Briar Quality

I hear the grain should be tight, uniform, straight up and down, and wrapping 360° around the bowl. But it's quite rare and only of aesthetic value. Personally, I like the equally rare birdseye (end grain) everywhere look. Haven't a clue how that happens!

Funny you ask that question on the very same day a link to an old article on pipes was posted.
From the article: "In judging the quality of a pipe, your chief criterion is the grain, which may be straight, curly, or bird’seye. Except in a few rare specimens the grain is not continuous over the surface of the pipe but lies in streaks and patches, with lighter, ungrained wood in between. Look for a close grain, with a sharp contrast between the light and dark lines. The finer the grain is, the darker it is, and the more there is of it, the better the pipe."

Reframe the question.
What "quality" are we talking about?
There is no single component that makes for a briar's "quality".
Resistance to burnout is probably inverse to ability to sandblast deeply. Grain density is usually related to actual physical density, so if you want really tight stripes, maybe you can't have a super light pipe.
See what I'm saying? There's no one thing.
I pay more for blocks with higher grain density. Ordinarily these have higher ring density (ie they are slower growing) and that makes for difficult sandblasting.
But if we are just talking about smoking characteristics... well, again, do you want something ultra dry and a little earthy, or something with a little bready sweetness? Do you want wood that carries the heat outward to "cool" the smoke as it were, or do you want wood that acts like an insulator, allowing your burn to remain at an ultra low temperature? Even if, even IF I could give you a piece of briar that did all the things you think the ideal piece of briar should do, the next guy might not agree.

But I guess in general, yeah, density/fineness of grain, uniformity of grain, and lack of pits/fissures/curing cracks/worms.

"In judging the quality of a pipe, your chief criterion is the grain, which may be straight, curly, or bird’seye. Except in a few rare specimens the grain is not continuous over the surface of the pipe but lies in streaks and patches, with lighter, ungrained wood in between. Look for a close grain, with a sharp contrast between the light and dark lines. The finer the grain is, the darker it is, and the more there is of it, the better the pipe."

Click to expand...

As much as I appreciate a nicely grained pipe, it doesn't make it better (outside of aesthetically). Grains presence is important but its doesn't matter what direction it goes in terms of quality of smoke. One thing I've been told by pipe makers is you want to shy away from is a pipe with bald spots, where the grain seems nonexistent since it tends to hold in heat.

I've got pipes whose "quality" varies considerably. Light, heavy, tight grained, loose grained, practically no grain, straight grained, cross grained, mongrel grained, and they all smoke well. 25% equipment, 75% technique.