The Pipes Don Carlos Pipes: DC Models, Page 2

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Bolero

Canone

CorniolaNew

Follia

Hydra

Kronos

Melos

Montana

Sisma

Click to go directly to the desired pipe on this page.

 

Grade:  Smooth 2-N
Pipe Code: DC193 Price: CHF 360.00   Shape:  Bolero Weight: 57g / 2oz Chamber ø: 22.5mm  --  Chamber Depth: 46mm  --  Wall Thickness:  ->13mm  --  Cleaner Passes? Yes
COMMENT: Design Story:  The original idea behind this model belongs to one of Bruto's friends and devoted customers; it was the very first time Bruto listens to someone! BUT! As always, Bruto used his imagination and at the end, the final shape proved fascinating even to the person who originally had the idea! What makes a Bolero is not only the shape itself, but also the narrow silver band and the elaborate briar insert in the shank. This is one of the most robust Bolero's I have seen; the walls are quite thick and there is enough wood all over the pipe. The grain is regular and consistent, and I can detect no bald spots at all (in areas where you might think the grain has disappeared, you realize upon closer exa mination that the grain is indeed there but very, thin and fine). The Bird's Eye on all of the bowl rim and base is quite spectacular.

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Grade:  Smooth 2-N
Pipe Code: DC246 Price: CHF 360.00   Shape: Kronos Weight: 37g / 1-5/16 oz Chamber ø: 20mm  --  Chamber Depth: 37mm  --  Wall Thickness:  15mm  --  Cleaner Passes? Yes
COMMENT: Design Story:  As you may note, this shape has a lot in common with the Bolero, particularly the thin silver band, the shank insert (though this one is not briar), and above all, the bowl shape. Apparently, Bruto was in a very unusual mood one day, and so he wanted to produced something, well... unusual! As he's always been in love with the elegance of the Bolero, with its magical combination of tradition and innovation, he decided to try and maintain the classic touch of the shape, while adding a new dimension of "craziness", which is the crooked mouthpiece and shank. He decided to name the shape after a New York quartet which is famous for playing classic pieces, combined with modern and folkloric music.. The Kronos, I believe, would make an absolutely great pipe if you smoke pressed tobaccos, due to the relatively small chamber size, which is usually about a Dunhill Group 2-3.

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Grade:  Smooth 3-N
Pipe Code: DC247 Price: CHF 500.00   Shape: Melos Weight: 70g / 2-15/32 oz Chamber ø: 22mm  --  Chamber Depth: 38mm  --  Wall Thickness:  ->16mm  --  Cleaner Passes? Yes
COMMENT: Design Story:  This pipe brings back memories, since it was one of the first two distinctive Don Carlos Special Models (the other is the Montana). Unlike the Montana, however, the Melos took quite a bit of time to develop into the above shape, a shape that has never fallen out of fashion. Bruto first made the Melos into an Apple shape, and then he sent it to me. I didn't find that the idea of the bands, which is the main feature of the Melos, went well with the Apple shape. So, later, and after a few back-and-forth efforts, Bruto modified it and ended up with THIS shape. I'm proud to be the owner of the first various Melos prototypes. Having said that, I have to admit that the Melos you see here is by far the most beautiful, graceful and distinctive of all.

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Grade:  Smooth 2-N
Pipe Code: DC249 Price: CHF 380.00   Shape: XL Montana Weight: 106g / 3-23/32 oz Chamber ø: ->23.5mm  --  Chamber Depth: 49mm  --  Wall Thickness:  ->17mm  --  Cleaner Passes? Yes
COMMENT: Design Story:  The original Montana has the following key features: (1) A Billiard-shape bowl, with a round shank, (2) An Army Mount, with a silver band around the tenon, (3) A silver band around the shank, and (4) the round briar insert. Occasionally, Bruto would make a Montana of another shape, such as a Freeform Apple, Tomato, or a Dublin. Bruto would occasionally make different variations of the Montana, and this is one of them. As you can see, the bowl shape is of the Bell/Dublin, as opposed to the Billiard (the classic Montana). The pipe has a massive amount of wood, and the bowl is simply HUGE!

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Grade:  Smooth 2-N
Pipe Code: DC250 Price: CHF 380.00   Shape: Corniola Weight: 65g / 2-9/32 oz Chamber ø: 21.5mm  --  Chamber Depth: 34mm  --  Wall Thickness:  ->18mm  --  Cleaner Passes? Yes
COMMENT: Design Story:  One day during the spring of 2005, Bruto was hiking up one of the mountains in his area. That particular area had suffered some serious damage because of an avalanche. Being the wood freak he is, Bruto spotted a weird-looking tree, all destroyed and uprooted. He examined the wood, and he fell in love with, at first sight. He went back to his workshop right away, and a few hours later, he back to the trea; with his chain saw, he salvaged as much of the tree as possible, and he brought it all back. After a little research, he recognized the type of wood as "Corniola". Later on, a friend of Bruto's asked him to make him a Sisma, with a rounded, Apple-type bowl. He took the idea and instead of using an oak insert (as is the case with the Sisma), he used the "Corniola". This is how the Don Carlos "Corniola" shape was born. The tobacco chamber size is comparable to a Dunhill Group 3.

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Grade:  Smooth 3-N
Pipe Code: DC253 Price: CHF 480.00   Shape: Corniola Weight: 63g / 2-7/32 oz Chamber ø: 22mm  --  Chamber Depth: 38mm  --  Wall Thickness:  ->18mm  --  Cleaner Passes? Yes
COMMENT: Design Story:  One day during the spring of 2005, Bruto was hiking up one of the mountains in his area. That particular area had suffered some serious damage because of an avalanche. Being the wood freak he is, Bruto spotted a weird-looking tree, all destroyed and uprooted. He examined the wood, and he fell in love with, at first sight. He went back to his workshop right away, and a few hours later, he back to the trea; with his chain saw, he salvaged as much of the tree as possible, and he brought it all back. After a little research, he recognized the type of wood as "Corniola". Later on, a friend of Bruto's asked him to make him a Sisma, with a rounded, Apple-type bowl. He took the idea and instead of using an oak insert (as is the case with the Sisma), he used the "Corniola". This is how the Don Carlos "Corniola" shape was born. The tobacco chamber size is comparable to a Dunhill Group 4-5.

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Grade:  Smooth 2-N
Pipe Code: DC255 Price: CHF 480.00   Shape: Hydra Weight: 57g / 2oz Chamber ø: 22mm  --  Chamber Depth: 39mm  --  Wall Thickness:  ->18mm  --  Cleaner Passes? Yes
COMMENT: Design Story:  This is a patented Don Carlos System that Bruto developed years ago, after a long time of experimentation. I was his chief guinea pig in the process, but I now pride myself over the fact that I have in my private collection some of the prototypes of the Hydra. The system is obviously designed to eliminate excess condensation. The middle compartment of the shank is where the moisture is trapped and it is where it stays. The mouthpiece can be safely removed any time during the smoke, since it is always cool. When you feel that some moisture has accumulated in that moisture trap, you can simply remove the mouthpiece, and literally, pour out the excess moisture. You're back in business, as if you just lit the pipe for the first time. The result is very dry and cool smoke, and everyone I know who has smoked the Hydra swears by it. If you wish, you can always remove the metal tube and insert a 9mm filter. A cleaner goes all the way through the entire shank, extensions and all the way to the bottom to of the shank, but that's where it stops. The cleaner test, if I may add, is anyway irrelevant in the case of the Hydra and in some ways, it goes against the whole idea.

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