What constitutes a high quality briar?

tokerpipes · Feb 9, 2012

I was in my B&M yesterday and was looking at the hand made briars they had. I picked a few up felt the weight, guessed the bowl dementions, and basicaly looked over the pipes with a keeneye for strait construction. The last one I picked up was $1000.00, how can that be? The owner said its a strait grain birdseye briar. looking at it there was not one birdseye on the side just on the top and the bottom of the bowl, and the sides were beautifuly striped from the grain. Other than that it was super light, with no stain just the natural color of the briar with a high gloss finish, and a standard stem nothing fancy about it. Can someone explain how the shop would expect someone to pay a price like that for a pipe that looks ordinary. Am I missing something in my inspection?

gripsie · Feb 9, 2012

Hey! Maybe you missed the stamp on the pipe? Which brand/maker was it?
Concerning high quality briar: As far as simply a good smoke is concerned you have to look for lightweight briar since it has a lower allotment of "structure wood", which isn't absorbing moisture as well as what we in Germany call "filling wood".. The most interesting part of a good smoking pipe however is its inner construction: that the pipe is drilled properly with a 4mm airhole, etc..
Briar with a "high quality grain" are typically the plateau parts.. But not always.. And regarding the high prices: I mean, there are simply some exceptionally well working carvers who have earned a lot of reputation and are considered as "the best of the best" by collectors. These carvers often only carve between 50 and 200 pipes a year. The demand on their pipes is huge. So they simply can ask prices like $1000+ for the smooth pipes they carve. All their pipes are sold out immediately. But one should notice that even a carver who is asking let's say $600 for a sandblast and $900+ for a smooth pipe isn't going to make a ton of money with his job..

tokerpipes · Feb 9, 2012

I did miss the stamp. I think I will try to get some pics of it today when I go in. The owner of the B&M said the pipe maker disapeared and hasnt been seen in 5 years.

gripsie · Feb 9, 2012

And yes, I mean, there are a lot of people who inspect a Stanwell Billard for example (which are beautiful pipes, don't get me wrong) and after that a let's say Bo Nordh Billard and they don't see a major difference.. But there are some collectors who have trained themselves in recognizing the slightes differences and these small differences are what they are looking for. That's what pipe collecting is all about for them.

gripsie · Feb 9, 2012

OK, I'm excited about the maker!

bigvan · Feb 9, 2012

Straight grain pipes won't have birdseye except on the top and bottom. Perhaps a little research into the types of grain pattern might help you.
Straight, tight grained blocks are rare, rarity leads to desirability, desirability leads to high price. Opinions vary on whether a specific type of grain can affect the quality of the smoking experience, but personally I think it's more about aesthetics.
Without knowing the maker, I'm assuming the pipe in question is hand made. So the price they're asking reflects the rarity of the block and the time of a skilled artisan. And yes, you'd probably be paying for the maker's mark, but the same can be said of BMW or Mercedes or Aston Martin. The mark is meant to be a sign of quality.
I've never spent that much money on a pipe, but there are a lot of people who have. So it's also a matter of charging what the market will bear.

pufferissimo · Feb 9, 2012

hi All
Just curious, could that pipe maker be Jess Chonowitsch ?

I read that he stop making pipes (temporarily) in 2006, which is roughly 5-6 years ago.
Read more here : http://www.smokingpipes.com/blog/index.cfm?mode=cat&category_id=13833F25-3FF1-3EDE-59D5036B64288F39
Let us know please :puffpipe:

gripsie · Feb 9, 2012

Yeah, I also thought about Jess Chonowitsch for a second... If there is a smooth Jess Chonowitsch in that shop for $1000 I will strongly recommend you to buy this one instantly. And sell it on eBay for $4000.. Or hand it to me for $1500...
BTW, Jess is making pipes again. Since summer 2011 I think.. But only about 30 a year.

pufferissimo · Feb 9, 2012

good to know that he is back : puffy

:

sirsmokesalot · Feb 9, 2012

Here is a good video about "What makes a good pipe".
http://youtu.be/kTrBcpnFoI0

loneredtree · Feb 9, 2012

Birds eye shows on the bottom and top rim if the straight grain is vertical. If the straight grain is horizontal, a cross grain, the birds eye shows on the opposite sides. The cross grain is not as sot after but is more beautiful in my opinion.

tokerpipes · Feb 9, 2012

Its made by Randy Wiley out of Tampa, Fl. All his other pipes run around $400?

pentangle · Feb 9, 2012

Just shared in the past, that i made some months ago has a real great quality briar, one of the best i have had in my hands

Maurizio

mano · Feb 9, 2012

Stunning, Maurizio, and somehow you made what should be all the wrong proportions work.

pentangle · Feb 9, 2012

a similar big plateau cost to me (when i'm lucky enough to find one) from 80 to 100 dollars that's one of the reason why quality pipes cost a lot of money.Add the work needed to carve pipe and stem and you'll see that Baldo Baldi's pipes are expensives but not overpriced.Expensive and overpriced sounds sometime the same thing but .....isn't

Maurizio

jpberg · Feb 9, 2012

A grand seems a lot for a Wiley, last I knew he still wasn't handcarving his stems...

He does have a neat oil curing process.

I'm laughing about the disappearance part, I'm quite sure he's been alive and around for the last five years.

tokerpipes · Feb 9, 2012

Well after talking to the owner of my B&M he said hew would reduce the price some because its been there a while.

What constitutes a high quality briar?

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