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What Makes a Good Briar Pipe: Difference between revisions
→Making the pipe
(New page: ''Orignely published in the Spring 1985 edition of Pipe Smoker, and used by permission.'' '''What Makes A Good Briar Pipe''' == Part 1 == Perhaps the question most often asked of me in ...) |
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In our last article we discussed materials, aging, and weight of fine briar in the rough stages. We also discussed the differences between the briar burls from the male and female plant. This article deals with the handling of briar in the actual making of a pipe. I hope that you will find this information helpful in your pursuit of Kapnismology. | In our last article we discussed materials, aging, and weight of fine briar in the rough stages. We also discussed the differences between the briar burls from the male and female plant. This article deals with the handling of briar in the actual making of a pipe. I hope that you will find this information helpful in your pursuit of Kapnismology. | ||
== Making the pipe == | === Making the pipe === | ||
=== cutting bowl and shank === | ==== cutting bowl and shank ==== | ||
There are two methods of cutting bowl and shank - by hand and by machine. With hand-turning relatively little briar is wasted as the craftsman can work around flaws changing the shape or size of the pipe while doing so. While a hand-turned bowl may look symmetrical, close examination will reveal that it is not - one wall may be a trifle thicker than the other, or there may be a little unevenness as the hand rubs against the outside of the bowl or shank. That the pipe looks symmetrical is the mark of a good hand-turner; that it has a unique feel tells that it was made-by hand. | There are two methods of cutting bowl and shank - by hand and by machine. With hand-turning relatively little briar is wasted as the craftsman can work around flaws changing the shape or size of the pipe while doing so. While a hand-turned bowl may look symmetrical, close examination will reveal that it is not - one wall may be a trifle thicker than the other, or there may be a little unevenness as the hand rubs against the outside of the bowl or shank. That the pipe looks symmetrical is the mark of a good hand-turner; that it has a unique feel tells that it was made-by hand. | ||
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Is one method better than the other? Yes and no! It depends what the smoker is after. Does he want to feel that there is a bit of the maker in every hand-turned bowl? Does he want the perfect symmetry of the perfect classical shape? | Is one method better than the other? Yes and no! It depends what the smoker is after. Does he want to feel that there is a bit of the maker in every hand-turned bowl? Does he want the perfect symmetry of the perfect classical shape? | ||
=== Seasoning === | ==== Seasoning ==== | ||
Seasoning here refers to a process undertaken after the bowl has been cut (as far as I am aware only one maker is currently employing this process). It has been thought by some than even when the briar block has been air-dried for a number of years all the resins within the wood do not evaporate and may even "set", making for a prolonged period before the pipe gives the proper taste to the smoker. In 1913 a process was invented which, by a unique combination of heat and beneficial oils, enabled all resins and sap to "exude" from the bowl leaving it thoroughly seasoned for the smoker. Besides seasoning the pipe this process has another effect all pipes on which this process is used have the same "nutty" taste no matter from where the briar. | Seasoning here refers to a process undertaken after the bowl has been cut (as far as I am aware only one maker is currently employing this process). It has been thought by some than even when the briar block has been air-dried for a number of years all the resins within the wood do not evaporate and may even "set", making for a prolonged period before the pipe gives the proper taste to the smoker. In 1913 a process was invented which, by a unique combination of heat and beneficial oils, enabled all resins and sap to "exude" from the bowl leaving it thoroughly seasoned for the smoker. Besides seasoning the pipe this process has another effect all pipes on which this process is used have the same "nutty" taste no matter from where the briar. | ||
=== Making the mouthpiece === | ==== Making the mouthpiece ==== | ||
Again, two methods are used- injection-molding and hand-cutting; also two types of material are in general usage- vulcanite and plexiglas. Injection-molded mouthpieces are stock items of many shapes and sizes which come from moulds (they are what the local pipe repairman uses when he replaces a mouthpiece). Fitting such a mouthpiece to a pipe is a fairly simple operation in that it involves selecting the size and shape wanted, perhaps turning down the tenon a bit for a good fit, and buffing down the outside of the mouthpiece where it meets the shank of the pipe. | Again, two methods are used- injection-molding and hand-cutting; also two types of material are in general usage- vulcanite and plexiglas. Injection-molded mouthpieces are stock items of many shapes and sizes which come from moulds (they are what the local pipe repairman uses when he replaces a mouthpiece). Fitting such a mouthpiece to a pipe is a fairly simple operation in that it involves selecting the size and shape wanted, perhaps turning down the tenon a bit for a good fit, and buffing down the outside of the mouthpiece where it meets the shank of the pipe. | ||
Hand-cutting a mouthpiece involves taking a sheet or rod of solid vulcanite or plexiglas and turning it to proper size and shape much as one would hand-turn a bowl lit is interesting to note here that of the premium pipemakers, some who hand-turn bowls use injection-molded mouthpieces and some who machine-turn bowls use hand-cut mouthpieces). Not only is size and shape important (the mouthpiece has to blend with the symmetry of the bowl) but the lip receives a fantastic amount of attention. For it is here that even the uninitiated can tell the difference. While the lip of the injection-molded mouthpiece is thick (unless some hand-work has been added) the lip of the hand-cut mouthpiece is thin, the buttons unobtrusive. The difference in comfort level between the two types for those who grip their pipe at the end of the lip is dramatic. I have long maintained that the mouthpiece comprises one-half the pipe, and it is this half that is so often neglected. | Hand-cutting a mouthpiece involves taking a sheet or rod of solid vulcanite or plexiglas and turning it to proper size and shape much as one would hand-turn a bowl lit is interesting to note here that of the premium pipemakers, some who hand-turn bowls use injection-molded mouthpieces and some who machine-turn bowls use hand-cut mouthpieces). Not only is size and shape important (the mouthpiece has to blend with the symmetry of the bowl) but the lip receives a fantastic amount of attention. For it is here that even the uninitiated can tell the difference. While the lip of the injection-molded mouthpiece is thick (unless some hand-work has been added) the lip of the hand-cut mouthpiece is thin, the buttons unobtrusive. The difference in comfort level between the two types for those who grip their pipe at the end of the lip is dramatic. I have long maintained that the mouthpiece comprises one-half the pipe, and it is this half that is so often neglected. | ||