Does anyone remember back in the 80’s and 90’s there was talk of a major shortage of briar going forward? Doesn’t seem to be an issue today and I was also wondering is most of the briar still collected randomly or are there Heath farms now?
Briar Shortage?
- Thread starter North Pole piper
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I don't have the actual figures, but there is significantly less demand for pipes today than 20 or 30 years ago.
Erica arborea was never ever farmed.
Given the falling demand, I can't see the economic sense in investing in a product that takes at least 20 -30 years before you can harvest.
Erica arborea was never ever farmed.
Given the falling demand, I can't see the economic sense in investing in a product that takes at least 20 -30 years before you can harvest.
Wasn’t aware of any shortages. I know briar is native to the Mediterranean Basin, Portugal, Canary and Madeira Islands, etc., although it’s grown and harvested in many other areas as well. It seems that the more popular mills are located in Italy, Greece, and Spain.
I have been lead to believe there is more quality briar than ever. But, let’s ask an expert.
Calling:
@sasquatch
Calling:
@sasquatch
During World War II, the briar harvesting areas were taken over by war, and pipe makers resorted mostly to other materials, like maple or mountain laurel. After the war, many pipes in the U.S. were stamped "imported briar," to emphasize that briar was being harvested again. I think it was during the 1960's that pipe smoking trended precipitously downward. Since then, I haven't heard about any sustained lack of briar. There may be supply chain fits and starts, but the expansive inventories of factory pipes such as Savinelli and various French brands illustrate that there is a steady supply of briar at moderate prices. I'd be interested if there is a short supply. I doubt it. Also, the burgeoning estate pipe market has taken weight off the demand for newly harvested briar.
There are always talk of shortages of this or that wood. I remember talk of shortages of African Blackwood for bagpipes. There were number of alternatives suggested and used. But in the end, the shortages have seem to gone away. Not sure how that happens. Seems same talk about boxwood for certain Irish simple system flutes. I think briar fairies have decided that shortage in current pandemic is bad for the business.
I can't speak to quantity, I have no idea where Chacom, say, gets their briar, if they operate a mill for themselves or buy on contract from someone else. I don't know how Dr Grabow gets briar, or who from.
The shortages that I see as an artisan, buying 50 pieces at a time or whatever, relate not to quality or availability of plants at this time, but of labor - this is a difficult job and people are not lining up to do it.
Currently, the forests in Greece are managed, companies pay to harvest a certain area, and the amount they take and the amount and condition that the leave are monitored, I think we're at a point where the cutters realize they need to curate the resource.
I know of a half dozen mills off the top of my head, and could probably scrounge up another half dozen given some time and effort. They all sell everything they make as far as I can tell. Demand for good quality is ever present, and the current situation with lots of small-time operators looking for top quality wood is not the same as when 20 different large companies needed a half million blocks a year, but the result is the same - occasionally you have to wait a month or two for your order.
In the past, I think things did get over-harvested, and at the same time, I think you could see the same types of corporate decisions you see today (Black and Decker bought DeWalt because people were not buying Black and Decker anymore because they made crap for 10 years. Then they make cheaper stuff under the DeWalt badge until people stop buying, so they purchase Delta, etc....). Look at Pre and Post trans Barlings, they look nothing alike in briar quality OR stem quality.... corner cutting in hopes of milking some dead reputation... So while I suspect there have been times of over-using the resource, luckily it's fast-growing stuff and ubiquitious through the mediterranean, and has been able to repopulate through the years and keep us pipe smokers happy.
I get asked for boxwood all the time. I say I have none, then I go out and pat my boxwood very gently and tell it how good it is.
I'm not a fan of bagpipes generally, but my wife, who is half-Scots, is.
I would think that there is a substantially smaller demand for bagpipes than there is for tobacco pipes
The shortages may have more to do with political unrest and civil wars in Africa causing problems with the supply chain, rather than an actual shortage of Blackwood trees per se.
There was an article some time ago about attempts to grow [what I presume to have been] Erica Arborea in California to address the lack of briar during WWII.
Maybe someone has a better memory than I on the subject?
Heathen!
Are you telling me that even applies to Bon Scotts bagpipes on Long Way To the Top? [Are you sure you're an Aussie?]
At my wedding [yes, I was young and thick in the head] as my bride and I walked out of the church at the conclusion of the ceremony, I had organised a bagpiper [unbeknownst to the wife], wearing full regalia, start up.
The sound of bagpipes stirs the soul. [Though not in Heathens apparently]
It must be the Scot in me. [Ancestral memory in my DNA]
I do enjoy watching annual Edinburgh Military Tattoo, more so for the spectacle rather than the skirling of the massed bagpipes.
I must admit to a liking of "Scotland the Brave" on the pipes ?
I must admit to a liking of "Scotland the Brave" on the pipes ?
I was told once it was getting more difficult to harvest. That it was not in short supply but further out in wilds in more harsh conditions. The thing is I have zero idea if that's got any truth to it. And the people I heard that from on such matters seem to have split track record. Sometimes on sometimes not.
What I've always read over the last 30 years is it's not in short supply. What is in short supply is the labor to harvest it. Why spend all day doing back breaking labor when you can work indoors, in the air conditioning? I'm sure with the increase in education and changes in technology, the pool of harvesters has grown smaller.
That’s a good point. Maybe when I heard of the so called ‘shortages’ it was in reference to it getting more difficult to collect and/or finding the people to do it.
Very interesting, thanks for the info. Would it maybe be a little more accurate to say then there is not a shortage of the wood itself, but sometimes with the supply of getting it to market (for whatever reason, lack of labourers to get it or not as accessible as it use to be)?
Yeah there's all kinds of reasons, obviously the stuff that grows right beside the road is easiest to harvest, and gets picked over yearly, so you have to go further, there are more restrictions on harvesting, fewer men to do it, more restrictions on exporting, yadda yadda yadda. The world never gets easier.
