What grain do you prefer?

Brothers of Briar

Help Support Brothers of Briar:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
Sorry for the small picture, but this is the best I can find for the moment, I'll keep my eye open for more though.

 
Tommy":j1zc9t4e said:
Not much of a straight-grain guy, I prefer cross-grain with a lot of burl or birdseye on the sides of the bowl.

I really love nice sandblast pipe. A Rustificated pipe is my LEAST favorite pipe..... and I unfortunately have several of them.
Click to expand...
Tommy, I agree with you! Both the Davidoffs which I've bought recently are like that; beautiful flames front and back of bowl with birdseye on the sides.
 
I prefer the grain to be removed leaving a slightly red kernel socket to contrast with the yellow exterior of the bowl.
 
mark":6k3dlzx0 said:
I prefer the grain to be removed leaving a slightly red kernel socket to contrast with the yellow exterior of the bowl.
Click to expand...
Oh how clever of you, sir.
 
I love when a pipe maker has placed birdseye on the heel of a sandblasted pipe. The Birdseyes become little pits that are very appealing to me.

I first encountered this on a Rad Davis dublin... which was unfortunately picked up by somebody else...
 
A few of you have expressed a love for birdseye, which reminded me of this old thread.

Ever seen birdseye like that?
 
Its all a sham.

Every pipe (with grain) is a cross cut/ straight grain/ Birdseye grain pipe if you look at it from the correct angle.

we get caught up, and pay a hefty price for it, in all kinda nonsense.
 
PHFFFFFFTTT,,,that's like saying all women are ,,,nevermind,,,
 
Every pipe (with grain) is a cross cut/ straight grain/ Birdseye grain pipe if you look at it from the correct angle.
Click to expand...
It is my understanding of the terms straight-grain and cross-grain that a straight-grain pipe has grain parallel to the chamber, and cross-grain is perpendicular to the bowl, from one side to the other (contrasted with Rad's front to back cross-grain, which would be a bit different), so that a pipe cannot be both straight- and cross-grain, no matter what angle you look from.

A straight-grain, though, will yield birdseye on the rim and bottom, so angle is an issue there.

But if you are lucky, you may find a bowl with birdseyeall around, as I posted earlier, which would be a third orientation of the block. Otherwise, preference has to do with matching the shape to the cut of the block to emphasize one grain pattern or the other--a saucer with a big wide rim would emphasize the birdseye (with a straight-grain orientation), as would a discus/blowfish with a cross-grain cut.

A billiard, though, with cross-grain cut, will yield birdseye on the sides and straight grains on the front and back of the bowl, but not 'straight-grain' in the sense defined above (which is how I thought it was widely conceived, though I may be wrong).
 
Thomas Tkach":tr5whwva said:
Every pipe (with grain) is a cross cut/ straight grain/ Birdseye grain pipe if you look at it from the correct angle.
Click to expand...
It is my understanding of the terms straight-grain and cross-grain that a straight-grain pipe has grain parallel to the chamber, and cross-grain is perpendicular to the bowl, from one side to the other (contrasted with Rad's front to back cross-grain, which would be a bit different), so that a pipe cannot be both straight- and cross-grain, no matter what angle you look from.

A straight-grain, though, will yield birdseye on the rim and bottom, so angle is an issue there.

But if you are lucky, you may find a bowl with birdseyeall around, as I posted earlier, which would be a third orientation of the block. Otherwise, preference has to do with matching the shape to the cut of the block to emphasize one grain pattern or the other--a saucer with a big wide rim would emphasize the birdseye (with a straight-grain orientation), as would a discus/blowfish with a cross-grain cut.

A billiard, though, with cross-grain cut, will yield birdseye on the sides and straight grains on the front and back of the bowl, but not 'straight-grain' in the sense defined above (which is how I thought it was widely conceived, though I may be wrong).
Click to expand...
That's how I see it too, its all about orientation of the pipe "within" the block prior to and during cutting and shaping. Each block has a sampling of each grain pattern within and it's a matter of spacial awareness and placing it in a pleasing manner on the bowl in an aesthetically pleasing manner for the potential buyer(s).
 
The Rad on the 1st page of this thread is beautiful, and the Radice in the link on page 2 seems to defy nature! 360 degrees of birdseye? Wow!
 
Thomas Tkach":a5j0o7aq said:
A few of you have expressed a love for birdseye, which reminded me of this old thread.

Ever seen birdseye like that?
Click to expand...
Thomas,

I did not even think that was possible. I had never thought about it, simply because it was not a thing that could rationally happen.

It's not even like I was thinking one day, "though impossible, a birdseye-all-around pipe would be cool", it was more like "i'm thirsty" or "How is marxism a perpetuation of the Hegelian dialectic?".

It simply never occurred to me.

-Mike.
 
Deep sandblasted ring grain a la J. T. Cooke and heavily rusticated pipes a la Tom Eltang. They just smoke cooler and are easier on the fingers.
 
IMHO
Any grain that stands out and is clearly visible & free of voids is my preference.Since grain in briar is like snow flakes,each one privides a diferemt visual experience, to be enjoyed by each ones personal taste.Sandblast, rustacation, Shell,and any other term used by pipe makers to conceal or cover
up the true condition of the briar, is a means to salvage potentially excelent
smoking briars that do not have the visual apeal of smooth grain pipes. In some
ways they provide a better value, in the same series of pipes.No matter witch option
one prefers, each of them can deliver years of superb smoking enjoyment.
Most of the rough & blasted briars have an artistic appeal,I beleive that is why I own so many. When I decided to purchase the Sherlock Holmes Collection I went for the Rusticated, although now, I have smooth dups in the same series.
Dosent matter how you "pic yo pizon", just pick it.


"There's a Story behind every Bowl"
 
Many years ago, I started out on rusticateds, simply because they were cheaper. I moved on to smooths with almost any grain orientation. Now, I find I prefer a good rustication, some are crude looking, or a good natural blast.
 
Top