A Rumination on the Superiority of Good Briar
- Thread starter Briar Lee
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But did you give the mortise the same attention? I've brought several back from the grave and smoked fine as a new one. An oxidized stem can also impart a bad flavor.
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My hypothesis would be “good” briar is briar that has a tight grain, is free of resins, and has dried in such a manner that the depletion of moisture was consistently even. The briar is a vessel for the burning tobacco. Ultimately it is an object of mass whose job is to contain heat and transfer residual heat in a smooth and even manner to the surface. All things then being equal, the better it is at doing that contributes to the smoothness and evenness of the burning tobacco which contributes to a better smoke.
Yes, I agree. I have found many sour issues with a pipe resolve themselves when these two areas are brought back into spec.
The undeniable fact a sweet and cool smoking pipe can, and does sour is I think evidence that briar quality, really matters.
And except for Pies by Lee, Briar Lee, and Pipe Maker pipes, all magically cured with a secret bite removing potion, if you unwrap a new briar pipe and smoke it, something about the briar does require a break in period.
I own probably five dozen pipes all made by Lee (some are Briar Lee and Pipe Maker). All were machine made, because one stinger fits them all, and many are nearly exactly the same shape.
My one five star Lee is something of a disappointment in that it ought to be spectacularly better than the others. It’s a completely perfect straight grain five pointed star five star grade I got new in the box, and fired it up the first time.
Is it delicious, yes it surely is.
But so are all my other Lee pipes, none more and some a little less.
On the other hand, it’s a rare seventies era Kaywoodie that is worth smoking. I have a Kaywoodie Magnum Dublin I need to hire somebody to smoke a thousand times, and that still might not break it in, or stop it gurgling, or teach it to behave. I only keep it as proof hard epoxy is good for bowling pins and boat finishes, and not pipes.
Why I can’t say, but there has to be an art and science of grading briar.
In the end, you're smoking the airway. The more flawlessly it is drilled with no obstruction to cause turbulence or moisture buildup, the better the pipe will smoke. Once cured, briar is very dense and proven by a few experiments by forum members, isn't absorbent. Grain orientation affects less than the technique of the smoker
In thirty years I've never had one sour. After each smoke I disassemble them and give them a thorough cleaning and often smoke the same pipe multiple times per day for weeks at a time.
Much evil lurks in the mortise.
There's an art, but not a science. People will disagree about quality. I suspect there's a bit more science in creating the airway.
That's the part that takes me the longest on a estate clean up. Many Q-tips sacrificed to the cleaning gods.
Thank you! That's just crystallised something that's been at the back of my mind nagging me for a while now.
I believe both Ardor & Castello use similarly aged briar, but Castello seems always to have that mahogany look you talk about. Ardors are usually much lighter.
I'm not just talking about new made ones (the Terra are pale as anything). Based on the markings, this pipe almost certainly dates from before 1983, but the chamber is still relatively light:
So I'm guessing curing method also has some effect on how much it colours...? Like a lot of makers Ardor claims to have a secret curing method, but this seems to substantuate those claims to a certain extent...
Ha! Found it! I thought the other photo looked a bit darker than I remember the chamber being. Not a great photo, but... 
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I buy Everclear by the fifth, so I’ve never had one of my own pipes sour. I’ve bought several sour pipes on EBay, though, but many more completely filthy and caked up pipes that magically smoke great again after as many as twenty pipe cleaners saturated in Everclear.
Good briar imparts a sweet, briar flavor to a smoke and a very slight cake acts as a sort of heat shield to protect the briar from burning.
A corn cob also gives pipe smoke a good flavor. But a cob burns out before it has a chance to sour.
I own a half dozen or more higher grade block meerschaum pipes, all good but none spectacular smokers.
As further argument that high grade Mediterranean briar is better, during World War Two our pipe makers started using briar roots from ancient heath trees planted by friars in California missions. Much was made of during the war by Kaywoodie and other makers that this mission briar was the equal of Mediterranean briar.
I want a good example of war era Mission briar. Those pipes went extinct as the dodo when real briar from the Mediterranean became available again.
I’ve never smoked a Mission briar, but those that did claimed they really sucked compared with pre war Mediterranean briar.
In theory, they should smoke the same.
Different plant, I believe. Manzanita. Climate and soil affect how plants grow and heath is no exception, so plants grown in different parts of the world will exhibit differences.
Have you read?
The Myth of Brand and Maker in Pipesmoking - By Dr. Fred Hanna, Ph.D
https://47eb33e2-aa5c-4340-b7df-657...d/17b259_acdce5ca70354ca7a5f64775f95ae600.pdf
How? Myself and others here have smoked the same cobs for 10+ years.
I make mine.?
There are some that believe that was strawberry wood and some that think a number of war era Dunhills were made from it. Modern pipe makers still use it and I have three large examples of them. It blasts nearly identical to Erica arborea but is much lighter than pipes of equal size.
All but one is sleeping in a graveyard but I’ve known quite a few daily pipe smokers who
1. Bought a pipe at the drug store
2. Bought one brand of tobacco at the grocery store (Prince Albert or Velvet preferred)
3. Smoked that one pipe, every day and all day long, until it got so burned and sour they bought another one, to replace it.
4. They had to buy a corncob every few months, but a Grabow might last a year or two.
Most all discovered that using an air hose was an excellent way to open up clogged airways.
If you are on a pipe enthusiast forum, you aren’t a bona fide, certified nicotine addicted daily smoker that got his nicotine from pipe smoking.
I smoked a worn out pipe one of those old boys had retired once.
Nasty isn’t the word.
Disgusting is more like it.
1. Bought a pipe at the drug store
2. Bought one brand of tobacco at the grocery store (Prince Albert or Velvet preferred)
3. Smoked that one pipe, every day and all day long, until it got so burned and sour they bought another one, to replace it.
4. They had to buy a corncob every few months, but a Grabow might last a year or two.
Most all discovered that using an air hose was an excellent way to open up clogged airways.
If you are on a pipe enthusiast forum, you aren’t a bona fide, certified nicotine addicted daily smoker that got his nicotine from pipe smoking.
I smoked a worn out pipe one of those old boys had retired once.
Nasty isn’t the word.
Disgusting is more like it.
And except for Pies by Lee, Briar Lee, and Pipe Maker pipes, all magically cured with a secret bite removing potion.
The OP seems to be selling pipes.
The OP seems to be selling pipes.
You will always find that the people here with the strongest opinions are the ones who contradict themselves the most. So, you have the same person saying "drying briar is needed" saying "aged briar is a myth". The same with "water doesn't have any effect on briar" saying "if it's old and too dry it'll crack when smoked". If you're looking for scientific work when it comes to wood, look to someplace other than this site. Most don't even know what "janka scale" means.
By the way, grain is nice but doesn't IMO have any effect on the smoking quality. More the quality, cure, age, location, luck and carver.
By the way, grain is nice but doesn't IMO have any effect on the smoking quality. More the quality, cure, age, location, luck and carver.
I actually had that happen with a 100 year old unsmoked KB&B.
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