fine a smoker as the others.

 

[riff raff]

I'm looking forward to seeing your new Ascorti. I've yet to read a post by an owner who was unhappy. $50? Sounds like a deal!

 

[Kyle Weiss]

I Ah, pipe collecting in the pre-information age!

...sometimes too much information (and false stuff at that) makes it almost nice to have a good book with good references and bibliography... :lol: ...scarce, but simple!

 

[Tim_Haggerty]

I've got an Ascorti "business" pipe in the rack, it's a good mid-level pipe. A little heavy for it's size, but it smokes well, I take it out now and again.

 

[Richard Burley]

For what it's worth, the best pipe I ever had for smoking heavy latakia blends was an Ascorti. The wood just seemed to have a strange rapport with the tobacco, sort of a toasted nuttiness on top of the smoky latakia. Wish I still had it. But as mentioned above, it was very heavy for its size, and I don't have a clue why.

 

[mgtarheel]

I own two Ascortis from the 1970s, they are two of my best smokers. I highly recommend them.

 

[Richard Hester]

I have three Ascorti pips and love them all, they all are very good smokers. For the price you paid I would say is a win win on your part. Happy smokes.
Best Regards
Richard

 

[Boxerbuddy]

GRRRR I'm sooo mad!
I got the pipe in the mail and it looks in great shape. I grab the stem to put it in the pipe...push and twist....SNAP...tenon breaks off right in the shank. I must have put some pressure on it in some direction other than twisting, but damn that tenon must have been brittle.

In any case I called Walker Briar Works and he said he'll put a delrin tenon in it thats practically indestructible. He said turnaround is about 4 weeks right now.

Sorry guys lol pics are gonna have to wait till I get it back.

 

[Kyle Weiss]

Well, it'll be one worth fixing. If it was that brittle, it was just a matter of time. 8) Look forward to pictures of it next month!

 

[joshoowah]

Minor repair is worth it for a pipe that will last a lifetime.

 

[dshpipes]

Joshoowah, did Giuseppe Ascorti and Luigi Radice both carve for Castello originally?

 

[joshoowah]

Joshoowah, did Giuseppe Ascorti and Luigi Radice both carve for Castello originally?

Yes. It is part of the reason why many early Caminetto's look similar to Castello's. It was around the time Italian pipes started to became a craze in the U.S. Castello's, however, were still fairly expensive during those days. Thus, Caminetto was born when Giuseppe and Luigi left and teamed up with Davoli (the three chimneys). Caminetto was the "cheaper" alternative to those who wanted to try something similar to Castello. Caminetto's were still higher in price than most other makers, but to my understanding, they were way more affordable than Castello's and readily available in the U.S.

 

[Kyle Weiss]

... and readily available in the U.S.

Yep, and from what I read, availability did them no harm whatsoever in becoming pretty popular here...