Does anyone here make tobacco pipes?

[Spots]

I have really taken an intrest in adding hand made tobacco pipes to my hobbies. I really wanna make myself a Devil Anse nose warmer cutty pipe. I have a pretty well equipped wood shop just not sure where to start. I have a lathe, bandsaw, chop saw, scroll, radial arm, router, etc. Just need to know where to find material and if anyone here could walk me through making my first one. Thanks guys

[TrickyNicky]

Used to be able to buy burl pipe blanks from ebay and some wood suppliers. I would take a look online to get an idea what the blanks look like and is be willing to bet you could about take it from there as far as the crafting goes. Getting the bowl cut proper looked trickier than it looked if that makes sense, but doable.

I used to have a good book on pipes that went through construction and materials, I'll take a look for it but I dont remember seeing it for a few years.

[bigun]

I used to collect pipes and made a couple. back then you could get a kit at larger tabac stores. The best Briar comes from Sardinia, Italy. It sounds like you have all the equipment to make one. A couple of sharp knives will also be useful. Just try it out on some scrape wood first. And remember there are no two free hand pipes the same.

[Chris]

Funny you would mention this. I started work on one last night.

I'm working off one of the blanks Tricky mentioned.

I got mine off amazon... not this one, but very similar... stem and bowl are already drilled, lets me focus on making it pretty.

http://www.amazon.com/Tobacco-Pipe-Briar-Wood-Block/dp/B009SYZN7E

[tartanphantom]

I used to collect pipes and made a couple. back then you could get a kit at larger tabac stores. The best Briar comes from Sardinia, Italy. It sounds like you have all the equipment to make one. A couple of sharp knives will also be useful. Just try it out on some scrape wood first. And remember there are no two free hand pipes the same.

 

For me, the best smoking briar (easiest break-in, driest, coolest smoke) is Algerian briar. However, it's not necessarily the best looking, due to higher instances of sand pits, which often require filling if they are on the pipe exterior. Sardinian briar is usually grown in less sandy soil (often simply found growing in mountain rock crevices), in a milder climate, and tends to be slightly harder than Algerian. The Sardinian briar often makes for more attractive pipes due to the straighter woodgrain and fewer sand pits in the briar... it's easier to work with than the Algerian in the sense that, although the Sardinian briar tends to have a more dense grain, there is usually less time spent filling in sand pits and there tends to be fewer natural "soft spots" in the wood-- however, if you aren't carving a smooth finish, then this really doesn't matter.

A trade-off is that a pipe made of Sardinian briar usually has a longer break-in period, largely due to the wood density.

Edited May 11, 2015 by tartanphantom

[seez52]

there's a guy I know in Mt.Juliet runs a place called briarville. he does repair not sure if he sells supplies or not. He's a good guy you might give him a hollar. His name is Ric.

[whiskey]

This is a Moonshine Pipe Company Devil Anse. Smoked it tonight. :)

Vermont Freehand is the site I see referenced the most on pipe forums when it comes to pipe making supplies.

http://vermontfreehand.com/ Edited May 12, 2015 by whiskey

[Spots]

This is a Moonshine Pipe Company Devil Anse. Smoked it tonight. :)

Vermont Freehand is the site I see referenced the most on pipe forums when it comes to pipe making supplies.

http://vermontfreehand.com/

I will check them out when I get off. Beautiful pipe btw. I love it

[TNWNGR]

Don't forget the corncob and clay pipes in your hobby endeavor as materials are inexpensive and research material web wide or at the local library.

 

http://pipedia.org/wiki/Pipe_Making

http://pipedia.org/wiki/Materials_and_Construction

[tartanphantom]

Don't forget the corncob and clay pipes in your hobby endeavor as materials are inexpensive and research material web wide or at the local library.

 

http://pipedia.org/wiki/Pipe_Making

http://pipedia.org/wiki/Materials_and_Construction

 

Agreed. A good virginia/perique or virginia/burley blend in a corncob is pretty darn hard to beat... one of my favorite spring-summer smokes.

 

With traditional clay pipes, I tend to gravitate toward smoking navy flake blends, but anything is good once you become accustomed to the characteristics of a clay pipe.

Edited May 12, 2015 by tartanphantom

[whiskey]

Don't forget the corncob and clay pipes in your hobby endeavor as materials are inexpensive and research material web wide or at the local library.

http://pipedia.org/wiki/Pipe_Making
http://pipedia.org/wiki/Materials_and_Construction

Didn't realize you were a pipe smoker too. We'll have to meet up for a pipe and range day.

[Chris]

Didn't realize you were a pipe smoker too. We'll have to meet up for a pipe and range day.

 

Love this idea. Pick me!

[Jonnin]

You can buy a partially finished pipe block to cut to your own designs.  I had a roommate that smoked and made his own.  He just did a basic round bowl out of it,  and he got bored and used a grinder to do it (it turned out pretty good though).   I don't know where he got the partially completed block but it had the bowl and stem hole cut into a slightly rectangular block of (? briar wood ?).