"Fatto a mano" is Italian for "made by hand", properly translated "handmade". The Radice family is all about hands. They have firm handshakes and look you in the eye when talking with you. They make long-term business deals with nothing but handshakes. They use their hands to emphasize points of discussion, setting down whatever is in hand or letting go of the steering wheel of a fast-moving car if need be. And of course they craft world-famous pipes by hand.

If briar dust can flow through a person's veins, it flows through Roberto Ascorti's. His father was a famous carver, his brother worked by Roberto’s side making pipes, his wife Silvana has been involved in the pipe business since she was 16 or 17 and now runs the Ascorti pipe and cigar shop. Roberto has hand crafted innumerable pipes, breathing in the dust that inevitably escapes the dust collection systems, for many years.