Mikhailovich":e2uha4r0 said:
Airborne":e2uha4r0 said:
I know Radice pipes in Italy used to cure their pipes in oil (perhaps they still do). I don't know what kind of oil they used but if I had to venture a guess, it would be olive oil.
Actually, every so often on my smooth pipes, I wipe them down with a little olive oil (just a very little) to enhance the look of the briar. The wood absorbs the oil quickly and the next time you smoke it, it bleeds out again. It really brings out the grain and helps darken out the briar. I’ve been doing this since 1968 (minus the 14 yrs when I didn’t smoke). It doesn’t add to or take away from how the pipe smokes. I do it just to keep the briar looking great.
Olive oil would present some interesting problems. Wiping the waxed side wouldn't cause a flavour intrusion, but I can't imagine the flavour and the scent not being foremost if the briar were boiled in it.
Also, olive oil when boiled can cause a very thick gum to form in the pot. I would have to test it out on a piece of wood, but I can't imagine it would do anything other than fill the pores of the briar as well.
When you talk about boiling do you mean when the pipe maker does it during the curing process?
If not then, the amount of olive oil I rub onto the
outside of my briars is very little so the wood doesn’t absorb much of it (the carnauba wax is long since gone). Olive oil starts to smoke at 191c (375f) before it boils so my pipe would have to be so hot that I couldn’t smoke it, that is if my tongue could even withstand it. It would be one helluva mess! I’ve been using olive oil on my pipes for 30 years without any taste, flavor, or scent issues and there’s never been even a hint of gum forming in the chamber (
where I don't use it) or anywhere else.
It seems to me I read the Radice soaks his briar in oil rather than boils it and then allows them to dry out over a period of many years.