Morta???
- Thread starter morbious81
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Here's one I finished recently. Very lightweight. I love the right angles that are made when it's blasted.
I seriously love morta pipes. I got lucky as all heck with an il Duca morta from Pipestud. And then an estate Davorin. I have been tempted to get a Brog morta to see how they stack up. Mr. Brog makes darn good budget friendly pipes, so I'd say it would be a good venture.
I thought I had posted to this thread already...
Adam, you got a heck of a blast outta that! Well done! The detail is as crisp as my Asquith, no joke.
Running out of time but I just wanted to add a point or two. Morta can and frequently does add it's now character to the smoke. It is possible that scorching during processing the block in to a pipe can make a pipe more aromatic...I don't really know....
This can present as a peat-like flavor. One of my pipes was so heavily scented (only noticeable when burning tobacco) that it completely over-writ any Va based blend for at least 20-odd bowls. While another only mildly added an earthy note for the same duration. That taste does abate with break in, though in at least a few of the pipes it does return to a degree when the pipes sit unsmoked for a long while.
If you are a big lat smoker you might scarcely notice it.
Anyway, though frequently called bog oak, oak is only one species of donor tree, yew, and pine are others. The color is a function of time, yes, but it also a result of tannins within the wood binding with iron and other chemicals in the preservative mixture. I would suspect that blond morta is not oak as oak is rich with tannins, though this is only speculation and it could easily be due to iron poor sediment.
Of course Morta is only semi-fossilized and is thus harder but less dense than briar. As a result it radiates heat much more efficiently and doesn't hold on to a ghost as tenaciously.
Adam, you got a heck of a blast outta that! Well done! The detail is as crisp as my Asquith, no joke.
Running out of time but I just wanted to add a point or two. Morta can and frequently does add it's now character to the smoke. It is possible that scorching during processing the block in to a pipe can make a pipe more aromatic...I don't really know....
This can present as a peat-like flavor. One of my pipes was so heavily scented (only noticeable when burning tobacco) that it completely over-writ any Va based blend for at least 20-odd bowls. While another only mildly added an earthy note for the same duration. That taste does abate with break in, though in at least a few of the pipes it does return to a degree when the pipes sit unsmoked for a long while.
If you are a big lat smoker you might scarcely notice it.
Anyway, though frequently called bog oak, oak is only one species of donor tree, yew, and pine are others. The color is a function of time, yes, but it also a result of tannins within the wood binding with iron and other chemicals in the preservative mixture. I would suspect that blond morta is not oak as oak is rich with tannins, though this is only speculation and it could easily be due to iron poor sediment.
Of course Morta is only semi-fossilized and is thus harder but less dense than briar. As a result it radiates heat much more efficiently and doesn't hold on to a ghost as tenaciously.
Yo bigpo - thanks for a very thorough discussion of morta(s), which maps pretty completely with my understanding. My first morta was Chris Askwith's first, too, and though I got it for its reputed synergy with Latakias, I liked its earthy contribution to Virginias. Chris commented how much rank odor the morta block produced during sanding.
Since then I picked up mortas from Paolo, Alden and Il Duca. There may be more differences in smoking between mortas than in batches of briar.
hp
les
Since then I picked up mortas from Paolo, Alden and Il Duca. There may be more differences in smoking between mortas than in batches of briar.
hp
les
I really like my new Morta Poker. I can't detect any odd flavor, smoked about a dozen bowls so far. It does cool very quickly, and the warmest part is the top half of the poker. As for color, my pipe is the natural light gray pipe. My dad's is the natural dark gray poker. No stains were used on these pipes. As you can see, Morta can be light gray to almost black.
I am sure that the morta takes on the "flavor" of whatever swamp that creates it. I mean I smell like garlic within minutes of eating it. How can we not expect wood to impart some of the parts of its surroundings after 1000s of years. Makes sense to me.
I'm a big fan of Morta. Attached my current favorite. I don't get any off taste while smoking. The wood is very light weight, but they can be fragile, you can sometimes (though rarely) experience burn out areas where the material is far softer than the surrounding wood, this is just from the nature of the wood and the age, the larger the piece of wood, and the more I'll notice soft spots.Still smokes alright, just makes cleaning interesting. This pipe is a beautiful dark grey with almost copper bands running through it. A lot going on, just gorgeous.
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