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bluegrassbrian

Your Mom's Favorite Pipe Smoker
Aug 27, 2016
5,974
51,375
41
Louisville
I've always found a dense tapestry of birdseye and a neat trail of cross grain stretching from rim to mortise to be my absolute favorite type of briar grain.
Sure, straight grain is lauded and gets the vast majority of the attention. So much so that you'll pay an outrageous premium for top specimens.
And I get it - it looks cool - but for me, I can get lost in the swirly briar eyes staring back at me.
Some pipe Marques have held the these in high regard as well. Castello has their Occhio di Pernice stamp. I think a couple classic Britwood companies had some short lived stamping too.

Who else is with me?

(Over the last couple years I've missed out on two Walt Cannoy Cardinal House pipes that grabbed my attention. Over the weekend he posted up a beautiful straight billiard with my precious darling cross grain in spades so I had to jump on it. I think waiting for its arrival is what has got me thinking.)
 

agnosticpipe

Lifer
Nov 3, 2013
3,332
3,413
In the sticks in Mississippi
I love a good birdseye grain! I find it more interesting than straight grain. I've had some nice birdseye grain pipes in the past that I've gotten rid of because I didn't like the way they smoked for various reasons. Here's one of my favorites that I've managed to keep. It's a Hyde Park which is a Comoy second. I'm not sure what made this a second, it smokes great and has no fills or flaws, and the grain is wonderful.

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bluegrassbrian

Your Mom's Favorite Pipe Smoker
Aug 27, 2016
5,974
51,375
41
Louisville
I freely admit that I have never bought a pipe just for the grain, but I do love to look at a nice birdseye. I have some great grained pipes, but it's the button that sells me on a pipe. I may not even notice the grain till I have it in hand and am smoking it. But, the button is what pulls the trigger for me.
Once the weight and overall aesthetic meets my criteria, I check out the button for sure. That makes it breaks it.
 

bluegrassbrian

Your Mom's Favorite Pipe Smoker
Aug 27, 2016
5,974
51,375
41
Louisville
This fun Scottie Piersel commission was an idea I had that was an evolution of a Poul Rasmussen shape. She just happened to have the PERFECT block for it. Sometimes I think she can be a bit underrated when it comes to her eye and her execution.
It's got that cross grain that runs from rim to mortise. Considering the size - tremendous!

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chopper

Lifer
Aug 24, 2019
1,480
3,317
This Radice Clear E (Brindled ebonite) has a stainless tenon and a truly fabulous cross grain. How man Radice's do you see with a shank like this?

When I saw this on LePipe I almost sprained my finger trying to add it to my shopping cart!

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That's a really nice looking pipe but the chamber wall is so thin I would not even consider it.

The Hyde Park; does it take a pipe cleaner through to the draught hole?
If no, that's often a reason why a pipe becomes a '2nd'.
 

agnosticpipe

Lifer
Nov 3, 2013
3,332
3,413
In the sticks in Mississippi
That's a really nice looking pipe but the chamber wall is so thin I would not even consider it.

The Hyde Park; does it take a pipe cleaner through to the draught hole?
If no, that's often a reason why a pipe becomes a '2nd'.
Yes, the pipe takes a pipe cleaner straight to the bowl with ease. Maybe they're not so much seconds as a sub-brand. Is there a difference? Who knows... all I know is that this is not a real small Lovat like some are and it appears to be well made and smokes great. As a rule I don't keep poor smoking pipes just because I like their looks. (well, maybe a couple) ;)
 
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gervais

Lifer
Sep 4, 2019
2,078
6,973
39
Ontario
I freely admit that I have never bought a pipe just for the grain, but I do love to look at a nice birdseye. I have some great grained pipes, but it's the button that sells me on a pipe. I may not even notice the grain till I have it in hand and am smoking it. But, the button is what pulls the trigger for me.
I'm the complete opposite. If I'm paying a premium for briar, its grain has to hold my attention. Christ, I'd just smoke a cob if I didn't care what my pipe looked like. The button has never phased me when it comes to a pipe. What kind of button do you prefer, and why? Is it for clenching purpose?
 
I'm the complete opposite. If I'm paying a premium for briar, its grain has to hold my attention. Christ, I'd just smoke a cob if I didn't care what my pipe looked like.
Jeezus! I do care what the pipe looks like. You would never catch me dead with one of those... cob things. I do have several pipes with really great grain contrast and pattern, but the majority of my pipes are blasts. It is merely the bit and button that pulls triggers the buy, but it's not like the rest of the pipe is chop liver.

I asked a pipemaker who I'll leave nameless, who was a forum member as well... to make me a few pipes. I kept asking for blasts, because he kept saying he did do blasts, but he kept getting excited about the grain contrast he was getting on the briar he was making my pipe from. He was begging me not to blast them. He was a very good grain chaser, and on the first few, I had him leave the grain, which was pretty for a smooth pipe. The rest I sent to someone else to get them blasted. I do like grain... I just don't like smooth pipes that much. I do buy some of each smooth and blasted pipes, so I am not a dogmatic buyer....

but if the button is a big ol' fat factory type button, I'm not smoking it. I'll either file it to what I like or just chunk it in the drawer of no return. The bit is where the rubber meets the road. It's where all of the engineering is (if we are calling it that). The bit makes or breaks a pipe as a good smoker. If it is a pretty pipe with great contrast and orgasmic birdseye, that's great!! But, if the bit is fat, uncomfortable, or isn't drilled properly, all of the grain in the world won't make me smoke it.
 
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telescopes

Pipe Dreamer and Star Gazer
I guess I am a heathen. A pagan who cares little about buttons, grain, or draft resistance. I would like my draft hole to line up center to the bowl and not be elevated to high over the bottom of the bowl. But being the shallow person I am, I look for affordability first, then function. My roots are low brow.
 
I guess I am a heathen. A pagan who cares little about buttons, grain, or draft resistance. I would like my draft hole to line up center to the bowl and not be elevated to high over the bottom of the bowl. But being the shallow person I am, I look for affordability first, then function. My roots are low brow.
No no no, there are pipes for all sorts of people. Not everyone should be like me. Differences makes the world go around.
I would note though that if a draft enters the chamber at dead bottom I don't want it. I like my drafts to enter a little on the high side, not crazy high, but just high enough that when condensation forms in the stems and a droplet rolls back down, that if I slightly blow on the stem, the water gets pushed out of the draft and down. I cannot stand a pipe where a droplet of water just sets at the draft dead bottom with nowhere to go, and just gurgles and gurgles through the whole damn smoke.