Pipes Made From Antlers

[Perique]

Antlers. Also curious about ivory.
Anyone have any experience with this? I would assume that antlers (or ivory) being organic and semi-porous, might make an interesting pipe. Not sure how they would hold up under drilling or carving. I thought it might be something really unique and interesting.
Thoughts?

 

[rhogg]

Check out www.tomleedypipes.com . He mostly incorporates antler into the design; however he does have a few with bowls made from antler. Also he is a very friendly guy. If you email him he will tell you all about the smoking characteristics.

 

[Perique]

Thanks. I will definitely check that out.

 

[pstlpkr]

Someone said antlers are actually made of hair, and smell like burning hair when smoked.

I can't speak to the "hair" part of the quote above, but they definitely smell like burning hair.
I have two antler pipes that I purchased years ago.

I consider them decorative only.

Neither provide anything but a sickening smoke.

 

[shaintiques]

Yeah antler when hot smells disgusting, but accents should work. Ivory does not hold up well to heat and is prone to crack.

 

[bigvan]

Is this close? And it doesn't smell like burning hair. Now there's a sentence I never thought I'd have to write.

 

[pstlpkr]

I should have qualified my statement....
Antler shanks can look very cool... e.g. the photo above.

However; if the "bowl" is made of antler...

Stand-by to stand-by... :?
::

 

[zonomo]

I have a genuine Lakota Peace Pipe that has a deer antler bowl and a deer antler mouth piece. I also have a few deer antler tampers which I think are ultra cool.

 

[acme]

Antler is bone

Horn is hair/finger nails

Ivory is tooth
If you have ever worked any of it, you wouldn't want a bowl made of them if you smoke for taste.
anthony

 

[wayneteipen]

I'm with Anthony. Horn, antler, and ivory all smell pretty bad when turned. It's probably harmless to smoke from them but they would impart a horrid taste on the tobacco. I really like to use them as accents on my pipes but I'm always careful not to let them come in contact with the tobacco or airway.

 

[zonomo]

They do look very cool as accents. I also like bamboo accents - prob my favorite.

 

[john218]

You can make a pipe bowl out of all kinds of material, but msot probably would smoke horribly. From what is being said here, it sounds like antler is one of those.
I'll stick with the three main tried and true materials; briar, meerschaum, corncob and some of the others like cherry, pear and clay.