Different types of wood...

Subject: Different types of wood... Tue Feb 19, 2008 1:21 am

What are some other types of wood that can be used in making pipes? I have seen Olive wood and Rosewood. Are these good woods? What are they good for?

Thanks,
Lucky
_________________
“A man never discloses his own character so clearly as when he describes another's”

-Jean Paul Richter

Subject: Re: Different types of wood... Tue Feb 19, 2008 2:23 am

The two off the top of my head that you haven't mentioned would be cherry-wood (which IMHO really brings out the flavor of Latakia) and bog-oak which I think Trevor Talbert calls morta.
_________________
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.

Subject: Re: Different types of wood... Tue Feb 19, 2008 10:33 pm

I have Olive, Rose, Maple, and Cherry (my great grandfather's pipe). All smoke very well. I do prefer to smoke aromatics (what little of them I smoke!), in the maple. FTRPLT

Subject: Re: Different types of wood... Wed Feb 20, 2008 8:42 am

One of the best smoking pipes that I have is a Perry Poker carved out of NC Mountain Laurel. Mountain Laurel was actually used by a few of the major pipe manufacturers during WWII when Briar was scarce.

http://www.perryspipesandrepair.com/index.htm

Mountain Laurel is very similar to the Tree Heath (Erica arborea) (Briar) in wood quality as far as density and hardness.
_________________

"Man is the only religious animal. In the holy task of smoothing his brother's path to the happiness of Heaven, he has turned the globe into a graveyard."

Mark Twain

Subject: Re: Different types of wood... Thu Feb 21, 2008 7:41 pm

JP...Good find on Perry's website. The Raleigh and Winston-Salem papers had nice articles on this guy about a year ago. My family saved them for me. Hopefully, he will be at TAPS in April or maybe I/we can catch him at the State Fair in October! FTRPLT

Subject: Re: Different types of wood... Thu Feb 21, 2008 10:05 pm

Subject: Re: Different types of wood... Thu Feb 21, 2008 11:47 pm

Thanks for the input guys!

Are these other woods any less resistant to heat and burnout than regular briar pipe? What makes briar superior to other woods?

Thanks,
Lucky
_________________
“A man never discloses his own character so clearly as when he describes another's”

-Jean Paul Richter

Subject: Re: Different types of wood... Fri Feb 22, 2008 9:22 am

I haven't had any problem with the Mountain Laurel and it seems to smoke exactly like Briar to me.

I also have a couple of Cherry Wood pipes that were made my Mike Brissett (Pipemaker) and they smoke very well, much like Briar to me. One positive aspect that I have noticed with Cherry Wood is that when they do heat up, they seem to cool back down at a faster rate than Briar. I don't know why that is, it is just my observation.
_________________

"Man is the only religious animal. In the holy task of smoothing his brother's path to the happiness of Heaven, he has turned the globe into a graveyard."

Mark Twain

Subject: Re: Different types of wood... Fri Feb 22, 2008 10:59 am

IMHO olive wood bowls tend to get hotter quicker than briar. They are also a little heavier than a briar. Cherry wood might be a little lighter. As far as burn out goes I would think that briar would tend to burn out more so than the other two. Reason being, the hidden imperfections (i.e. sand pits) that can be in a briar block. Olive wood and cherry wood is not a root type of wood so you will not see any of these type of imperfections that could cause a burnout. The only pipe I have had a burn out on was a briar, and it was on a new pipe. Showed up after about the fifth smoke. When you look inside the bowl you can see where the sand pit is.
_________________
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.