Molina — "mill" in Italian — is a long-running workshop from Vedano Olona that has built its name on consistency, turning out reliable, well-priced smokers for newcomers and seasoned pipe men alike. The Striato series is the house's traditional line: twelve classic medium shapes cut from carefully selected extra-grade briar, each finished with a Cumberland-colored acrylic stem and a brass ring at the shank, details that give the line its instantly recognizable character. This A626 wears the contrast sandblast, where the blasting raises the briar's grain into a bold, craggy texture and the darker tone settles into the valleys to throw the relief into sharp relief.
The Apple is one of the oldest and most companionable shapes in pipedom, and this one carries a gentle bend that brings the bit back toward the jaw — a rounded, generously proportioned bowl that fills the palm and gives the pipe a warm, hefty presence. It's the largest of the Striato blasts, and the chamber shows it: cut deep at 43 millimeters with a narrow bore, a proportion that burns unhurried and rewards a long evening sit, holding enough tobacco to see a conversation through. Left unfiltered, the draw stays wide open and unobstructed, letting the tobacco speak plainly from light to heel, while the Cumberland acrylic stem resists oxidation and holds its warm mottled tone far longer than vulcanite. A substantial, sit-down pipe for the smoker who likes some weight in hand.
Length: 5.84 in./148 mm | Weight: 2.24 oz./64 g | Bowl Height: 2.02 in./51 mm | Chamber Depth: 1.68 in./43 mm | Chamber Diameter: 0.77 in./20 mm | Outside Diameter: 1.80 in./46 mm | Shape: Bent Apple | Finish: Contrast Sandblast | Material: Extra-grade Briar | Stem: Cumberland acrylic | Band: Brass | Filter: None | Country: Italy
