I really love Chubby pipes. I like the feel to keep in the hand a massive bowl but a pipe with an overall short length. I find this kind of pipes very comfortable to keep in the mouth because the very short shank and mouthpiece perfectly balance the weight of the bowl. Beside this I love to smoke in pipes with thick walls. There are several pipemakers who expressed their genius making chubby pipes: Castello and Tonino Jacono, for example.
But my desire was to create a pipe with my own proportions.
I asked Luigi Radice and his sons to help me, creating a short chubby and thick billiard. Why Radice? Because I think that their pipes are a great compromise among quality and price, because Radice pipes has a respectable history behing and because of the undoubted fantasy of the master.
Our work started in January 2006; in November of the same year we had the pipe!
The CHUBBY BILLIARD that Radice makes exclusively must have a total length which is included among 115 and 120 mm (4 1/2 and 4 3/4 inches) (well, there are few pieces which are a little bit longer...); the bowl must have a diameter of at least 40 mm (1 9/16 inches) and the walls must be 9/10 mm (3/8 inches) thick. The shank must also have a fixed diameter. It must not be under 24/25 mm (1 inch).
I am aware that I've not discovered "hot water", but my attempt is to offer to the pipe community a well made pipe with exactly this kind of proportions!
Once decided "how to make" the Neatpipes Chubby Billiard, I obviously left to Luigi the freedom to express his creativeness, making the pipe in all his finishes, colours and applying a Sterling Silver Band (which could have a handmade pattern or not), a boxwood ring or any other options he thinks it could fit on the pipe.
As said, the Neatpipes Chubby Billiard was presented in November 2006 and it immediately got an extraordinary success! Pipesmokers have been enthusiasts about it, for its smoking qualities and balance and the result is that it became the Best Seller of my website.
In this page you will always find the largest selection as possible, in all finishes (rusticated, sandblasted, smooth), colours (from black to unstained for rusticated and sandblasted, up to black, red, contrasted, brown, clear, etc. for smooth pipes) and with or without options (like Sterling Silver or Gold bands, Boxwood or other wood rings, etc.).
I hope you will enjoy the Chubby Billiard too! Luca