Pipes with very light tan finish

[Isagar]

So I've taken a 4 month break from pipe smoking (don't know why i stopped) and just recently got back into it again.

I saw a pipe for sale and it has a very lightly tan colored finish. Now I've always loved the light tan finish but I've never owned one because they feel so delicate to me and fear that my dirty hands could potentially ruin the finish before I even smoke with it.

But this pipe is too pretty to pass up! So my question is, for those who have owned and smoked light tan finished pipes, what colour do they become after smoking them a good 50+ times or so? Do they eventually turn brownish like most pipe's finishes are and loses all it's blonde brilliance??

I need some answers!:scratch: 

 

[Fr_Tom]

They darken up - or mine have. I have a Sydney P. Ram pipe that was unstained when I got it, and it is a mahogany color now.

 

[Isagar]

They darken up - or mine have. I have a Sydney P. Ram pipe that was unstained when I got it, and it is a mahogany color now.

Does it darken up to this extent?

 

[Fr_Tom]

Mine has - maybe it is just a little lighter than that, but I have only had it since the summer... This particular pipe is on my desk at church right now. If I remember, I can take a picture if that would help.

 

[Isagar]

Mine has - maybe it is just a little lighter than that, but I have only had it since the summer...   This particular pipe is on my desk at church right now. If I remember, I can take a picture if that would help.

Ugh, this is depressing to know.

Will they all eventually end up being extremely dark brown? Or does it kinda stop at a point?

 

[Briar Spirit]

The pipe will continue to darken over time, it cannot be stopped as it is the oils from the tobacco which are darkening the Briar, I know how you feel, I have 10 pipes which started out as 'blonde' (no stain used at all, just Carnauba wax) and they are all darkening, but unlike pipes which has been stained by leather dyes they are darkening in the most wonderful ways. The Grains are darkening first and I am seeing some fabulous effects on the wood on 2 of them which actually have very little grain to look at, they started life as very low grade Briar and they looked very dull indeed but now they look fascinating. I was sore at first as the blonde look was lost but now I am very much enjoying their darkening.

 

[daveinlax]

Mine has - maybe it is just a little lighter than that, but I have only had it since the summer...   This particular pipe is on my desk at church right now. If I remember, I can take a picture if that would help.

Ugh, this is depressing to know.

Will they all eventually end up being extremely dark brown? Or does it kinda stop at a point?

I depends on the briar how fast the will darken. I've had them color fast and others take time. One very important thing I've noticed with natural or light stained blasted or rusticated pipes is they can get permanently grubby on the sides if you handle them. I handle them like a meer and I don't touch them when they are hot. the dirt and oils on your hands will give a light pipe a very dirty nasty look that will never clean up, I've tried. Smooth pipes will clean up fine with a pipe polishing cloth but the blasted rusticated won't. :shock:

 

[Geoff]

The Ram pipes were not the blond you are talking about. They had some kind of coating that colored the pipe quickly. Not at all like your typical blond color.

I've had blond pipes and they always color to some degree with time. If maintained with a bit of wax to keep the surface sealed, it won't be from your hands -- at least to a minor degree. Heat and porosity can alter things. Wood varies in porosity so you can set dark patches on some.

I have a couple of H.I.S. basket pipes that were blond. They've colored a shade or so from the original. But some areas are black from the pores passing waste from the smoking process -- moisture and volatiles.

 

[flytyer]

I have an unfinished rusticated billiard, and one thing I noticed is the rim darkens easier than finished pipes. I also don't like the way it darkens from my hands it just doesn't look good. I'm thinking about cleaning the outside of the bowl with everclear and staining it, and finishing it with carnuba.

 

[KevinM]

I have a Sav artisan that had a light orangey finish when new and a Rochelau Dublin that had a natural, unfinished, polished look to the briar. Both looked "too pretty" to smoke when new and have darkened with smoking. But the darkening hasn't diminsihed the appearance of the flame grain in either Somehow, it looks as if the darkening is coming from within and is proportional across the bowls. So it's fine with me. Everything changes. Doesn't mean there's anything "wrong." Just a slight attitude admustment enables the piper to enjoy the "burnished-in-use" look.

 

[Geoff]

Blond will stay mostly light if it has had a sealer applied.  Typically that will be true shellac cut strongly with alcohol.  

