Briar question

[Harlock999]

I was noticing that a good percentage of pipes that have very tight, straight grain on the "left" side of the bowl (looking at the pipe with the stem in your mouth) usually have wild, flame grain on the opposite side, but rarely the other way around,(straight on the right, flame on the left). Why is that? Is it just the carvers preference?

 

[Anonymous]

Ok, google Wiki, briar to see pics.
Here you are referring to cross grain, a cross cut through the burl.
Straight, tight, flame grain or famiata as the Italians call it. follows the grain of the burl. Birds eye on the heel and on the rim of the pipe. The tighter the grain the higher the grade. It gets way more complicated than this tho'. Plateau briar is the closest to the outside of the burl. Here the wood is better for grain than near the core.
Briar cutting is a trade like diamond cutters. Depending on the floors in the wood depends on the cut to maximize use and limit wastage.

check the Viprati briar mill. or visit www,serjacopo.com
Here too you will find a link to the briar mill.

 

[Harlock999]

Thanks Piet, will do!

 

[Smokntaz]

That is amazing! Even though I've read about the process, seeing it categorized like that really emphasizes how much work is involved even before the artist begins to work on the block. Thanks for the link Piet! :cheers:

 

[Anonymous]

That is amazing! Even though I've read about the process, seeing it categorized like that really emphasizes how much work is involved even before the artist begins to work on the block. Thanks for the link Piet! :cheers:

Schweet Gents!
Ser Jac and Mastro etc all get their wood from the Viprati mill, after he himself has made his selection first!!!

 

[sstodvictory]

I pose this as a suggestion, but maybe our pipemakers can confirm or refute it. Could it be related to the size of the burl? Imagine this radian diagram is a burl:

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/9a/Degree-Radian_Conversion.svg

If a pipe maker aligns one side of a pipe to be parallel with the grain (lined up with a radian) to produce straight grain on that side, then unless its a dublin or similar pie-section shaped bowl, the opposite side of the bowl will intersect the radians to produce more of a mixed pattern than straight grained. The smaller the burl, or the closer to the center of a large burl the pipe is made from, the more pronounced the effect will be.

I had not noticed on pipes having mixed straight and flame grain, that the straight appears more often on the left side, but I hadn't been looking for it either.

Steve

 

[Skip48]

Check out how long it takes to grow great Briar.
http://www.juliusvesz.ca/pages/article03.html?page=article03

Little more info on Briar
http://members.bellatlantic.net/~vze43wza/briar.html

Skip

 

[Rad Davis]

Check out how long it takes to grow great Briar.
http://www.juliusvesz.ca/pages/article03.html?page=article03

Rainer Barbi begs to differ:

http://pipedia.org/index.php?title=100_Year_Old_Briar%3F

Rad

 

[Harlock999]

@Steve: Your radian theory makes a lot of sense! I can see how aligning one side with the grain would cause the plane on the other side to intersect the grain. Thanks. See if you notice if the straight grain appears more frequently on the left side.

 

[Anonymous]

Check out how long it takes to grow great Briar.
http://www.juliusvesz.ca/pages/article03.html?page=article03

Rainer Barbi begs to differ:

http://pipedia.org/index.php?title=100_Year_Old_Briar%3F

Rad

Interesting Rad, thanks!!! Agrees to a point!!

 

[Sasquatch]

My hundred year old briar is all hand picked by virgins from the choicest of briar trees, where the fruits hang until completely ripe in the mediterranean sun.

 

[Anonymous]

My hundred year old briar is all hand picked by virgins from the choicest of briar trees, where the fruits hang until completely ripe in the mediterranean sun.

Can only be Mr. Vesz............... to that I say Bullsh*t!!!!
So Burls are fruit now????????????????????????????????????????? :lol!: :lol!: :lol!:

 

[Sasquatch]

Look, idiot, Vesz gets the fruit AFTER they fallen, therefore using deadfruit briar.

Actually, I have no idea when briarfruit are picked, I was making that up. I just click "buy it now" and it shows up at my house, so for all I know, they grow on the internet somehow. It's all magic.

 

[Anonymous]

Look, idiot, Vesz gets the fruit AFTER they fallen, therefore using deadfruit briar.

Actually, I have no idea when briarfruit are picked, I was making that up. I just click "buy it now" and it shows up at my house, so for all I know, they grow on the internet somehow. It's all magic.

Internet is a scary place, and yes Magic does happen there.

Say SAS were you calling me an Idiot or Mr. Vesz??

8) 8)

 

[Sasquatch]

Piet, in all honesty I was pretty astonished to see a video of Vesz where he put forward some ... pretty strange opinions. I'm not going to say anything of "dead root briar" because I don't really know enough to comment intelligently.

I find the pipe smoking community so superstitious and so hooked on myths and might-bes that a lot of what gets said just makes me laugh. But of course, I have a vested interest in NOT believing in dead root or 100 year old or what-have-you magical briar because I can't get that stuff. I just buy nice looking briar that smokes good. :scratch:

 

[Skip48]

Smoking good is the key and really all that matters.

Looking good makes us feel good so that probably helps with our mind. Kind of like fishing with lures, some can't catch fish on lures and it's mostly because they don't have confidence which is the more important thing in fishing. So our minds have a lot to do with the out come. Or maybe it's just a new color, if they don't have confidence in it they will not fish it the same and not give it as long as something they believe in.

Skip

 

[Rad Davis]

Piet, in all honesty I was pretty astonished to see a video of Vesz where he put forward some ... pretty strange opinions. I'm not going to say anything of "dead root briar" because I don't really know enough to comment intelligently.

I find the pipe smoking community so superstitious and so hooked on myths and might-bes that a lot of what gets said just makes me laugh. But of course, I have a vested interest in NOT believing in dead root or 100 year old or what-have-you magical briar because I can't get that stuff. I just buy nice looking briar that smokes good. :scratch:

If you think about it logically, why would there NOT be any more "Dead Root Briar" as Mr. Vesz claims in his video. He claims they ran out of "Dead Root Briar"29 or 39 years ago ( I can't remember which).

Did all of the white heath stop dying back then? God forbid, is there nothing left but those inferior live shrubs?

Rad

 

[Sasquatch]

I catch fish with my bare hands. But I do prefer if the briar-picking virgins wear white gloves.

Rad, Vesz's briar mysticism escapes me (and you too), but his explanation of meerschaum was what really made me think he'd had too much Black XX that day. But the difference between minerals and fossils is a tightrope that most of us dare not walk.

 

[Sasquatch]

Here's the link for those who wonder what is being discussed:

http://ireport.cnn.com/docs/DOC-445667?ref=email

 

[Trout Bum]

Thanks for the link, Sas!