A Rumination on the Superiority of Good Briar

[Briar Lee]

Note: Title edited to add caps to important words only. (Rule 9)

Please read the very recent article by Greg Pease. HERE

I’ve broken in an old Dr Grabow pipe that has spectacular grained briar, and it’s smoking as mild and sweet as a cigarette as I sit on my back deck.

Why does wonderful old briar smoke so much better, than ordinary briar?

My new pipe is likely older than me, and I’m 63. The briar they used was of the finest old mellow root on the market in the fifties. Briar does not get any fancier than my new old pipe has.

At first my pipe tasted good, but it was hot to hold, and it sweated moisture down the outside of the bowl as I smoked. At the bottom I could taste the briar, which was delightful, but the bottom of the pipe was scalding hot to touch.

After just a half dozen bowls, the pipe doesn’t sweat, or get hot at the bottom, and it’s going to provide a good smoke for my lifetime and then long after that, if well taken care of.

I own a cheap basket pipe with nondescript briar I bought thirty years ago that took me ten years to break in and it’s still not as mellow as my new old Dr Grabow.

Is there a scientific reason, that good briars smoke better than plain briars?

Or is this a mystery we may not solve, during our time here savoring the sweetness of the smoke?

 

[hoosierpipeguy]

If only all beautiful Briar resulted in a perfect smoke. More often than not, it does. But that's often (i think) because a superior carver is shaping and drilling that Briar, and creating the stem. That is some beautiful wood you have there, happy you're enjoying it.

 

[sablebrush52]

Is there a scientific reason, that good briars smoke better than plain briars?

Honestly, I don't have any idea what this means, good briar VS plain briar.

 

[Chasing Embers]

Is there a scientific reason, that good briars smoke better than plain briars?

Never noticed a difference between the two other than bad drilling versus good drilling.

 

[rmpeeps]

It’s a Dublin, they always smoke the best.

(ducking for cover)

 

[Rattray]

In all fairness, I must point out that good quality briar does not become hot and especially not scolding hot during the first or subsequent smokes - unless you tchoo tchoo train your way down the bowl.
And it certainly doesn't sweat, either.

 

[Chasing Embers]

In all fairness, I must point out that good quality briar does not become hot and especially scolding hot during the first or subsequent smokes - unless you tchoo tchoo train your way down the bowl.
And it certainly doesn't sweat, either.

Again, I've not noticed it. Overheating is cause more by poor technique than the pipe. No idea how a pipe would sweat.

 

[Morrison Jeremiah]

I’ve broken in an old Dr Grabow pipe that has spectacular grained briar, and it’s smoking as mild and sweet as a cigarette as I sit on my back deck.

Why does wonderful old briar smoke so much better, than ordinary briar?

My new pipe is likely older than me, and I’m 63. The briar they used was of the finest old mellow root on the market in the fifties. Briar does not get any fancier than my new old pipe has.

At first my pipe tasted good, but it was hot to hold, and it sweated moisture down the outside of the bowl as I smoked. At the bottom I could taste the briar, which was delightful, but the bottom of the pipe was scalding hot to touch.

After just a half dozen bowls, the pipe doesn’t sweat, or get hot at the bottom, and it’s going to provide a good smoke for my lifetime and then long after that, if well taken care of.

I own a cheap basket pipe with nondescript briar I bought thirty years ago that took me ten years to break in and it’s still not as mellow as my new old Dr Grabow.

Is there a scientific reason, that good briars smoke better than plain briars?

Or is this a mystery we may not solve, during our time here savoring the sweetness of the smoke?

View attachment 96172View attachment 96173View attachment 96174

If you were to put a temporary coat of paint on that pipe, so that you could not see the nice (good) grain, would it taste any different ?

 

[Morrison Jeremiah]

Personally I find that pipes which look good against my dark olive moleskin trousers smoke much better, with a fuller rounder flavour than mere ordinary pipes, which fail to meet this exacting standard of colour coordination.

 

[chopper]

I'm confused.

Is this the Twilight Zone forum?

 

[gamzultovah]

While I’ve never seen a pipe sweat, I have noticed that the way in which briar is cured plays a part in whether or not it will ever turn into a superb smoker. I once ordered a commissioned pipe from an extremely reputable carver but, because of the size of the briar needed to create the pipe, he had to go outside of his normal supplier. The pipe came out beautifully in every way except for the way it smoked. It had a sharp and acidic edge to it that I could not break. Eventually and reluctantly, I had to sell the pipe because smoking it was simply unpleasant. The only conclusion that I could come to was that he had to use a block of briar from an unfamiliar source that wasn’t properly aged and/or cured.

