| Briar Pipes with a Virgin Finish |    |
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Winslow
Age : 62
Joined : 12 Apr 2008
Posts : 736
Location : Roselle, IL 60172
Tobacco : Bosun Cut Plug
Pipe : Ardor
 |  Subject: Briar Pipes with a Virgin Finish  Wed 28 May 2008 - 8:39 | |
| If anyone out there can tell me,How does a virgin briar color?Does the patina
start being noticeable in the shank first,as a meer?What does the patina look like?
brown,black,? Anyone own one?
I don't recall seeing an estate pipe that was unstained briar.
Winslow |
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Guest
Guest
| | Subject: Re: Briar Pipes with a Virgin Finish Wed 28 May 2008 - 9:33 | |
| | Winslow wrote: | If anyone out there can tell me,How does a virgin briar color?Does the patina
start being noticeable in the shank first,as a meer?What does the patina look like?
brown,black,? Anyone own one?
I don't recall seeing an estate pipe that was unstained briar.
Winslow |
Just keep smoking it gently- you'll see. It will get dark brownish red the more you smoke it. In fact I've owned Heeschens and Matzholds that were whitish blond when I got them and now they're redish brown.
I think similarly to meerschaum the softer you smoke it (ie the less hot the pipe gets) the more it will color and the more uniform it will be, however I have never seen the color change occur in the shank area exclusively as I have in Meerschaum. In fact I think it's more likely to see the transformation take place around the outside of the bowl area and the heel faster than the shank.
I don't know if you've noticed this but almost all of my pipes that aren't stained black get darker as you smoke them. Red shaded stains definitely get darker. I have several- dozens of red stained pipes that are a dark purple (plum?) color from smoking them. They hold a dark patina that says the pipe has unmistakably been enjoyed;) |
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Mikem
The Coordinator
Age : 53
Joined : 15 Dec 2007
Posts : 737
Location : Glendale, Arizona
Tobacco : Pembroke
Pipe : Mike Brissett Bulldog
| | Subject: Re: Briar Pipes with a Virgin Finish Wed 28 May 2008 - 11:01 | |
| I have a Comoy Poker that has a Virgin finish. It is getting darker, and to my untrained eye looks like it is getting a dull redish tint also. The shank and bottom of the bowl seems to be getting darker before the upper third of the bowl. Hope this helps.
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Arizona, where the temperature is always warm but the pipe smoking is always cool. Mikem
I highly recommend Scott Bundy at www.piperestore.com for all of your pipe cleaning and restoration work. |
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howellhandmade
Joined : 11 Dec 2007
Posts : 64
| | Subject: Re: Briar Pipes with a Virgin Finish Wed 28 May 2008 - 11:32 | |
| Briar naturally turns a reddish brown as it ages. If you were to look at an aged briar block and then cut into it you could see the effect of oxidation -- it can be almost oxblood on the outside and very light inside. I think after 20 years most pipes, except of course those that start out with a very dark stain, will be pretty much the same color.
Jack |
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earl
Age : 54
Joined : 23 Dec 2007
Posts : 62
Location : Kansas
| | Subject: Re: Briar Pipes with a Virgin Finish Wed 28 May 2008 - 21:17 | |
| | Mikem wrote: | | I have a Comoy Poker that has a Virgin finish. It is getting darker, and to my untrained eye looks like it is getting a dull redish tint also. The shank and bottom of the bowl seems to be getting darker before the upper third of the bowl. Hope this helps. |
Yeah, Mike, that appears to be a good generalization about my pipes, whether they started out virgin or not-though only have 1 virgin that's been in use for about 6 months and at this point is merely a darker brown. But on some of my older stained pipes I've noticed the darkening effect to be concentrated toward the bottom of the bowl more than anywhere. No doubt due to the concentration of the smoke and oils there. I've noticed this effect primarily with pipes with a red-brown stain as opposed to a walnut one. I'm not altogether pleased with it as it tends to give a mottled look to the pipe but what the heck. Earl |
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Yak
Resident Philosopher
Joined : 11 Dec 2007
Posts : 825
Location : Yaksylvania
| | Subject: Re: Briar Pipes with a Virgin Finish Wed 28 May 2008 - 22:25 | |
| As people have pointed out :
Coloring more on the shank and bowl bottom : moisture/oils related ; Coloring more on the bowl: heat related.
One minor aspect of this is that the ph level of carnuba wax is somewhat acidic. Repeated heatings will necessarily activate the reaction of it with the underlying stain and briar, the result cumulating over time.
One favorite pipe here is a 22 year-old smooth, bent Caminetto estate that's been smoked incessantly. The end of the shank where the tenon fills it is still kind of sandy blonde-tan that was probably its original shade ; the rest has colored to a deep, warm, dark brown. Looks at first glance like a dark pipe that's had the shank sanded in fitting it with a new stem and never re-stained, but not so. Definite meerschaum effect.
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All the old cliches are true.
That's why they're cliches. |
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Wet Dottle
Joined : 27 Feb 2008
Posts : 212
Location : Littleton, CO
| | Subject: Re: Briar Pipes with a Virgin Finish Thu 29 May 2008 - 1:15 | |
| I think the color in the meer comes from the inside, while the color in the briar comes from the outside. I think it's the oils (and dirt) in your hands that ends up coloring the outside of briar pipes. In the past, when refinishing a couple of my pipes, sanding resulted in white briar being liberated from under the dark finish that had accumulated in the course of a few years. But perhaps it's just me and my filthy hands...
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Happy days and happier puffs. |
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| Briar Pipes with a Virgin Finish | |
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