What Role Does Briar Play in Quality?
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Mediterranean huh? I gotta try me some of that! This Baltic stuff I've been getting is crap! :rofl:
@wcannoy--that is the best and most concise perspective on the issue yet, to my mind.
To address the original post, Dunhill was a master of marketing hyperbole very early on in the game. To that end, oil-curing does have merit as a process, as does well-aged briar. To delve into the mechanics of wood, one must realise it's a substance that is always alive--it is hygromorphic, which means that it changes its shape on the cellular level in response to atmospheric conditions (moisture, pressure, and heat). From a woodworking perspective, well-aged wood is a must; the requirements for different woods and applications vary greatly. Wood for construction purposes is often kiln-dried, cased or even used "green"--think how many times you've seen 2x4s that looked like a wet noodle at your local lumber yard. Furniture grade wood is ideally at an 8-12% RH (dependent upon species), and slow-cured, being dried and re-wetted over many years in a controlled manner--I've gone out of my way to source cyprus that was nearly 100 years old, for example, but figure 8-15 years for high grade examples (think Ethan Allen and above). I've done work for Roman Thomas (we made some of the president's office furniture) using 80 year old "true" mahogany. Burl wood is admittedly something I know woefully little of, aside from the basics of candling, or selection. Burl, owing to its nature of being tightly-packed and non-linear grain, really does take decades to properly cure, to come to reasonable equilibrium with the environment. Add to that the end-user requirements of being constantly exposed to extremes of heat and moisture, while maintaining structural integrity. The logic of oil-curing to release tannin and moisture makes sense to me, but is it better? I can't say definitively, and I doubt anyone really could other than owing to their personal preference.
Now, that being said, I think the ultimate consideration comes down to how the manufacturer, be it artisan or factory, utilizes that piece of wood, and how its displayed. Wcannoy makes the case for pricing, and it's spot on. Dunhill's greatest advantage is volume and history--and yes, they can afford to sit on thousands of blocks for decades. I recall reading somewhere (and take this with a grain of salt til I can cite the source) that during the period they were absorbing many smaller manufacturers they acquired vast tons of aged briar. Also consider that for an artisan to keep food in the pantry, the cost of living at the point of origin is a serious factor.
Take as an example Paolo Becker or Ser Jacopo, two marques that in my opinion exhibit the highest attention to actually using the wood to best effect. Grain patterns are always thoughtfully aligned, shaping is always deliberate, if sometimes a bit extraordinary, and draught mechanics are always dead on. The end result is a pipe that is always (let's give them the benefit of 99.5% of the time) a good smoker. Paolo particularly excels with briar and in his experiments with other material, to note bog oak (or morta) and strawberry wood, which he has pioneered. Is it worth paying the going rate for these pipes? I consider them a bargain.
However, this is just my two cents' worth, and if the going gets tough I might have to ask you for that two cents back some day.
To address the original post, Dunhill was a master of marketing hyperbole very early on in the game. To that end, oil-curing does have merit as a process, as does well-aged briar. To delve into the mechanics of wood, one must realise it's a substance that is always alive--it is hygromorphic, which means that it changes its shape on the cellular level in response to atmospheric conditions (moisture, pressure, and heat). From a woodworking perspective, well-aged wood is a must; the requirements for different woods and applications vary greatly. Wood for construction purposes is often kiln-dried, cased or even used "green"--think how many times you've seen 2x4s that looked like a wet noodle at your local lumber yard. Furniture grade wood is ideally at an 8-12% RH (dependent upon species), and slow-cured, being dried and re-wetted over many years in a controlled manner--I've gone out of my way to source cyprus that was nearly 100 years old, for example, but figure 8-15 years for high grade examples (think Ethan Allen and above). I've done work for Roman Thomas (we made some of the president's office furniture) using 80 year old "true" mahogany. Burl wood is admittedly something I know woefully little of, aside from the basics of candling, or selection. Burl, owing to its nature of being tightly-packed and non-linear grain, really does take decades to properly cure, to come to reasonable equilibrium with the environment. Add to that the end-user requirements of being constantly exposed to extremes of heat and moisture, while maintaining structural integrity. The logic of oil-curing to release tannin and moisture makes sense to me, but is it better? I can't say definitively, and I doubt anyone really could other than owing to their personal preference.
Now, that being said, I think the ultimate consideration comes down to how the manufacturer, be it artisan or factory, utilizes that piece of wood, and how its displayed. Wcannoy makes the case for pricing, and it's spot on. Dunhill's greatest advantage is volume and history--and yes, they can afford to sit on thousands of blocks for decades. I recall reading somewhere (and take this with a grain of salt til I can cite the source) that during the period they were absorbing many smaller manufacturers they acquired vast tons of aged briar. Also consider that for an artisan to keep food in the pantry, the cost of living at the point of origin is a serious factor.
