Questions About Driftwood or Suede Finishes

[cosmicfolklore]

I don't think anyone's going to reveal the secrets to these blasts. We can guess, but...

Frank, I hear they hold up very well. Walt used to be on this forum regularly. He always added a touch of class to a debate.
I waited until Walt practically stopped making handmade pipe to get serious about looking for one. Now, I think he is busy with his Cardinal line of pipes.

 

[georged]

...it apparently holds up very well...

Durability and trapping grime are separate things.
The finish is indeed "tougher" than it looks. Years ago, Walt even made a video where he stabbed and scratched at a stummel with a door key to demonstrate the point.
Any refurbisher who's been at it awhile has seen how persistently tar-grime-yuck-stuff gets deeply trapped in "ordinary" gentle blasts, and knows it is impossible to remove without some degree of refinishing. If a pipe's entire surface consisted of tiny, deep, parallel-sided SLOTS, removing the crud would be literally impossible. Even re-soda blasting (or whatever the process is) would only drive it in deeper.
Having said that, it's entirely possible that a fully developed TGYS "patina" on one of those acid-etched-looking finishes is gorgeous. Like a meer coloring, or something. But that's a different question still.

 

[jeffro]

Apparently, Chris Askwith has figured out the rustication method Roger Wallenstein and Steffen Mueller are doing to briar.

here is a photo of Mr. Askwith's "weathered" rustication.

 

[sumusfumus]

Loved reading all the speculative comments regarding this blasted "suede" finish.
georged...

suggested that I was an uncouth slob for having less than fastidious smoking habits. I laughed. Georged is right. A pipe to me is an object of utility, a hunk of wood that has two intersecting holes....one wide, one thin.... drilled into it. One hole is packed and the other, sucked. Anything else surrounding those holes is just eye-candy. I can and do admire beautifully made briar pipes, and such, and treat briar wood with the proper respect that its due. I make no judgements regarding who buys and owns whatever kind of pipe they want. It's all subjective, anyway. A cheap refurbished estate pipe and a $5,000 Eltang, would give me the same smoking enjoyment. Then again, maybe not. I'd be very reluctant to smoke the Eltang....the other, not so much.
I can certainly understand the attraction, and eye-appeal of a different, and novel surface treatment, staining technique, carving, blasting, rustication, or whatever. But this shredded wheat look is not something I would seek out. I'd be afraid of ruining the carefully treated surface. Briar is very brashy. Those super-thin walls generated by the specialized blasting would be way too delicate for a brute like me. But hey, to each his own.
Durability? I've read that this suede finish is more durable than it looks. I'd like to see a few of these pipes, well used, after 5-10 years of frequent smoking. I am not convinced that these pipes will remain pristine without taking extraordinary precautions (georged noted a few) to prevent dirt, residues, waxes, oils, etc, from being trapped in all the tiny surface convolutions, not to mention the accidental denting and scratching problems. But then, I also don't own one of these beauties, so I'm probably wrong... and I'm definitely no stranger when it comes to being wrong.
Frank

NYC

 

[jpmcwjr]

Wondering why you're going on and on about:

1.) The above pipes' finish, and

2.) Utility vs. Aesthetics of pipes.

 

[georged]

Wondering why you're going on and on about:

1.) The above pipes' finish, and

2.) Utility vs. Aesthetics of pipes.

I ain't no genius, but even I'll take a stab at this one. :lol:
Since PM.com is a discussion board, Imma guess he's discussin' those things. You know, with words n' stuff. ::

 

[cortezattic]

in re. trapping grime:

It could happen that when grime fills-in all the voids, it would look even better.
(As an aside, the sort of gent who would purchase a pipe like these isn't likely to use it as a loofah.)

 

[jpmcwjr]

GD- Yo' right. But it's the on and on I was wonderin' 'bout.

 

[crashthegrey]

I can promise you that most of the driftwood type finishes are not blasted, but in fact undergo a surface treatment. If I say anything more a few people will probably have to dispose of my body.

 

[cigrmaster]

The driftwood and Askwiths and Connoys are all cool looking to my eye. I like different and guessing as to how they are made is what we do here. If I figure it out, I am going to contact the makers and black mail them for free pipes. That's just how I roll.

 

[georged]

OK.
The depth is too uniform to have been blasted, and there are NO indications of directionality. Zero. None.
In other words, it is a chemical process.
If I wanted to replicate it, I'd start with the obvious: Seal the mortise and bowl of a shaped and drilled stummel with tapered neoprene "corks", submerge it a dilution of sodium hydroxide, then remove and pressure rinse with water.
(Sodium hydroxide is a major step in paper manufacture---it releases wood fibers from the matrix of lignin which surrounds them by dissolving the lignin and leaving the fibers---the cellulose---intact.)
In this case, it would both bleach the stummel to near-white and leave holes in it.
Dialing in the solution strength and immersion time would just be a matter of trial and error, I imagine.

 

[sablebrush52]

GD- Yo' right. But it's the on and on I was wonderin' 'bout.

'cuase it's whut we duz.
The effect is pretty interesting but I have little doubt that maintaining the surface would too much bother. It looks like an instant dust, dirt and crap trap.