Here is a well smoked pipe on ebay that retained most of it original lightness and aged to a moderately darker color.

Shellac is used on a lot of projects to provide a breathable seal on fine woods.  Those 1776 era high boys and such you see on Antiques Roadshow typically received a seal coat before the rubbed finish was applied.  The ones that have a crackle finish were pure shellac finishes that gave a gloss when new.

Briar is used because it is a wood that "breathes" and that is going to allow some of the moisture with it impurities of combustion to work their way through the wood with time.  There is no way to know what the final look will be -- even with a pipe that has had a sealer applied.

If you want the best chance at keeping it light, you need to buy a basket pipe with a high gloss finish that limits the breathability of the wood.

 

[sisyphus]

with natural stained pipes it's all up to the chunk of briar how they color. I have natural stained pipes that darkened just a little but still look pretty much as they did originally, but I also have a natural stain pipe that looked like it was going to burnout after only a few bowls due to some unseen porous spot on the bowl. Drove me nuts until I realized it wasn't my fault, but it still bugs me because I love that pipe and it looks like crap with a big dark spot on one side of the bowl.

Depending on the grain of the piece, what you will usually see with natural pipes is a darkening of the natural grain. If anything smoking these pipes generally improves their appearance, provided you're not a hot smoker.

 

[Anonymous]

I would think all pipes darken but that the finish may or may not allow it to be seen?

 

[monbla256]

My experience over 40 years of smoking is that "tan" or "natural" finished pipes WILL darken over time. I have 30+ yo Dunhill and Charatan pipes I've been smoking since I bought them that have ALL darkened to where you would not call them "tan" anymore as well as ALL my "natural" finished pipes such as my Edward's pipe like the example shown above which are now after almost 40 years of smoking are a nice dark mahogany/black in color. If you want "em to stay "tan" , buy 'em, put 'em in the rack and DON'T SMOKE 'em and they will stay "nice" . ALL pipes will darken as they are smoked but not nessecarily right away, it will take some time and frequency of smoking. :twisted: :twisted: 

 

[Fr_Tom]

ALL pipes will darken as they are smoked but not nessecarily right away, it will take some time and frequency of smoking. 

This is my experience too. My Sydney P. Ram pipe has been recent and fairly dramatic. Another poster suggested it was treated in some way to accelerate this process. That may be. All of mine with light finishes have turned dark with use as I smoke them. The Scottie bowl on my calabash is not changing very quickly, but I know it will...

 

[SpeedyPete]

Blond will stay mostly light if it has had a sealer applied.  Typically that will be true shellac cut strongly with alcohol.  

Here is a well smoked pipe on ebay that retained most of it original lightness and aged to a moderately darker color.

Shellac is used on a lot of projects to provide a breathable seal on fine woods.  Those 1776 era high boys and such you see on Antiques Roadshow typically received a seal coat before the rubbed finish was applied.  The ones that have a crackle finish were pure shellac finishes that gave a gloss when new.

Briar is used because it is a wood that "breathes" and that is going to allow some of the moisture with it impurities of combustion to work their way through the wood with time.  There is no way to know what the final look will be -- even with a pipe that has had a sealer applied.

If you want the best chance at keeping it light, you need to buy a basket pipe with a high gloss finish that limits the breathability of the wood.

This pipe looks exactly like my Savinelli Pisa !!! Even the colour is the same. Where did you find the photo please?

 

[Geoff]

This pipe looks exactly like my Savinelli Pisa !!!  Even the colour is the same.  Where did you find the photo please?

On ebay: http://www.ebay.com/itm/VINTAGE-PIPE-TOBACCO-PIPE-EDWARDS-MODEL-24-ALGERIAN-BRIAR-USED-ORIGINAL-/221298630083?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item33866d1dc3&nma=true&si=nCU1hPBswZmmP%252B5wr%252FP6N86BwEc%253D&orig_cvip=true&rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.l2557

 

[Brewdude]

My Wiley Rhody had a light tan finish when I got it back around '01/'02. It's colored very nicely and is more a mahogany now, and the grain really pops in contrast. I rather like it.


Cheers,

RR

 

[RDPipes]

I have a Steve Wiener that is rusticated natural that darkens and soils very easily, specially the rim. Waxed the hell out of it without change so I just stoped smoking the darn thing. It's a shame too because it's a fine smoker, I'm just too anal about keeping it clean.:fpalm: