Imbuia pipes - Any love for them?

mrmachado · Dec 23, 2018

I hated mine some months ago and quickly switched to briar because of a "gurgling" problem. But now it occurred a temporary problem with the briar and I resorted back to the Imbuia. The the fact is: I wasn't smoking it properly.
The Imbuia pipe is fairly decent.
So what do you think? Is there a space for Imbuias or other non-briars in your collection?

onestrangeone · Dec 23, 2018

<p>Never heard of em. Personally I feel that about 90% of the problems people have with pipes IS the people

sasquatch · Dec 23, 2018

Pipes built from randomly selected African hardwoods scare me, frankly. Many of the woods contain sensitizing oils in the first place, and none of them are treated the way briar is treated with the intent of making a long lasting and neutral tasting pipe.
So I'm not a fan. Briar is the king because it has a high silica content, resists burning, isn't full of home-grown pesticide the way a bunch of African woods are (you gotta be nasty to grow in Africa!). You can make a pipe out of whatever you like I suppose, but there are risks involved.

mrmachado · Dec 23, 2018

@sasquatch these pipes (Imbuias) are Brazilian... They can be almost as expensive as some briars here.
They call it "National Wood" or something along these lines, but I've done my research and found out that the wood that they use is Imbuia.

sasquatch · Dec 23, 2018

Sorry, I assumed it was African, all the weird dangerous woods seem to be!
Odor: Imbuia has a characteristic spicy scent when being worked.
Allergies/Toxicity: Although severe reactions are quite uncommon, Imbuia has been reported to cause nose, throat, and skin irritation. See the articles Wood Allergies and Toxicity and Wood Dust Safety for more information.
from https://www.wood-database.com/imbuia/
Anyway, do as you please, smoke what you like. But from a pipe maker's perspective, I'm not interested in experimenting with these things. I've never seen a wood with higher burn resistance than briar, or a wood that was more resistant to the hold/cold wet/dry cycling that a pipe is exposed to.

trouttimes · Dec 23, 2018

I am curious what this wood looks like. Any pics?
Is this the same pipe the housekeeper cleaned?

mrmachado · Dec 23, 2018

I am curious what this wood looks like. Any pics?
Is this the same pipe the housekeeper cleaned?

They are different pipes. I use the Imbuia pipe as a backup. Here are the pics.
Imbuia "churchwarden":

Savinelli being cleaned with salt/alcohol method at the moment:

trouttimes · Dec 23, 2018

Looks a lot like briar. I'll have to research that wood. I'm "down south" often but never looked for pipes. Good luck with the salt treatment, what a bummer.

spartacus · Dec 23, 2018

Better let Moretti Pipes know that because the same definition for the wood (English Bog Oak)they use in some pipes:
Allergies/Toxicity: Although severe reactions are quite uncommon, oak has been reported as a sensitizer. Usually most common reactions simply include eye and skin irritation, as well as asthma-like symptoms. See the articles Wood Allergies and Toxicity and Wood Dust Safety for more information.

mrmachado · Dec 23, 2018

Looks a lot like briar. I'll have to research that wood. I'm "down south" often but never looked for pipes. Good luck with the salt treatment, what a bummer.

I've been smoking it just for now and it's tasting quite sweet. Had just a little cake formed in (almost nothing) because I only used it for a month or so before switching to the Sav.
It's the pipe with the most sentimental value for me because it was my first pipe, which my mother bought me as a gift.
But I'd rather smoke the Savinelli, I like it a lot.

mrmachado · Dec 23, 2018

Better let Moretti Pipes know that because the same definition for the wood (English Bog Oak)they use in some pipes:
Allergies/Toxicity: Although severe reactions are quite uncommon, oak has been reported as a sensitizer. Usually most common reactions simply include eye and skin irritation, as well as asthma-like symptoms. See the articles Wood Allergies and Toxicity and Wood Dust Safety for more information.

Never heard of this wood. Only of Rosewood and Imbuia as alternatives.
Have you tried English Bog Oak?

hoosierpipeguy · Dec 23, 2018

Better let Moretti Pipes know that because the same definition for the wood (English Bog Oak)they use in some pipes:

Is that not Morta? I have two of those pipes from Moretti. Still alive.

sasquatch · Dec 23, 2018

Bog Oak = Morta, yeah.

mso489 · Dec 23, 2018

With so many good moderately priced and economically priced pipes in briar, I would tend not to go for exotic woods. They might do fine, especially if they are in a big rotation. But a briar pipe often lasts a lifetime or beyond, and in some instances improves with wear. You can save a few bucks, but only in the short term.

newbroom · Dec 26, 2018

When I started 4 yrs ago, I picked up several kinds of pipes on auction sale which included a variety of bowl materials including briar, meerschaum, maple, cherry, and corn cob.

I read about other materials, like morta, olive and lemon wood, and have yet to acquire one of these, but it's the lemon wood that appeals to me.

The late Thomas Spanu was a proponent and some of his lemon yellow finished lemonwood pipes are very attractive.

If the stem is right for you, the material of the bowl is almost secondary, so long as it is non toxic and durable.

newbroom · Dec 26, 2018

This is one reason I read these threads. I start to 'research' a little sometimes and at least for a moment or two, learn something new!

Here's another Spanu pipe, made of African sourced wood, called Zebrawood.

zebrano_tommasso_spanu_pipe_1__54575.1542732843.1280.1280.jpg

Imbuia pipes - Any love for them?

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