How Old is the Briar in our Pipes?

[jpmcwjr]

Terrific thead! Especially a cut above's first hand info. Thank you!
But I did wonder about a statement that the older wood was on the outside, and younger inwards. That's counter to how trees grow in my experience, and although this is more like root material, I think roots put on new material on the outer parts. (?)
La terroir! La terroir- the cry of those who own older good vineyards!

 

[lordofthepiperings]

I just re-listened to the Phil Morgan interview on the radio show and he said the cobs are dried in a barn for two years before they begin being shaped into pipes.
Like others have posted, I've always heard that the briar for pipes is typically around 30-60 years old. I do recall seeing somewhere though that mentioned 100 years, so maybe sometimes the briar does get that old before it's harvested.
As for meerschaum I have no idea. I've never gotten into meerschaum pipes, so I've never done any research on it. I know the basics that it's a sea foam and mostly comes from the Mediterranean area.

 

[misterlowercase]

A Cut Above Briar,

many thanks for that great post!
Very valuable reading,

worth much more than .02 cents!

::
:
...and on a different note,

I think it's cool how briar can breathe!

http://pipesmagazine.com/forums/topic/the-breathability-of-briar-wood-what-do-you-think

:idea:

 

[seacaptain]

I know exactly what you mean. I was holding my cob the other day and wondering what life must have been like 2 years ago when it was growing. Did a deer ever try to eat it? How long did it sit in the barn? Was it ever used in an outhouse? Ah, the intricate ponderings of pipe smokers. ::

 

[okiescout]

This is an outstanding discussion. I really liked the added link Mrlowercase was kind enough to add from a year ago.

At this point, for me at least, I find myself in the camp of Mrlowercases prior assessment near the end of that link....
......overthinking this topic has made my brain hurt!
I think I'll just accept it as a "magical material" and leave it at that!
+1 :D

 

[acutabovebriar]

There are many misconceptions and myths in this hobby and some of them need to be busted.
I once heard such a myth from a very reputable pipe maker, one of the holy cows of out hobby, and he was telling me about one of his clients comlaining that the pipe was smoking bitter and with a very bad smell. The pipe makes explanation to me was that a male boar was "marking" his domain on that briar and the pungent smell of the boars pee penetrated the burl so much that after boiling for 16 hours and drying for two to three years the smell was still there!

Well the case was that this bunch of briar was not boiled long enough and dried too fast and the leftover sap never completely evaporated....This was coming from the mouth of a pipe maker with 40+ years of experience in pipe making.But it wasn't his fault; the mill that sold him the wood should have admitted that maybe it was theirs.Instead they told him a story to cover their a$$ and this story almost went viral since the person telling it was an expert who had heardit by an expert.

 

[zack24]

The pipe makes explanation to me was that a male boar was "marking" his domain on that briar

That's hysterical....I personally had considered mixing cat pee with activated charcoal to make a really tangy all organic carbon bowl coating...
Makis, I think you rode to the Chicago Pipe Show with Greta and me last May...I still regret not getting some of your briar when I had the chance...!!
My 2 cents- The reality for most pipemakers in the US is that they typically buy from a distributor like Steve Norse or if they can scratch together a couple thousand $$ for 50-70 blocks, they might buy directly from the cutter in the Med. The Teddy Knudsens of the world get the best briar because they travel to their briar supplier and hand-pick what they are going to use....and they pay premium prices for it.
A couple of years ago, I was fortunate enough to travel and spend a couple of days with my briar supplier in Calabria, Italy- a 3rd generation cutter who harvest only from the area. He said the biggest challenge they have is finding guys willing to go to the hills and cut the burls- back breaking work on the best days...
I started 3 years ago buying smaller plateaux for $15-20 that fit the size of the pipe I was making. I finally figured that I get much better grain from the larger blocks that cost $40 or so...and unless the pipe requires the plateaux to show on the bowl top and end of shank, I can cut 2 or 3 pipes from the larger blocks...

 

[brudnod]

MSO, you are humble beyond words. You surely have heard all of this before...

 

[sablebrush52]

Everybody knows that it was an essential component of Barling's harvesting operations to find burls that had been urinated on by members of Napoleon's army during his Egyptian campaign. If they could prove that Nappy had leaked all over a specific burl, that one got rated as a "special".

 

[acutabovebriar]

Zack, yes, we did share a limo to the resort. Glad to see you are back from your vacation. Hope you had a good time!
Regarding briar; when you visit a mill the reality is that you do get to choose from the best there is BUT i think its the cutters responsibility to treat his customers all the same.No matter how famous one might be they should all get the best there is , within briars varietal differences, for the money they are spending! after all $ is $ no matter who they come from

 

[jah76]

I smell a great guest on the radio show...
There must be some fantastic stories within three generations.

 

[acutabovebriar]

Well Brian made me the honours of having me on his show already. I think I am interview number 44...

 

[jpmcwjr]

Ah, little that the Napoleonic touch cannot improve! I guess the little guy was quite a whiz.
The story about boar piss is priceless!! Now I wonder, can the educated palate detect such problems in an unsmoked pipe? I am sure I cannot.