Perhaps
the question most often asked of me in my capacity as pipe smoker, collector,
and importer is, "What makes a good briar pipe?" Is it the quality of
briar? the curing? the hand work? the symmetry of shape? comfort in the mouth
and hand? the finish? the weight? Must all these factors be taken into
consideration? Or none?
Easy
to ask, yes - but not at all easy to answer. So much of what makes a good briar
pipe is subjective - in the hands and eyes of the smoker. And if the smoker
truly likes the way a particular pipe looks and feels the chances are great that
the pipe will smoke very well indeed - for imagination comprises one-half
of smoking.
In
truth I am not going to be able to answer specifically, the question of
"what makes a good briar pipe?"; but I am going to go over certain
aspects of the craft of making a premium pipe. with an eye toward difference,
and sometimes I will offer personal opinion.
1.
Material
a)
origin - briar used for smoking pipes comes from the Mediterranean area-
countries include Spain, France, Algeria, Morocco, Tunisia, Italy, Yugoslavia,
Albania, Greece. Among collectors certain countries and islands have the
reputation for delivering roots of high quality (such as Italy, Sardinia,
Greece, Algeria) while other countries (Spain and France for example) are
understood to produce pieces of lesser quality. This is a huge area in which to
delve and deserves an article unto itself (preferably written by an expert
botanist). My personal
opinion is that a first class piece of briar should make a first-class pipe no
matter from which country it comes, all other aspects being equal.
b)
age - it is generally recognized that in order to have a superior smoking pipe
the briar from which it is made must be at least fifty years old. It is only
with age that the briar root becomes tight enough, dense enough to withstand
both the heat of lighted
tobacco and the juices produced during smoking for very long periods of
time. Whereas
the pores of less-aged
briar tend to clog from absorption in a relatively short time the well-aged
briar absorbs much less in a given smoke and so should last for decades if
well-treated by
the smoker.
It is
not generally difficult to select a pipe made from well-aged briar by simple
visual examination. To put the matter into three words - grain equals age. Be it
flame grain, mixed grain, birdseye, straight grain, cross grain, etc. the
tighter the grain pattern the older the briar. The grain pattern is obvious in a
smooth finish pipe, less so in a sandblast. But a sandblasted pipe can still be
inspected for age of briar
by looking at the pattern of indentations made by the sand jet (and this has
nothing to do with whether the sandblast is deep or shallow).
It
must be mentioned that well-aged burls being dug today are coming from less
accessible regions than those of yesteryear which has made for a decrease in
burl size. Climatic and soil conditions in the areas where
the older, briar is now growing are such that the wood has to struggle more
than previously to survive. This makes growth a much slower process and yields
fewer premium pieces.
c) weight - it has been
said that lightness in
a pipe
equals perfection. Many
pipemakers strive for lightness in their product, and many pipe smokers feel
that a
heavy pipe is a bad pipe. I do not agree. Besides the obvious facets that
may make for a heavy pipe (size, shape, wall-thickness, etc.) it is important to
note that there are two types of briar burls from which pipes are made. One
comes from the
male plant and is tall, rather thin, and light. The other, coming from the
female plant, is short, round, and more dense (this type of burl is invariably
the one used in photographs of "100 year, old briar root'. Each burl has
its attributes. For, those who wish a light pipe and do not smoke
"hot" the briar from the male plant is excellent. but the briar from
the female plant is made to order for those who smoke a "hot" pipe and
who tend to have pipes burn out. Being more dense this briar is harder to
destroy with heat. There are also those (perhaps many more than have admitted
so) who like the "heft" of a heavy pipe.
d) curing - after
receiving the briar blocks from the briar broker a pipemaker has two choices -
to air-dry for
a long period (years) or to kiln-dry
for a much
shorter period (days). Most makers of premium pipes prefer to air-dry under
controlled conditions because it is a natural way of curing and also minimizes
the chance of cracks or splits developing in any block. The amount of time
required to air-cure briar depends a great deal upon where the briar was
unearthed. Calabrian briar (southern Italy) comes out of a sandy soil in a
rather dry state and requires 1-3 years of drying (with more time being given the
larger blocks); Tuscan briar (north central Italy) is dug from a soil containing
large amounts of clay and so requires drying for 3-5 years.
Kiln
drying is obviously much faster, but, apart from the loss incurred with this
method it is thought by some that the natural resins are baked into the briar
instead of evaporating.
That brings us to a good
stopping place. Remember . . . whenever you purchase a fine smoking pipe,
whether, it be here or, abroad, new or pre-smoked, your satisfaction depends on
where the briar was grown, how old the
piece was and whether it was from a male or, a female plant. All of these
factors, in conjunction with the handling of the ebauchon (the roughly cut
pieces of briar) from curing to the finished piece, and the experience and
talents of the pipemaker, go into the end result... which is a "good briar
pipe". In the next
issue we will discuss the process of actually making a pipe.
