Some pics for Savinelli folks

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monbla256

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I was roamin around the net last night and found some interesting pics of the Savinelli firm from back in the late 1950's which might be of interest to folks who like Savinelli's. These are not pipe porn but rather "on site" pics of the firm and it's facilities where the pipes were and STILL ARE made !! :twisted:

First up is an outside look at the original shop in Milan from the late '50s. Savinelli was the FIRST firm in the world to specialise in pipe tobacco and pipes back in the late 1800's,



Next is an interior shot around the same time of the Milan store. ( in living color BTW :twisted: )



Next is where Achilles Savinelli made the first Savinelli pipes in the back of the Milan store in the late '40s:



Bowl turning in the late '50s. Weird, all those HUMAN BEINGS working with their HANDS to do the work! You'd think this was some kinda ARTISON place rather than a FACTORY !! :twisted: :twisted:



Pipe finishing and grading , 1958. (Damn there's  those PEOPLE again !! :twisted: )



Pipe stamping * ANOTHER HUMAN!!  :twisted: )




Hope you folks found this little visual tour interesting, I sure did as I did not realize PEOPLE did the work at the worlds LARGEST FACTORY for pipes !! :twisted: :twisted:
 
Really great info Monbla, thanks for posting!

 
Gorgeous pictures Monbla, thanks for posting them. This I don't understand though:

monbla256":6hoxk2cp said:
Bowl turning in the late '50s. Weird, all those HUMAN BEINGS working with their HANDS to do the work! You'd think this was some kinda ARTISON place rather than a FACTORY
It looks exactly the same today. Look on the tube, someone has put up a video of their tour of the Savinelli factory, where, lo and behold, humans are working on every step of the pipes. Maybe it's the 'factory' part of the Savinelli factory that summons images of giant machines spitting out pipes, but from what I can see they use pretty much the same machinery as your garden variety artisan does.

The sole difference seems to be that at the factory a bowl is passed from one station to the next, where your artisan is the only person working on a pipe. Or have I missed something?
 
Retrogasm":my476lvu said:
Gorgeous pictures Monbla, thanks for posting them. This I don't understand though:

monbla256":my476lvu said:
Bowl turning in the late '50s. Weird, all those HUMAN BEINGS working with their HANDS to do the work! You'd think this was some kinda ARTISON place rather than a FACTORY
It looks exactly the same today. Look on the tube, someone has put up a video of their tour of the Savinelli factory, where, lo and behold, humans are working on every step of the pipes. Maybe it's the 'factory' part of the Savinelli factory that summons images of giant machines spitting out pipes, but from what I can see they use pretty much the same machinery as your garden variety artisan does.

The sole difference seems to be that at the factory a bowl is passed from one station to the next, where your artisan is the only person working on a pipe. Or have I missed something?
BINGO ! You got it !! Though the "artison" producer does not make multiples of the same style usually and there probably is a more stringent QC process than what may be engaged in at a "factory" . Though as an example, I've seen Guibleo d' Oro pipes that are the EQUAL if not BETTER than some of the work of some "artison" pipes. But then that individual QC and "perfection" levels are usually dictated by the retail cost of the pipe and integrity of the "maker"  whether it be a factory or an indivdual maker. One is NOT neccessarily BETTER than the other! Just DIFFERENT :twisted: :twisted:
 
Yeah, what I think threw me for a loop is that when reading the various pipe forums you get the impression that people think that the 'handmade' stamps are somehow more true when it's a guy in a garage rather than a 'factory' pipe.

Your points about the QC make sense. Of course there's going to be more care taken with every single pipe when it's one guy that also has to put his name on the end product. When talking Savinelli I think you hit that stage somewhere around the Sigla and Autograph line. That being said, I haven't seen a badly made Punto Oro yet...
 
Retrogasm":1oejofe5 said:
Yeah, what I think threw me for a loop is that when reading the various pipe forums you get the impression that people think that the 'handmade' stamps are somehow more true when it's a guy in a garage rather than a 'factory' pipe.

Your points about the QC make sense. Of course there's going to be more care taken with every single pipe when it's one guy that also has to put his name on the end product. When talking Savinelli I think you hit that stage somewhere around the Sigla and Autograph line. That being said, I haven't seen a badly made Punto Oro yet...
And if you've ever seen a Guibleo d'Oro in person, you've seen an example of some of the FINEST pipe making in the world. Waaaay above what Dunhill produces these days for sure !! :twisted: :twisted:
 
Great pictures and information, my friend. Thanks for posting them.
 
I thank you for posting these pictures, my bro'

I'm an outspoken Savinelli fan and I've yet to buy a bad one. From the least expensive (Savinelli do NOT make CHEAP pipes) right up to the most expensive, you can buy them with your eyes closed. You will get a super smoker everytime.
 
SpeedyPete":e8mh2vwh said:
I thank you for posting these pictures, my bro'

I'm an outspoken Savinelli fan and I've yet to buy a bad one.  From the least expensive (Savinelli do NOT make CHEAP pipes) right up to the most expensive, you can buy them with your eyes closed.  You will get a super smoker everytime.
Has been my experience as well. Bought my first one back in '73 and my latest last year. Have over 20 of 'em and EVERYONE is a GREAT smoker !! They are a living link to the "... back in the days" pipe wise for sure !! :twisted: :twisted:
 
Yes indeed, a late "Thanks!" from another guy who likes his Savinellis. I've got a lot of artisan pipes, but at least a dozen Sav's that get smoked fairly regularly. They are indeed fantastic smokers, all of them, and great lookers as well.

And I agree with SpeedyPete's comment about them being inexpensive pipes but definitely NOT cheap. In fact, I sometimes wonder how such great pipes can actually be so light on the wallet. It can play tricks on one's mind and give the impression of them being inferior pipes (when seen pictorially, such as on the 'net) but that idea literally goes up in smoke when you've got one in hand loaded up with some choice tobak and that first fire has touched off the magic.
 
Extremely informative an nostalgic. Appreciate you taking the tome to post these great pictures!!



KEEP ON PUFFING!!!
 
Sorry folks but PB is now charging folks for third party hosting so all my pics are gone :twisted: :twisted:
 
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