Take as an example Paolo Becker or Ser Jacopo, two marques that in my opinion exhibit the highest attention to actually using the wood to best effect. Grain patterns are always thoughtfully aligned, shaping is always deliberate, if sometimes a bit extraordinary, and draught mechanics are always dead on. The end result is a pipe that is always (let's give them the benefit of 99.5% of the time) a good smoker. Paolo particularly excels with briar and in his experiments with other material, to note bog oak (or morta) and strawberry wood, which he has pioneered. Is it worth paying the going rate for these pipes? I consider them a bargain.
However, this is just my two cents' worth, and if the going gets tough I might have to ask you for that two cents back some day.
Let's not confuse what is commonly considered burl wood, that is abnormal growths on the trunks of trees, with briar burl, a normal formation of the root system of erica arborea. The grain of a briar burl is much more uniform and linear, or rather radial, than other common burl woods, and its composition as a functional part of the root system lends itself to curing relatively quickly. Add that to the fact that the wood is cut into blocks that average only a couple of inches wide in all directions, and...
Well, I'm sorry, I've got to let the cat out of the bag...
Pertaining specificaly to cut blocks of briar burl, after about twenty-four months of sitting aroung curing, the law of diminishing returns begins to set in. There is no appreciable difference between briar blocks that have been curing for two years and those that have been curing for twenty years. I know it's a hard pill to swallow, especially for those who swear by their old briar. Boy the emperor sure loves his new clothes!
I've seen pipemakers brag about the lot of tightly grained briar that just arrived from the mill. A week later, they are bragging over photos of the beautiful straight grained pipes that the lot is yielding. Another week or two, and their satisfied customers are bragging about how well those new $500 pipes smoke. And you know what? They really do smoke well.
Thank you for the edification, wcannoy-- my experience is solely from the use of burl as pertains to furniture use and the like. I did haggle for a piece of pink ivory burl one time, and I know it was 20+ years before I got my paws on it--and it still needed plenty of curing afterward. Do you know if briar is apportioned into blocks immediately after harvest, or after an initial cure? In other words, is it the blocks that are aged or the entire burl and then the blocks?
Yep. Everything on this page is consistent with all the mills I know of. Some of them cut right away, some store the burls under burlap and wet them regularly until cutting. The blocks are boiled thoroughly, and allowed to dry/cure (that page stated six months, longer for some cutters), all before they even leave the mill!
Heck, the "Dead Root North Sea" blocks are worth their weight in gold for the romanticised marketing blurb alone! Throw in some "petrified bog oak" and "fossilized siberian mammoth ivory" and we're good to go!
pitchfork, I list Rad as my favorite for a few reasons:
1.Never need a pipe cleaner to soak up moisture
2. Lightweight pipes that are good sized bowls i.e group 5 bowls that weigh in the 40 gram range.
3. Most comfortable stems I have ever owned
4. Through the design of the pipes, these things smoke themselves practically. Wide open airways and it makes the tobacco taste great.
5. Ease of break in. I have never had pipes that broke in this easily.
In regards to other favorites, all of my American artisan pipes smoke better for me than any other of the artisans mentioned, and they are extremely close to my Rads. I rate the Rad's a touch higher because of the stem work and his ability to make a light pipe. All of my American pipes never need a pipe cleaner for excess moisture, that is a big thing for me especially because I live in the humidity of Florida. All of these other American pipes smoke cool and dry and are very comfortable, the stem work these guys are doing is awesome.
In terms of the other artisans I would rate Former next then Barbi. Both made great pipes and I enjoyed smoking them.
1.Never need a pipe cleaner to soak up moisture
2. Lightweight pipes that are good sized bowls i.e group 5 bowls that weigh in the 40 gram range.
3. Most comfortable stems I have ever owned
4. Through the design of the pipes, these things smoke themselves practically. Wide open airways and it makes the tobacco taste great.
5. Ease of break in. I have never had pipes that broke in this easily.
In regards to other favorites, all of my American artisan pipes smoke better for me than any other of the artisans mentioned, and they are extremely close to my Rads. I rate the Rad's a touch higher because of the stem work and his ability to make a light pipe. All of my American pipes never need a pipe cleaner for excess moisture, that is a big thing for me especially because I live in the humidity of Florida. All of these other American pipes smoke cool and dry and are very comfortable, the stem work these guys are doing is awesome.
In terms of the other artisans I would rate Former next then Barbi. Both made great pipes and I enjoyed smoking them.
I'm necrobumping this thread. Don't tell my wife.
I've been chatting with some of you, and others, about the impact of the age of the briar on the finished smoking qualities of the pipe. It's a good thing I'm social and enjoy real dialogue, because it looks like many of you covered this turf last year.
Thanks to all the posters above (Walt, Sasquatch and Romeowood in particular) for your thoughts.
Here is what I'm taking away from the dialogue...
1) Age of the burl at time of harvest will have impact on burl size, and also grain formation, but environmental factors will have as much impact on grain formation and hardness of the burl.
2) Age of the block after harvest, curing, blocking and drying is really limited to a couple of years (Thanks for spelling that out for me Walt).
3) Age of the burl, method of curing and time spent drying all impact the finished smoking qualities of the pipe but smoking quality is equally influenced by drilling & engineering.
