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Vito

Vito

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Pipemeister Trever Talbert has developed an interesting new "white briar" finish...at least it's new to me. If anyone else has done it before, I'm not aware of it.

It's pretty neat — a creamy white color that still enables the grain to be visible:

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Interestingly, there's no wax or any other finish on the pipe. It's just briar bleached with a special process, and then buffed up to a satin finish with white compound. The pipe will color naturally (like a meerschaum) over time. You can read more about it on this Ligne Bretagne page on TalbertPipes.com.

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Wow, that should color nicely! Trevor makes some fine pipes, I was just looking at his page over the weekend. They go fast!
 
riff raff":vkjsnvig said:
Wow, that should color nicely! Trevor makes some fine pipes, I was just looking at his page over the weekend. They go fast!
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Yep. I'm on Trever's mailing list, and the pipe was sold by the time I opened the email. His Ligne Bretagne pipes usually sell out immediately, but a special pipe like that wouldn't stick around for more than a few minutes after the newsletter goes out.

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Another "I MUST have" pipe!!! When will it ever stop?

Beautiful piece of art, really :cheers:
 
I especially like Mr. Talbert's story about the genesis of the pipe...how it was something he conceived in his imagination, and persisted through many failures to finally reify his conception in tangible form.

That's a process with which I'm intimately familiar, albeit not in matters that have anything to do with pipemaking. Nevertheless, owning (and smoking) one of those pipes would have personal meaning for me because I just love success stories like that. Every time I smoked it, it would remind me of the value of persistence in bringing a creative vision into reality.

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OK, another mailing list to add to my collection!

Beautiful pipe and Trevor does some really cool stuff.
 
I have a white finish that I invented that I thought was pretty darned cool.

Now I feel like a rank amateur.

Trevor often makes me feel like that :) Of course I am a rank amateur but that is besides the point :)

what a beautiful pipe,

rev
 
That's brilliant, Veet. I have a Hilson pipe that is white as pictured, but has a deep "Danish blue" among the grain, making it pop out. It looks as if it is made of glass. I wondered how they did that, and it seems someone else has figured it out (or knew about it all along). I much prefer the more subtle variant you posted.

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Kyle Weiss":ueaaqval said:
That's brilliant, Veet. I have a Hilson pipe that is white as pictured, but has a deep "Danish blue" among the grain, making it pop out. It looks as if it is made of glass. I wondered how they did that, and it seems someone else has figured it out (or knew about it all along). I much prefer the more subtle variant you posted.

8)
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OK, now you've really got my curiosity up, Kyle. Can you post a photo of that Hillson? I'm trying to picture it, and all I can come up with is something like the traditional Dutch delft blue porcelain pipe...but you're saying it's briar? I have to see that! :shock:

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Here ya go, Veet...

...it ain't nearly as pretty, but the concept is there--cheap pipe. :)

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wow, that is really interesting too. Seems like they did a contrast stain, with a bleaching as well.

wonder if they used a white top stain, or a milk paint or something. Interesting.

REV
 
That Hilson was so unique and ugly it was pretty to me, for the $10 on eBay, I figured to heck with it. I knew I'd likely never see another like it. It smokes okay, but it's a 9mm filter pipe, and that's its only flaw. I gotta smoke it a little differently.

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Kyle Weiss":sslt2u0i said:
Here ya go, Veet...

...it ain't nearly as pretty, but the concept is there--cheap pipe. :)
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Dood! It's so "you"...by which I mean, one of a kind. ;)

Really, I've never seen anything like that. Maybe I don't get out enough, or something. Anyhow, I like it, just onna counta it's so weird...no, wait, that sounds like a derogative, and it's not meant to be. I know...I like it because it's so improbable...yeah, that's it!! It collapses the wave function of pipularity in an entirely unexpected region of pipespace. :mrgreen: Decent grain, too. How does it smoke? :?:

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It's a smaller pipe, so the typical Burley/Ginnyweed does pretty nicely in it. It's that infernal 9mm gap left from my dislike of using filters that makes it challenging in the moisture realm at times, but it doesn't mind rubbed-out brighter VAs and the like. I knew it was a filter pipe at the time of purchase, but again, for the price and curiosity of it all, it needed to be adopted. The grain is better on this pipe than on most, it's just... blue!

I'd much rather have one colored/treated like your first post here, but doubtfully for ten bucks.

At the moment the Hilson "Shark" is being used as a template for a pipe rack a family member is making for me, to kind of measure out the "smallest" and "largest" pipes to consider for spacing. I haven't smoked it in quite a while.

So back to the original subject, I'd like to find out more about how these "painted" pipes are had without obfuscating the grain, and at times, enhancing the heck out of them. I'm assuming it's a finishing process, but the opacity of the white is impressive for not necessarily covering anything up, grain-wise. Someone mentioned a "wash," I guess... whitewash for pipes?

It's damned cool.

8)
 
Kyle Weiss":k8jb7191 said:
...I'd like to find out more about how these "painted" pipes are had without obfuscating the grain, and at times, enhancing the heck out of them. I'm assuming it's a finishing process, but the opacity of the white is impressive for not necessarily covering anything up, grain-wise. Someone mentioned a "wash," I guess... whitewash for pipes?
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Nope, it's not paint or "whitewash". It's a bleaching process. I included the link that explains it in my OP. Here it is again:
Owing to the following facts...
Trever Talbert":k8jb7191 said:
It takes a solid week to get it right...It requires a briar surface that is flawless to an extreme degree, as there simply is no visual way of distracting or camouflaging pits."
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...I suspect that future Talbert pipes in that finish are going to be few and far between, and mighty pricey into the bargain. And, as I mentioned earlier, Trever's pipes usually are sold anyway by the time I get to his website to view them...all of which makes it improbable that I'll ever own one. But I have to admit, t'would be a delight to see one of those lovely white briars color over time, like a meer, or a natural finish briar.

Ah, well...there are enough other things to covet. I'll leave the Talbert pipes to those whose lust for them runs deeper than mine. Besides, with the embarrassing number of pipes on my racks, it's not like I'm hurting for pipes to smoke. :mrgreen:

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Ack, yeah I glazed over the link doing 1,000 other things on the computer. Got it now.

Interesting. Yeah, I wouldn't mind one myself! There's something about helping and watching a pipe bloom into its own color and personality over time. Like smoking a tangible, little sunset in the hand, and the color, changing and fading never end. :D

8)
 
we corresponded last night, I asked him some questions about what I was doing with a white bleach finish

He helped me, but didn't give away his trade secrets :) was really honored that he would take the time to give me some direction and encouragement. I have not interest in copying his finish... but mine will be similar only more bad ass :) The pipemakers in general seem to be so helpful, it is a great community this pipe community.

cept of course for Kyle, he is just mean as a snake

:)

rev
 
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