Why Briar?

[jpmcwjr]

I have been trying to grow a few Giant Sequoia Redwoods in my backyard.

Just 50 miles inland from the Pacific Ocean, you see Coastal Redwoods wilting in the heat. They rely a lot on picking up moisture out of the coastal fog in which they flourish. (Yes, I know your comment was wry, and I don't know why I felt like adding the above extrania)
Now, vanilla beans: YUM! And besides vanilla bushes, I wish I could grow coffee here, but maybe vanilla and coffee bushes need about the same environment.

 

[wayneteipen]

It's my understanding that the environment around the Mediterranean Sea is a bit harsh which results in the heath tree growing at a much slower rate which in turn results in a more dense wood. There are other heath tree varieties that can and have been used for pipes. mso489 mentioned one- mountain laurel. It was reportedly used during the war when briar was in short supply. The environment in which mountain laurel grows isn't as harsh so it is apparently inferior due to being less dense. The same would likely be true of briar (Erica Arborea) if you grew it somewhere where the environmental conditions weren't as onerous. Other woods can be used to make pipes by why would you want or need to find an alternative if you already have a perfectly suited wood in briar?

 

[jpmcwjr]

As to why it's not grown in the US commercially, the long growing time is a big enough reason, plus labor intensive to harvest. Too few $$ to plant and care for. Parts of Sacramento Valley have a climate similar to the Mediterranean. The valley has tons of olive orchards and other flora that one finds in the Med.

 

[armonts]

In the briar is the stump, a big kidney root that is used,more precisely in the rhizome bush of this plant, which is a material with many qualities. First, it is very resistant to fire and heat. Secondly, it has a high absorption capacity. In nature, the bush absorbs large amounts of water that feed the plant during dry periods. In the same way, it can absorb the liquid resulting from the combustion of tobacco during smoking.
Not as usual "wood of the tree", it is profitable with trees that grow fallow naturally, but it we had to plant them and wait for it would be less easy ...

For the burl to reach a good size, it is necessary to wait about forty years. 8O To recover it, you must first find a beautiful heather, cut the trunk, uproot - and it's a hell of a job. We must also ensure that the bush remains wet until the arrival at the cutter, so we do not just foot, but also the land around it.
The first Western pipes were terracotta. These pipes were not considered durable because they are very fragile.
Since the Middle Ages, the region of Saint Claude hosts many workshops where local wood species were shaped into various objects including pipes. The boxwood, the beech or the cherry tree were the essences of predilection. Nevertheless these pipes had a very short life span. The wood was poorly resistant to heat and the wood influenced the taste of tobacco. It was from 1852 that the heather was recognized for its characteristics.
According to the legend it would be a local shepherd who would have initially tinkered a pipe in a strain of heather, then would have noticed its special qualities ... :worship:

 

[sablebrush52]

Ya wanna really know somethin' about briar?
Then read this:
https://pipedia.org/docs/CharacteristicsOfBriar.pdf
Then you'll know why briar and not why a duck.

 

[npod]

Thanks Jesse. I had lost my copy of that old paper on briar. I am excited to have it again.

 

[warren]

Fascinating reading sable. Boiled down for those won't read it, "Briar is simply the best material yet identified for a wood pipe."

 

[mso489]

A year or more ago, someone posted a link showing briar harvesters at work. It's a rugged hike to the tree (shrub? plant?) and then some heavy digging around the root and cutting out the briar itself, and hauling it back down to the truck. Presumably harvesting must be arranged with the landowner, if you aren't that person. After that there is a long process of aging and boiling and other preparation to make it salable to pipe makers. That hundreds of thousands of pipes are made annually using this material is impressive in itself. A day of that work, many would be drawn to less strenuous labor.