School me on Birdseye

[Alejo R.]

360degree straight grain - yes.
360degree Birdseye - never

360degree straight grain - yes.
360degree Birdseye - never

Think of the bundle of straw - you can only get the end grain only at both ends of the bundle - never 360degrees.

Back in the mid-1970s I chanced upon a pair of Lorenzos in a B&M.
One had beautiful Birdseye on both flanks but was almost twice the price of its much plainer "twin".
I bought the cheaper "plain Jane", being an impoverished student at the time.
To my regret, even till this day.

That was the very first time I was aware of grain in a pipe.
Even as a novice my eye was drawn to the beauty of the Birdseye.

very sure. The center of the root, where the capillaries that create the grain are born, is not used to make pipes.

 

[Chasing Embers]

Assuming you hold the pipe on the front and back with thumb and forefinger, that pattern would be theoretically cooler to the touch when lit,

I cup the entire bowl in my hand when lit but it has fairly thick walls.



I barely smoke hot enough to notice any warmth emanating from my pipes other that heat rising from the chamber.

 

[Chasing Embers]

Strawberry wood

Oddly enough it blasts very similarly to briar.

 

[Hillcrest]

correct

 

[Hillcrest]

correct

Splitting of a Briar Root Burl before cutting at Mimmo’s Sawmill in Taggia, Italy #briar #sawmill #italy | By RawKrafted | Facebook

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[pauls456]

What is the function of bird's eye (or straight grain for that matter)? The Wikipedia entry says the cause is unknown, and offers no theory as to its function.

 

[Hillcrest]

What is the function of bird's eye (or straight grain for that matter)? The Wikipedia entry says the cause is unknown, and offers no theory as to its function.

The vertical grain are the capillaries that draw water up the plant to the leaves. The horizontal lines are usually growth rings as in any tree. The birdseye are impressions left by stones and rocks as the root ball grows into the ground, sometimes the stones are absorbed and that's when you get pits when carving or sometimes smoking if one pops out. As for function on a pipe....they're good looking and attractive.

 

[pauls456]

That sounds mostly right. But I think the bird's eyes are the one and the same with the straight grain, rather than having anything to do with stones and rocks.
I've always assumed the straight grain corresponds to water transport. So far I haven't found much about it on the internet.

 

[Hillcrest]

That sounds mostly right. But I think the bird's eyes are the one and the same with the straight grain, rather than having anything to do with stones and rocks.
I've always assumed the straight grain corresponds to water transport. So far I haven't found much about it on the internet.

I got my info from a pipe carver when I bought my first pipe many, many years ago so my remembrance is subject to time and memory. I suspect there may be a video out there on 'all about briar' ...

 

[Alejo R.]

The vertical grain are the capillaries that draw water up the plant to the leaves. The horizontal lines are usually growth rings as in any tree. The birdseye are impressions left by stones and rocks as the root ball grows into the ground, sometimes the stones are absorbed and that's when you get pits when carving or sometimes smoking if one pops out. As for function on a pipe....they're good looking and attractive.

the bird's eyes are the capillaries that form the straight grain seen crosswise.
nothing to do with stones or sand.

 

[North of the Border Piper]

That looks like Ostrich skin ... I have a pair of black Nacoma dress boots in that pattern !

Exactly what I thought, ostrich with reversed quills. Cool pipe!

 

[hilbert15]

Actually it is very rare to happen but you can get a center cut briar. Unfortunately this cut usually has lots of pits and imperfections. Here is a photo of one of my 360 birdseye pipe.

 

[Kingsley]

All I can tell you is if I’m buying a smooth pipe, you’d best believe that I’ll be looking for one with it.

 

[BarrelProof]

Birdseye's are my favorite. Can stare into them for hours. Kinda wierd actually.

This. @alaskanpiper knows this fixation of mine all too well. He loves flame grain and I always ask him to show me the bottom of the pipe so I can see the birdseye. In fact, one of the pipes I commissioned from Dragon Briars was specifically cut/stained/finished to highlight the birdseye at the expense of incredible flame grain.

To each his own!

 

[didimauw]

This. @alaskanpiper knows this fixation of mine all too well. He loves flame grain and I always ask him to show me the bottom of the pipe so I can see the birdseye. In fact, one of the pipes I commissioned from Dragon Briars was specifically cut/stained/finished to highlight the birdseye at the expense of incredible flame grain.

To each his own!

View attachment 208188

That's a prime example of what I'm talking about! Getting lost in the grain! My first Peterson, had demon faces in it. It was great.

 

[Hillcrest]

Straight grain on side and birds eyes at 90°
View attachment 166782View attachment 166783

That's what I was told by the pipemaker at The Owl Shop in Worcester, Ma., is the pipemakers goal or aesthetic for a perfect pipe ... its supposed to represent the 'heart' of the briar ... not literally ... but the underside center of the briar root. Although ... I would love to have a pipe of all birdseye !

 

[bullet08]

It's little thing seating on top of a bird beak. smaller than a typical marble, and not as hard.

 

[Hillcrest]

Two Barontini's about 35 yrs apart in acquisition.

 

[renfield]

A smooth pipe with full on birdseye symmetric on opposite sides of the stummel is more interesting to me than straight grain.

Straight grain or birdseye smoke the same as far as I can tell. No reason to think they wouldn’t. I know others may disagree but the hobby is replete with anecdotal experience on both sides of that opinion.

 

[Papamique]

Actually it is very rare to happen but you can get a center cut briar. Unfortunately this cut usually has lots of pits and imperfections. Here is a photo of one of my 360 birdseye pipe.View attachment 208182View attachment 208184

Since my post earlier in this thread I found out that you CAN get 360° Birdseye. Thank you for posting yours. You definitely pay for it as it seems rarer than 360° straight grain but I LOVE the look of your pipe. Burl Birdseye ghost faces all around!!!