I've spoken to friends, recently, who are on the hunt for early 20th century Dunhill, Comoy, Sasieni and Barling pipes in the hopes to being able to discern/explore the difference in 'aged briar' versus the 'green briar' being used today. I hunt those pipes too, but unless they are NOS I'm going to suggest that the century(ish) of use will have as great an impact on smoking quality as the age of the briar, curing and drying ever did...
Further, that given everything listed above buying a high grade pipe made yesterday by a respected artisan carver will return the same potential for a high quality smoking experience as did the new purchase of a Barling in 1914.
$0.05 in the bucket.
-- Pat
I've been chatting with some of you, and others, about the impact of the age of the briar on the finished smoking qualities of the pipe. It's a good thing I'm social and enjoy real dialogue, because it looks like many of you covered this turf last year.
Thanks to all the posters above (Walt, Sasquatch and Romeowood in particular) for your thoughts.
Here is what I'm taking away from the dialogue...
1) Age of the burl at time of harvest will have impact on burl size, and also grain formation, but environmental factors will have as much impact on grain formation and hardness of the burl.
2) Age of the block after harvest, curing, blocking and drying is really limited to a couple of years (Thanks for spelling that out for me Walt).
3) Age of the burl, method of curing and time spent drying all impact the finished smoking qualities of the pipe but smoking quality is equally influenced by drilling & engineering.
I've spoken to friends, recently, who are on the hunt for early 20th century Dunhill, Comoy, Sasieni and Barling pipes in the hopes to being able to discern/explore the difference in 'aged briar' versus the 'green briar' being used today. I hunt those pipes too, but unless they are NOS I'm going to suggest that the century(ish) of use will have as great an impact on smoking quality as the age of the briar, curing and drying ever did...
Further, that given everything listed above buying a high grade pipe made yesterday by a respected artisan carver will return the same potential for a high quality smoking experience as did the new purchase of a Barling in 1914.
$0.05 in the bucket.
-- Pat
Occasionally in a mid-level pipe, most of my stable, I have encountered what seems to be a high
grade briar. A Johs handmade blast Dublin and a machine made Britainnia both have notably
lightweight briar that seems better/longer cured that most of what I encounter. It's something to
consider when shopping for pipes below the pricier level.
grade briar. A Johs handmade blast Dublin and a machine made Britainnia both have notably
lightweight briar that seems better/longer cured that most of what I encounter. It's something to
consider when shopping for pipes below the pricier level.
Regarding oil-curing of briar, below is a link to United States Patent No. 1,341,418 filed by Alfred Dunhill on October 14, 1918, and granted on May 25, 1920. It describes his curing process, and may be of interest to some of you.
United States Patent No. 1,341,418
United States Patent No. 1,341,418
I'm not sure anyone can...The problem is that most cutters in the Med buy burls from a variety of sources depending on availability and price. I only use Calabrian briar- comes from a 3rd generation cutter who only uses briar from that region. Greta and I were fortunate enough to spend a couple of nights with him and his family last summer...and those relationships really do make a difference in the quality of the wood you get. The other key to dealing with many of the cutters is if you don't speak Italian, you have a tough time doing business with them....- (I can only order drinks and flirt in Italian, fortunately, Greta is fluent).
What a terrific and illuminating thread! One of the things that I noticed is the confusion about maker's statements concerning the use of "100 year old" briar. The age didn't refer to seasoning. That was a matter of a few years. Nor did it refer to length of storage. All these stories about companies deliberately sitting on raw stock for 50-60 years as a normal part of the manufacturing process are just stories.
The age claim referred to the assumed length of time that the tumor was growing in the ground before being harvested. So when you're looking for 100 year old briar, buying a pipe made in 1914 is beside the point. It's nothing to do with when the pipe was made. It's about how long the wood was growing in the ground before it was harvested. Once it's out of the ground, that's it. Done. Finito. It ain't gonna grow no more, no more. From there on it's about processing what is there. BTW, Barling did not claim to use 100 year old, or older, wood. They stated that the particular wood that they harvested for use was at its best from between 80 and 120 years of age.
Rainer Barbi wrote that superannuated briar was actually useless for making pipes because it's capillary system would have shrunk, reducing it's heat dispersion capability. He favored briar that had been growing for 35-60 years.
The age claim referred to the assumed length of time that the tumor was growing in the ground before being harvested. So when you're looking for 100 year old briar, buying a pipe made in 1914 is beside the point. It's nothing to do with when the pipe was made. It's about how long the wood was growing in the ground before it was harvested. Once it's out of the ground, that's it. Done. Finito. It ain't gonna grow no more, no more. From there on it's about processing what is there. BTW, Barling did not claim to use 100 year old, or older, wood. They stated that the particular wood that they harvested for use was at its best from between 80 and 120 years of age.
Rainer Barbi wrote that superannuated briar was actually useless for making pipes because it's capillary system would have shrunk, reducing it's heat dispersion capability. He favored briar that had been growing for 35-60 years.
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