I just bought a series of handmade rosewood pipes. I was wondering if it was a good purchase, is rosewood a good wood for handmade pipes. (Kinda of a late question to ask as I already bought 5!)
Rosewood pipes
- Thread starter Ray in Bangkok
- Start date
Besides the toxicity problem with making rosewood pipes, I think they are down the list in terms of alternate woods from the perspective of durability and suitability. In wood pipes, briar is the all-time champ. Woods that have proven to be acceptable substitutes, sort of the second tier, might include Mountain Laurel and maple. Below them would come olive wood and beech, and rosewood and cocobolo and such would come below that because of toxicity problems and lesser durability. I'm no great authority on this, but after decades of pipe shopping, thats how i size up the issue.
Since you have five rosewood pipes, give them a try. They may fill the bill, and be less stressed in rotation. Just be aware that if you have any respiratory hang-up you didn't have before, you may want to get briar, meerschaum, clay, and/or cobs instead, which are all proven dependable pipe materials.
Since you have five rosewood pipes, give them a try. They may fill the bill, and be less stressed in rotation. Just be aware that if you have any respiratory hang-up you didn't have before, you may want to get briar, meerschaum, clay, and/or cobs instead, which are all proven dependable pipe materials.
There are many varieties of wood labelled as "Rosewood"
Not all are necessarily of the same genus.
Some can be toxic. So you need to know exactly what you are getting.
Some rosewoods are endangered species with restrictions on their sale and commercial use.
Unfortunately it is doubtful if you will get the correct information from the pipe maker.
Not all are necessarily of the same genus.
Some can be toxic. So you need to know exactly what you are getting.
Some rosewoods are endangered species with restrictions on their sale and commercial use.
Unfortunately it is doubtful if you will get the correct information from the pipe maker.
Hmm, he’s in Bangkok, maybe Rosewood is a thing over there... 
Now Olive wood is an alternative that is common, and then there’s corncob.
There’s a Carsten Fischer in Thailand that makes pipes, or use to, and a VaVa Pipe, not sure if this is his business name.
This is his Facebook link. I can see it without needing to be logged into Facebook.
www.facebook.com
Now Olive wood is an alternative that is common, and then there’s corncob.
There’s a Carsten Fischer in Thailand that makes pipes, or use to, and a VaVa Pipe, not sure if this is his business name.
This is his Facebook link. I can see it without needing to be logged into Facebook.
Carsten Fischer
Carsten Fischer is on Facebook. Join Facebook to connect with Carsten Fischer and others you may know. Facebook gives people the power to share and makes the world more open and connected.
www.facebook.com
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There are a lot of new pipes for sale coming out of China made of rosewood, pear, or ebony. I have an ebony wood pipe from a Whitluck's kit that I bought on Amazon. It smokes fine and looks decent, but it's also quite heavy. I rarely smoke it since getting into briars, meerschaums and cobs.
Besides any wood...
Let’s not forget Meerschaum...
I bought some Chinese pipes when I first started. I thought they smoked fine until I got a Briar. But they are heavy as hell. It's a shame because a lot of them are really pretty.