Carbon Fiber Inside the Bamboo?... or Not?

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eduardovieira

Starting to Get Obsessed
Sep 8, 2016
120
72
Oporto, Portugal
EDIT: Fixed Capitalization in Title (See Rule 9)

What do you think about this?

I use carbon fiber, in my production.
Right now I'm doing a test on a pipe with bamboo.
After smoking this pipe 100 times I will cut it in half, to see the result.
 
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georged

Lifer
Mar 7, 2013
5,491
13,920
When carbon fiber is repeatedly scratched, such as with the sharp cut end of a kinked pipecleaner, nastiness happens. CF is a bit like asbestos in that regard. Safe and stable as long as it's intact, splintery bits of stuff you don't want to breathe when crushed or cut.

Much better to use stainless steel. It has no issues of any kind when used for tobacco pipes.
 

eduardovieira

Starting to Get Obsessed
Sep 8, 2016
120
72
Oporto, Portugal
When carbon fiber is repeatedly scratched, such as with the sharp cut end of a kinked pipecleaner, nastiness happens. CF is a bit like asbestos in that regard. Safe and stable as long as it's intact, splintery bits of stuff you don't want to breathe when crushed or cut.

Much better to use stainless steel. It has no issues of any kind when used for tobacco pipes.

georged, Interesting point of view, thanks ;)
And what do you think about the bamboo with nothing inside?
 

georged

Lifer
Mar 7, 2013
5,491
13,920
If your designs require it for some reason, or you simply prefer a lined airway, here's an excellent source of ss tubing:



They are reliable and deliver fast. I've used M-C for 15 years and never had an issue of any kind.
 
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May 8, 2017
1,593
1,627
Sugar Grove, IL, USA
It's been used without problems by the pipe industry for 75 years, so no worries.
I have one pipe from an American artisan with a very thin, unlined, black bamboo stem. It is gorgeous, which is the only reason it remains in my collection. It is a pipe cleaner fluff magnet and so prone to clogging that I rarely use it. This, despite being diligent to use narrow Dill's pipe cleaners that I've carefully defluffed prior to using.

I was visiting with Jeff Gracik at his home workshop a couple years back and noticed a bamboo shanked piece on the workbench. I mentioned the difficulties I was having and he said that you must drill bamboo slowly to create a smooth airway. The only other unlined bamboo-shanked pipes in my collection are a couple Parker's whose smoke channels are somewhat larger in diameter. No problems with those, nor those lined with stainless steel.
 
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georged

Lifer
Mar 7, 2013
5,491
13,920
10-4 that drilling bamboo in a way which leaves the airway's surface rough can be a problem.

No issues when done right, though. My smallest bamboo airway is .128" (pic below), and it's been as reliable as gravity. No fuzz. It's one of my favorite short smoke/small pipes, in fact, so gets smoked a lot.

Also below are some pics that show how bamboo is handled matters in a number of ways besides internally. It can be tricky stuff.

(for anyone wondering, that's not a beginner/no-name pipe, but was made by a highly regarded carver with 20+ years experience.)




P1040063.JPGm9Wmskc.jpgSB6TXJi.jpg
 

georged

Lifer
Mar 7, 2013
5,491
13,920
PS to Craig:

I just re-read your post and noticed you said the problem pipe uses black bamboo.

There's like 3000 sub-species of the stuff, and it is entirely possible that some of them are NOT suitable as pipe shank material in the same way that the properties of Oak, Ash, Beech, Walnut, Alder, Maple, and so forth are all different, but they're all trees.
 

mingc

Lifer
Jun 20, 2019
3,976
11,065
The Big Rock Candy Mountains
When carbon fiber is repeatedly scratched, such as with the sharp cut end of a kinked pipecleaner, nastiness happens. CF is a bit like asbestos in that regard. Safe and stable as long as it's intact, splintery bits of stuff you don't want to breathe when crushed or cut.
Carbon fiber shanked pipes make me nervous for that reason. I think I'd want it lined with stainless steel tubing!
 
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