Welcome to the forum.

 

[Briar Lee]

I dug out the worst pipe I own. It’s a decent smoker today, but that was a struggle to get it there. I think I paid $20 from a basket in a pipe shop about thirty years ago, and for the first ten years this smoked hot, and acidic, and was not a pleasure. Eventually I think the heat cured the briar and it’s now an acceptable smoke.

 

[gamzultovah]

I dug out the worst pipe I own. It’s a decent smoker today, but that was a struggle to get it there. I think I paid $20 from a basket in a pipe shop about thirty years ago, and for the first ten years this smoked hot, and acidic, and was not a pleasure. Eventually I think the heat cured the briar and it’s now an acceptable smoke.

View attachment 96218View attachment 96219View attachment 96220View attachment 96221View attachment 96222

Very well maintained for its age. You are a better man than I. I would not have had the patience to tame it.

 

[mso489]

I think briar is sorted and graded, but I don't think they always get it right. Some standard grade pipes have excellent briar in terms of burning cool no matter what, and needing few or no fills, and/or retaining fills so they show little and don't come out. Also some briar is light weight for its size, and not always in up-market pipes.. A lot has to do with the knowledge base of the pipe buyer and their level of experience in spotting a good sixty dollar pipe and a bad seven hundred dollar one.

 

[sablebrush52]

I still don't understand what is meant by "good briar VS plain briar". Is this supposed to suggest that good briar is briar with pronounced grain? Because that's just silly. Plenty of nicely grained pipes turn out to be so so smokers and plenty of indifferently grained pipes turn out to be great smokers. Does this mean that pretty is good and plain is bad? There's a wealth of collected data that shows people irrationally imbue the beautiful or handsome with superior qualities of character based solely on their appearance. Do pipe smokers act in the same irrational manner, imbuing pretty pipes with superior smoking properties based on their prettiness? Nothing in my experience suggests any such beliefs are worth spit, whether it's people or pipes.

Most pipes I own or have owed smoked well, regardless of grain or whether of high or low lineage. Some do smoke better than others, but there's no discernible correlation between looks and smoking qualities in any of the pipes I own.

Briar that sweats sounds like briar that wasn't properly cured, briar that still contained a significant amount of sap. That would not be good, but it also isn't plain. In this day such briar would be rare. So what is plain briar, as written by the OP? Is it sappy briar? Then this "good vs plain" might make some sense to me. Sappy isn't good. But it isn't plain either. It's just sappy.

So much more goes into a great smoking pipe, part of which, but by no means all of which is the wood. There's also drilling, chamber geometry, the bite zone and button, the funnel, the slot. And there's technique, like prepping and packing, cadence, etc. Hand a wonderfully made pipe to a beginner and she or he won't get out what that pipe can give.

I guess, in the end, I would have to conclude that there is no "scientific reason that good briar smokes better than plain briar" because there is no conclusive evidence to support the validity of the thesis.

I'll conclude my remarks with this. Amongst my pipes I have a humble Brebbia Avanti that I picked up on eBay for $2. It's not a pretty pipe. It has at best nebulous grain. It is among my top five favorite pipes to smoke because everything I put in it to smoke just SINGS.

How much do I enjoy this pipe? People on this forum own and have shown extraordinary pipes, beautiful, super high end, supreme smokers as stated by their owners, made by the most highly renowned carvers in the history of pipe carving. How much do I enjoy my humble Brebbia? I wouldn't trade that pipe for any, not a single one, of the pipes I have seen for the eight years I've been on this forum and any other forum. Not a single one.

And that Brebbia is painfully plain, and wonderously good.

 

[gamzultovah]

Brebbia Avanti that I picked up on eBay for $2. It's not a pretty pipe. It has at best nebulous grain.

And this is one of my favorite pipes, a Lorenzo Elba.

I would put it up against anything in my collection and I only paid $35 for it on eBay. There is definitely a mythology when it comes to what constitutes a good smoking pipe.

