Cherrywood stain question

Cherry has a nice grain and looks great as a natural wood. I would put severl coats of wax on it till it shined and that would be all. Poly on pipes is never a good idea in my book.

I have made two pipes out of cherry wood. I strongly prefer the natural color of wood, so I almost never use stain on any of my woodworking. After constructing, I buffed with three types of wax and declared them to be at the absolute peak of my pipemaking ability. They gloriously burn tobacco now.
Winton

I have made several pipes out of cherry wood.Some I used olive oil

and wax and others just wax. i like the natural look. Other pipes

thah were made I used stain without the poly.

Most of the pipes made are for display. I have smoked some of the cherry wood

just to see how they worked. The ones stained i haven't tried yet. it takes awhile

for the smell too dissipate.

MM cob,Parker,Grabow is the go to pipes.Family reunions are the cherrywoods.

Joe2shoes

I'm lucky in that I have maple, black walnut, and a cherry tree on my property. I've made many pipes from cherry. When I choose to stain (usually red) I use alcohol base. This type will penetrate somewhat. Test that on a scrap to evaluate the extent. I take care to use it sparingly, and rub it in. I make a point to stay away from any of the petroleum based stains, oils, or waxes.
Since you mentioned that you will be using wood from your property to fashion pipes, I should caution on the importance of seasoning (drying-out) the wood prior to carving. I got impatient with some black walnut that I gave only six months of drying-time after cutting, and got a couple of cracked bowls during break-in; lesson learned. A final tip is that once I complete the drilling and rough shaping, I now smoke them prior to final shaping/finishing. That way, I get to sample what I will be getting before commencing the more tedious part of construction.

Have fun!

I don't ever stain/dye cherry wood unless I'm trying to match lighter sap wood to darker heart wood. One characteristic of cherry is that it is photo reactive. It darkens overtime and this process can be accelerated by allowing the wood to sit in sunlight. Staining cherry, the least desirable option, will "muddy" the grain and diminish the grain clarity. The use of dyes is a better choice if you decide to color the wood, as this will still keep the grain clarity.
:puffpipe: