Real Briar

[madox07]

Hmmm ... Have you guys ever wonder why some manufacturers put the wording "Real Briar" on their product? What do you mean real briar, real real as in opposed to fake briar or lab made briar, or what on earth is that supposed to mean !?

 

[jensen]

Real briar means real briar, used on cheaper pipes.

For example GBD do not need to mention that the pipe is

made of briar, everyone knows that.

 

[crashthegrey]

Jensen is not totally incorrect. You'll also see something like that during briar shortages through the years, to verify you were buying briar and not some alternative wood. But, more often than not, it's a cheap basket pipe that is questionable to begin with.

 

[blendtobac]

There's also a brand of Italian pipes called Real Briar.
Russ

 

[sablebrush52]

Marketing, boys, marketing.

 

[metalheadycigarguy]

Around the mid 1900's when pipe smoking was very popular, and there were all sorts of gimmick pipes coming out, and numerous pipe manufacturers; some pipes were made very inexpensively, so to assure customers that the pipe they were buying was in fact real briar, they would stamp "Real Briar" on the pipe.

 

[mso489]

A similar stamp was "Imported Briar," used often after World War II to point out that the pipe was briar and not any of the substitute woods used when briar was unavailable because of the war. In the U.S., Mountain Laurel was one of these alternatives. I only know one carver currently regularly offering Mountain Laurel in addition to briar and a few maple and Cocolbolo pipes, Jerry Perry of Colfax, N.C.

 

[madox07]

mso489 did briar play any role in the war effort? Otherwise why would it be unavailable during the war?

 

[Waning Embers]

Probably lack of availability due to Axis powers in Italy and the Mediterranean.

 

[madox07]

Makes sense ...

 

[newbroom]

One or two of my pipes say Bruyere Garantie

 

[wasnsfisher]

YA, I have one with Imported Briar stamped on it also. Nice pipe but smokes so so