Types of Wood for Pipe Making?

exibar · Nov 7, 2015

are there any types of wood that are plain old not good (or dangerous) for pipe making? Briar is quite expensive up here in the North East, around $27 a pop. Yet, I can get some quite pretty exotic woods for a quarter of the price.
I was thinking about trying my hand at pipe making using some of these woods.... the Black and White ebony really caught my eye at the "local" (45 minute drive) WoodCraft store.
thanks all!

Mike B

michaelmirza · Nov 7, 2015

I'm definitely not a wood expert but I imagine the harder the wood, the better.

mayfair70 · Nov 7, 2015

Exotic wood is the last thing you want. The stuff they are importing from South America and Africa may look nice but can be POISONOUS. Your best bet is to stick to the woods you know you want to work with. Briar may be expensive but it is pretty much the best pipe wood out there. This isn't arts and crafts type material. If you want to try less expensive stuff, stick to fruit woods like mulberry, plum, pear, peach, apple...stuff you know is safe and could be growing in your vicinity right now. Some nut woods can be used as well. Never smoke with an unknown wood unless you have researched it very carefully. Ebony is called ebony cause its black, it's not black and white or else it would be called ebony and ivory or something like that, so I have no idea what they are pushing there. For Pete's sake don't use hemlock thinking it is pine or something(pine sucks anyway). Here is a great site with the information you need:
http://www.pipemakersforum.com/forum/viewforum.php?f=11
Cheers !

derfatdutchman · Nov 7, 2015

Mayfair is right, some wood is extremely toxic. Maple, cherry, pear, and apple all have been used to make pipe.

zack24 · Nov 7, 2015

I use Black and White Ebony. Cocobolo, Monkeywood, Palm, Snakewood, Lacewood,Macassar Ebony, & Rosewood for accents...most of those are sensitizing agents and would be dangerous to use as an actual pipe. Don't try to reinvent the wheel- for your first pipe, you might try a predrilled kit from Steve Norse at Vermont Freehand. The drilling will be correct and it will save you a lot of frustration.

nutcracker · Nov 7, 2015

There is more than one type of "ebony". Gaboon Ebony is what you are thinking of being "mostly" black. B&W ebony is beautiful and stands on its own quite well.
I would really look into the heath hazards associated with each wood you would like to work.

bonehed · Nov 7, 2015

See the wood database for more.

ejames · Nov 7, 2015

Exotics are nice but there are several domestic woods that make good pipes. Cherry,Walnut,Hickory,Oak,Osage Orange, Mt. Laurel,Honey Locust and of course my favorite-Mulberry. Any wood you use must be dry.

ericusrex · Nov 7, 2015

An exotic that's fine and might be available at woodcraft is olive.

mso489 · Nov 7, 2015

For the hours of labor invested in carving a pipe, I'd stick with briar. Some of the other woods are satisfactory or even quite good, but occasionally don't last as well as briar. The only alternative I have experienced is Mountain Laurel, from a pipe carver in N.C., but I think it takes some knowhow to get the part of the wood that is not a problem. Zack is a serious pipe maker, and I think I'd follow his advice and get a pre-drilled briar. You'll have plenty invested in the pipe after you carve it; the briar will be the least of your investment, especially with the learning curve of doing your first pipes.

winton · Nov 8, 2015

I have some ebony that is black and white. But this is common to all trees. It is the difference between the heartwood and the sap wood.

zack24 · Nov 8, 2015

I have some ebony that is black and white. But this is common to all trees. It is the difference between the heartwood and the sap wood.

Black and White Ebony is actually completely different than most varieties of Ebony. It's less dense, and the black and white is a swirled pattern.

exibar · Nov 9, 2015

thank you all! I had heard that some woods can be toxic... I think I'll start out with either the pre-drilled Briar or perhaps a fruit wood.

I'll have to see what strikes me when I'm at woodcraft

thanks again all!

Mike B

revs · Dec 21, 2015

Cherry and pear are fairly popular offerings in lower end pipes. I have a Mr. Brog nosewarmer that is pear and it smokes quite well.
There are several types of ebony available. Gaboon is the blackest. Macasar has some brown streaks and Black and White is as the name says, black with almost white streaking. I work with many exotics as a pen turner and love Gaboon ebony for the color and finish just not the price. I think that all forms of ebony have some trace toxins that make it a very bad choice for the bowl of a pipe. Same with cocobolo and the rosewoods.
But, this thread is a bit dormant, just figured as a wood turner I could clear up a little.

warren · Feb 21, 2016

Have you tried a meer scareface? A cob? Some great smokes can be achieved with those.

newbroom · Feb 21, 2016

Maple and Cherry have had good records. I've got both. Like 'em both. One was made by Ropp and the other by Missouri Meerschaum.

revs · Mar 12, 2016

Waiting on a piece of apricot wood to dry. Figured it's a fruit wood and can be used to smoke food, so why not smoke tobacco?

tinbird · Mar 31, 2017

What about Basswood (Linden) guys? I know it's popular for carving and is actually a hardwood not a softwood as I initially thought.

anthonyrosenthal74 · Mar 31, 2017

As far as toxicity, I didn't personally find anything on a quick search for Basswood. However, the wood grain is pretty boring.

sasquatch · Mar 31, 2017

You can make a pipe out of absolutely anything and most likely you won't die. This doesn't make it a good idea. Briar is preferred because by fortune, it is full of silicates (growing in sandy environs) and this means its burn resistance is real high. The stability of the wood is enhanced by the curing process it undergoes.
Other woods can be made into pipes, barring toxicity charts etc. What you'll find is eventually they burn out or crack from wet/hot cold/dry cycling. You'll find it tough to make a stem/shank joint that is stable.
It takes hours and hours to make a pipe. Drop the 30 bucks and buy the right stuff is my advice. Yeah, you can do it out of poplar or pine if you want. Go ahead. Just, it will last 6 months and then what?

Types of Wood for Pipe Making?

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