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=== Briar === | === Briar === | ||
[[Image:costello1.gif|thumb|[[Castello]] Old Antiquari GG, courtesy of pipes2smoke.com]]The majority of pipes sold today, whether hand made or machine made, are fashioned from briar. Briar is a particularly good wood for pipe making for a number of reasons. The first and most important is its natural resistance to fire. The second is its inherent ability to absorb moisture. The burl absorbs water in nature to supply the tree in the dry times and likewise will absorb the moisture that is a byproduct of combustion. Briar is cut from the root burl of the heath tree ([http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tree_heath Erica arborea]), which is native to the rocky and sandy soils of the Mediterranean region. Briar burls are cut into two types of blocks; ebauchon and plateaux. Ebauchon is taken from the heart of the burl while plateaux is taken from the outer part of the burl. While both types of blocks can produce pipes of the highest quality, most artisan pipe makers prefer to use plateaux because of its superior graining. | [[Image:costello1.gif|thumb|[[Castello]] Old Antiquari GG, courtesy of pipes2smoke.com]]The majority of pipes sold today, whether hand made or machine made, are fashioned from briar. Briar is a particularly good wood for pipe making for a number of reasons. The first and most important is its natural resistance to fire. The second is its inherent ability to absorb moisture. The burl absorbs water in nature to supply the tree in the dry times and likewise will absorb the moisture that is a byproduct of combustion. Briar is cut from the root burl of the heath tree ([http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tree_heath Erica arborea]), which is native to the rocky and sandy soils of the Mediterranean region. Briar burls are cut into two types of blocks; ebauchon and plateaux. Ebauchon is taken from the heart of the burl while plateaux is taken from the outer part of the burl. While both types of blocks can produce pipes of the highest quality, most artisan pipe makers prefer to use plateaux because of its superior graining. | ||
*[http://pipedia.org/doc/CharacteristicsOfBriar.pdf Characteristics Of Briar] is a very thorough and interesting research paper in .pdf format by G. Tsoumis, N. Kezos, I Fanariotou, E. Voulgaridis, and C. Passialis documenting the various characteristics of briar. | |||
*See, [[My Visit to A Briar Sawmill]], [[What Makes a Good Briar Pipe]], [[The Art of Sandblasting]], and [[Curing]] all excellent articles by R.D. Field. Also see [[100 Year Old Briar?]] | *See, [[My Visit to A Briar Sawmill]], [[What Makes a Good Briar Pipe]], [[The Art of Sandblasting]], and [[Curing]] all excellent articles by R.D. Field. Also see [[100 Year Old Briar?]] | ||
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=== Alternative Woods Used For Pipemaking === | === Alternative Woods Used For Pipemaking === | ||
Although briar pipes are by far the most popular, various other woods are also used by pipe makers. See [[Alternative Woods Used For Pipemaking ]] for a list of the many wood types and examples of pipes made with these woods. Many thanks to pipemaker [[Elie]] for suggesting this section. Also see [[Pipes in Other Woods]] an article written for The Collector by [[Tim Fuller]] | Although briar pipes are by far the most popular, various other woods are also used by pipe makers. See [[Alternative Woods Used For Pipemaking ]] for a list of the many wood types and examples of pipes made with these woods. Many thanks to pipemaker [[Elie]] for suggesting this section. Also see [[Pipes in Other Woods]] an article written for The Collector by [[Tim Fuller]] | ||