School me on Hand Making a Pipe

[Briar Lee]

Of all my pipes this extra large, 65 gram, six inch long, .880 bore Pot by Jack’s Handmade Pipes makes me think, that I might be able to make a pipe myself.






Not that I will make a pipe, I’ll let a craftsman like Jack do it for me.

Jack did a good job making my pipe but it’s the simplest and plainest and most obviously hand made standard shaped pipe I own. None of it is cookie cutter symmetrical. Jack made this in a small shop. Mine is the only one just exactly like it.

So for all you home pipe makers out there, I have some questions

1. Jack used a blank of good imported briar, not fancy and not plain either. And he fitted a lucite push stem.

About what would those materials cost, and where would you buy them?

2. Jack is a good craftsman but nobody ever looks at this and starts gushing over how artistic it is. This is the simplest pipe to make I can imagine. There are no pits or fills, and it’s a plain unvarnished finish.


For somebody who knows how to make pipes,

What tools did he need and about how long did this pipe take to shape and finish?

3. In todays market about how much would a craftsman of the skill level of Jack charge for a simple, plain, extra large, sitter Pot, if I commissioned another six inch, simple, extra large sitter Pot over the phone, sent him photos, and let him alone to make one?

 

[woodrow]

I’ll bite. A pre drilled is the best way to go. But if you want to start with a block of briar you can. Draw on the block your rough cuts. Cuts can be made with a small saw.
The drilling is the most challenging and that’s why I buy the pre drilled block.
If you want to drill on your own you’ll need the larger attachments for your drill for the bowl itself. Drill presses are recommended especially for drilling the shank. The shank can be drilled with the usual drill bits. Larger for the shank, and smaller for the breathe hole.
A dremel is best for shaping the outside of the bowl. For mine, the pipe didn’t match my drawing. It became a hybrid shape. One a long billiard, another a pit, and one took on the shape of a cutty.
I went with some billiard straights for a couple of mine. Lots of hand sanding. Then choose you dyes. Mine are not perfect by any stretch but they are fun and smoking well.

 

[bullet08]

Making a pipe shouldn't be hard. Making a good pipe that looks normal, and drilled properly could be very hard unless you have the skills and the tools and machines. With my handiwork, I can make a pipe that looks like a bent snake.

 

[Chasing Embers]

What tools did he need and about how long did this pipe take to shape and finish?

Here's the first one I made in the mid 2000s. Using a drill, a drill press, a belt sander, sandpaper, a briar block, and a vulcanite rod from a pen making supplier. Material cost around $35.

 

[Briar Lee]

Here's the first one I made in the mid 2000s. Using a drill, a drill press, a belt sander, sandpaper, a briar block, and a vulcanite rod from a pen making supplier. Material cost around $35.

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That is an amazing first attempt! Bravo!

Jack Hamburg Jr. has a Pipedia entry, so he likely cuts and drills his own briar, to call them hand made, but who can say for sure?

Jack's Handmade Pipes - Pipedia

pipedia.org

Your pipe is far more artisan looking than my simple, plain Pot. It’s also larger.


I’m starting to understand why the Marxman pipes I love so much said Bench Made and not Hand Made.

Marx had a new, modern factory. He likely hand cut the briar, then rough shaped and drilled the pipes according to the briar with a machine, then a worker finished it on a bench. All except the freehand 400s, of course.

I have another Victors “hand made” pipe in the mail that looks sort of symmetrical and artisan as your beautful blowfish, only it’s a simple Poker.

Jack’s Hand Made Pipes, at least the simple one I have, are obviously hand made.



It also dawned on me, that one man in a small shop is better off doing plain, smooth pipes, maybe with some simple tooling to hide pits.

A block of briar, would be less expensive than a rough shaped and pre drilled briar, for one reason all the failed attempts are on the supplier, and he has to make a profit. But then again he’s going to have to be good at it to stay in business.

I’d never have the patience to do multiple sanding and emery and polishing coats, much less the skills to do that last little bit of shaping.

I also understand better why cheap factory pipes were stained and varnished. It was a time saving shortcut to a shiny new pipe.

Any idea how long a practiced pipe maker spends on a hand made pipe?

 

[buzkirk]

All the supplies you need are available on vermontfreehand
Pipes are easy, stems are hard to get just right.

 

[Briar Lee]

All the supplies you need are available on vermontfreehand
Pipes are easy, stems are hard to get just right.

Thanks for that information!

So if I’m Briarlee’s Hand Made pipes, dogone it there ain’t no Algerian briar no more to use.

But I can choose between Italian and Greek. Italian looks like it’s more than twice as expensive grade for grade.

So I can get the biggest Greek block of briar for $25. The vulcanite or lucite is surely cheaper, let’s say $10. $35 material cost.

And after awhile let’s say I make a pipe every two hours, and I want $30 for my labor.

I’m in trouble. My input cost if about half what a beautiful, perfect, name brand factory pipe costs, and I’ve not paid any overhead or bought any tools or sold any pipes.

How do I compete with Savinelli and Peterson ?

I’d better become one of them there artisans who can sell my pipes for three hundred dollars.

 

[warren]

Get the block, envision the pipe and remove all the wood hiding your vision.