 

[sasquatch]

I've bought briar from Algeria, 2 mills in Spain, 4 different sources in Italy, and 2 in Greece. Are they all identical? No, not in flavor, absorbency, smoking, or looks. Or feel come to think of it. But when the word "quality" comes out.... yeah it's pretty fuzzy. I just cut a pipe from 20 year old briar from the Romeo mill. And it had a big chunk in one area, so I had to rusticate it. Is it not "quality briar"? It will outsmoke most, but it looked ugly. I prefer to think in terms of "qualities" - qualitative things we can measure or examine - density, grain structure, possibly flavor. Do certain blocks retain (or radiate off) heat better or worse? Maybe. But it's hard to measure that stuff. At the end of the day, I worry more about the age and the cure on my blocks than the actual mill, I've had very few blocks that were "off" in terms of smell or taste, a couple that were just... foul, and a couple that hadn't been boiled well enough and exhibited a bit of the pink resin inside when drilled. The rest is briar, and plus or minus a little corky flavor, or a little cinnamon type flavor (Algerian has an identifiable spice to it for example in the first half dozen bowls).... I can't really make a pipe and say "This here was quality briar and therefore the smoke will be like....." It doesn't really have a meaning. Vastly more important is getting the drilling and the stem right. I'd love to have some secret source of briar or secret wonder curing method, but it's all mostly BS. Build the pipe well, it will smoke well. Build it poorly, it will smoke poorly.

 

[anotherbob]

Note: Title edited to add caps to important words only. (Rule 9)

Please read the very recent article by Greg Pease. HERE

I’ve broken in an old Dr Grabow pipe that has spectacular grained briar, and it’s smoking as mild and sweet as a cigarette as I sit on my back deck.

Why does wonderful old briar smoke so much better, than ordinary briar?

My new pipe is likely older than me, and I’m 63. The briar they used was of the finest old mellow root on the market in the fifties. Briar does not get any fancier than my new old pipe has.

At first my pipe tasted good, but it was hot to hold, and it sweated moisture down the outside of the bowl as I smoked. At the bottom I could taste the briar, which was delightful, but the bottom of the pipe was scalding hot to touch.

After just a half dozen bowls, the pipe doesn’t sweat, or get hot at the bottom, and it’s going to provide a good smoke for my lifetime and then long after that, if well taken care of.

I own a cheap basket pipe with nondescript briar I bought thirty years ago that took me ten years to break in and it’s still not as mellow as my new old Dr Grabow.

Is there a scientific reason, that good briars smoke better than plain briars?

Or is this a mystery we may not solve, during our time here savoring the sweetness of the smoke?

View attachment 96172View attachment 96173View attachment 96174

Too me it would make sense that briar like other woods would age. In fact pipes are sold with the promise of aged briar. Though that's different then your pipe, because there is a difference between old and not "green" i.e. fresh out of the ground and still filled up with saps and oils.
To get slightly off to the side here... Old Violins have a special reputation. For years people talked about how the old makers where just so much more masterful then the current crop. And if you hear a violin that has a few hundred years of age on it you should be able to hear the mellow smoothness of it. Well a few years ago they discovered that the wood used on instruments does mellow out it softens and it's internal structure changes just enough to change how it physically works.
Now I could see the same thing happening with briar. More things to back up that theory. Algerian briar has been marketed as being sweeter and smoother smoking then other briars but also more fragile and soft. Which seems to describe antique pipes as well.
I am not saying that these pipes age however I am saying that I believe they do. And it's not just pulled out of my posterior either.
And one little thing. Most of my pipes are pretty new. I have one that I got in the early 90's. It to me a different pipe then the one I bought back then. It's mellower in fact if any tobacco smokes too harshly it will go in that pipe. Cadence in that pipe doesn't effect bite so much as just flavor (which it wasn't always that way), things smoke much sweeter in it then they do in all but one of my pipes (the Rattray's which smoke incredibly sweet and very mellow for all the mechanical elements such as drilling [in this case very very very tight draw which can lead to hotter smoking pretty fast]. And last thing on this pipe. I can physically feel that the briar is much softer and easier to scratch then it was back in 94.
Oh one last thing when I say mellow I mean how prone it is to causing bite as well as if the more harsh elements of a blend seem less pronounced in that pipe then in others.
To sum up my believes. Pipes like people soften with age. With a pipe that means sweeter mellower smoke. It also means a pipe is more likely to break.

 

[sasquatch]

Briar ages, unquestionably. It changes visually, and in terms of smoking, for the better, with age. Something in it is oxydizing. It turns brown on the outside right away, but stays white inside for a long time. But old wood is inevitably a sort of mahogany color inside, through and through, when you cut it. Top blocks here are older, that's 10 years or so. After another ten they are darker yet. Going down the left column, that's 10, 5, and 1 year in the shop. Going down the right column, again a piece I've had for ages, the middle one was bought fresh in 2019 and I think I took this shot last year, so pretty fresh. And fresher yet - that brown skin of oxidation on the outside of a wet block, that's probably 6 months out of the mill.

 

[kcghost]

Good briar is a hard thing to define. If it smokes well it is good briar and if it doesn't it isn't. I guess.