Article Acquisitions: Water pipes from China
Briar is cut from the root burl of the 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.
There are many alternatives to briar and meerschaum such as fruitwoods, bog oak, clay, ceramic and metal. Currently bog oak and strawberry wood are popular among some artisan pipe makers. Both have interesting grain patterns that can be brought out further with sandblasting. Unlike briar, most fruitwoods, bog oak and strawberry wood will not accept color stain well, nor do they achieve that beautiful patina of a well smoked briar.
Direct interaction with artisan pipe makers can be extremely satisfying and has often led to many lasting friendships. I have a collector – now friend – that told me he only buys pipes from makers he knows and likes. This is a truism among collectors and again points up the friendly social aspects of pipe smoking and collecting.
I found this to be equally true of fledgling craftsman and the grand masters of the art. They are passionate about their efforts and are happy when others show an interest. It is also well to keep in mind that while artisans are indeed in business, they are not factories or mass suppliers of goods. Stocks of pipes are not kept on hand and commissioned work takes time to produce. The themes of patience and perseverance arise in this aspect of the hobby as well as in the honing of one’s smoking technique.
Meerschaum pipes are held in a square of chamois leather, with gloves, or else by the stem in order to prevent uneven coloring of the material. Pipe tobacco can be purchased in several forms, which vary both in flavour (leading to many blends and opportunities for smokers to blend their own tobaccos) and in the physical shape and size to which the tobacco has been reduced. Most pipe tobaccos are less mild than cigarette tobacco, substantially more moist and cut much more coarsely. Too finely cut tobacco does not allow enough air to flow through the pipe, and overly dry tobacco burns too quickly with little flavour. Pipe tobacco must be kept in an airtight container, such as a canning jar or sealed tin, to keep from drying out.
It’s possible, though I never have, to spend several hundred pounds on one of these. Many of these early creations, shaped by hand tended to incorporate the natural shape of the briar burl and direction of the grain. There is a growing tendency towards “natural” tobaccos which derive their aromas from artful blending with selected spice tobaccos only and careful, Filling cut tobacco often historically-based, curing processes. The Redmanol corporation manufactured pipes with translucent stems in the 1920s and a series of pipes were manufactured and distributed by the Tar Gard (later Venturi) Corporation of San Francisco from 1965 to 1975. Unusual pipe materials include gourds (as in the famous calabash pipe) and pyrolytic graphite.