School me on Grecian Briar

[Briar Lee]

I don’t think Grecian briar pipe stampings are as common as they were maybe forty years ago.

But E A Carey, and other pipe makers, once upon a time stamped Grecian briar on their pipes, and were proud of it.

Here’s a Vottis pipe stamped Grecian Briar I bought off eBay for $23.50 delivered. From my experience it’s the shade of brown I’ve associated with Grecian briar for many years.



Vottis was a respected brand and if they didn’t think stamping a pipe Grecian helped sell it, they wouldn’t have.

Can anyone help us understand Grecian briar better?

The subject is all Greek to me.

 

[hoosierpipeguy]

I'm not sure but I think it may be from Greece.

 

[didimauw]

I'm not sure but I think it may be from Greece.

Ooo you may be on to something here....

 

[bullet08]

Ooo you may be on to something here....

And! They are briar.

 

[Briar Lee]

I was able to find this paragraph from a forty year old article about Dunhill pipes:
—-
The briar situation must be investigated in order to compare the new Dunhill pipe with the old there have been changes. Originally, Italian briar had been used for the "bruyere" and "root", Algerian for the "shell", and Sardinian for the "tanshell". The age of the briar used, averaged between 60 and 100 years. In the 1960's, the briar situation changed drastically. The Algerian supply slowed to a trickle, and the Italian government declared that its briar could only be used by pipe makers within its borders. To that time, Dunhill had a virtual monopoly on briar supply; now it had to search for new sources and could no longer reserve one type of briar for one pipe finish. This change was readily apparent in the "shell" finish. Deprived of Algerian briar, Dunhill had to use Grecian briar, a harder variety, and so the "shell" pipe now received a more shallow sandblast. As well, the wood was less aged between 50 and 80 years. Additionally, the briar burls were smaller and had more flaws, so there were less perfect bowls being turned, and - more waste! Conversely, the new briar was harder, lighter, and had much better grain than the old. Dunhill was never known for beautiful grain patterns in its smooth-finished pipes, but those produced today are outstanding when compared with those of twenty years ago.

A Tail of Two Briars - Pipedia

pipedia.org

—-

I kind of suspected that.

When there was Italian and Algerian briar to be bought, nobody bragged about using Grecian briar.

It was pretty, like second handed flowers.

 

[CoffeeAndBourbon]

It's where the get Grecian Formula from.

 

[anotherbob]

It's where the get Grecian Formula from.

View attachment 195448

I can't hear grecian without thinking of this. Though I think the model looks better with grey hair.
I also noticed that pipe makers don't do as many little things to stand out of the crowd as they used to. Like listing the province of the briar makes sense in a larger over saturated market. Anything to get a buyer to give your brand a shot or think why bother checking out the other guys this grecian briar hits the spot.

 

[MCJ]

I was able to find this paragraph from a forty year old article about Dunhill pipes:
—-
The briar situation must be investigated in order to compare the new Dunhill pipe with the old there have been changes. Originally, Italian briar had been used for the "bruyere" and "root", Algerian for the "shell", and Sardinian for the "tanshell". The age of the briar used, averaged between 60 and 100 years. In the 1960's, the briar situation changed drastically. The Algerian supply slowed to a trickle, and the Italian government declared that its briar could only be used by pipe makers within its borders. To that time, Dunhill had a virtual monopoly on briar supply; now it had to search for new sources and could no longer reserve one type of briar for one pipe finish. This change was readily apparent in the "shell" finish. Deprived of Algerian briar, Dunhill had to use Grecian briar, a harder variety, and so the "shell" pipe now received a more shallow sandblast. As well, the wood was less aged between 50 and 80 years. Additionally, the briar burls were smaller and had more flaws, so there were less perfect bowls being turned, and - more waste! Conversely, the new briar was harder, lighter, and had much better grain than the old. Dunhill was never known for beautiful grain patterns in its smooth-finished pipes, but those produced today are outstanding when compared with those of twenty years ago.

A Tail of Two Briars - Pipedia

pipedia.org

—-

I kind of suspected that.

When there was Italian and Algerian briar to be bought, nobody bragged about using Grecian briar.

It was pretty, like second handed flowers.

Thanks for sharing that PipePedia link -- very interesting read!

 

[Briar Lee]

My Vottis Grecian briar pipe arrived yesterday and the only distinctive thing about it I can find is the briar seems hard as granite.

This pipe smokes neutral. Its not sweet, not savory, just a vessel to smoke tobacco, It’s a very cool smoker, but Grecian briar has no soul, if they all smoke like this one.

 

[mso489]

I have one Greek-made pipe, a straight smooth Amadeus pot shape, and it is stamped "Made in Greece" but not for Greek briar. It has a Vulcanite stem and a larger medium chamber, and smokes well. I think this is a standard factory made Greek pipe, and so far as I know it is still being made, but not distributed much in the U.S. The stamping is imperfect so it just says "...deus."

I have several Iwan Ries house pipes from decades ago that were made by Edwards in their Benton line of oil-cured Algerian briar, that are very good indeed.