Leather Pipes?

[Singed]

Has anyone ever heard of leather being used as the bowl material for a pipe? Not as a cover but as the actual bowl. An acquaintance mentioned as a young man he found what seemed to be a leather pipe in an historic area where clay pipes are commonly found, Hayes River. He still has this artifact and I hope he will remember to bring it for me to see.

 

[Idlefellow]

I'd be very surprised, unless the leather was coated with something or the pipe had some sort of insert. I'd think leather would burn rather quickly, and I don't expect the aroma would be very pleasant!

 

[Singed]

Armour was once made of boiled leather, it becomes very hard and quite heat resistant. I could see this being a possible source of the idea. Oiled or tanned leather would never work.

 

[Bill (w/eoPd)]

I have had many pairs of leather work gloves become hard as a rock from simply being allowed to dry in direct sunlight, after getting wet from rainwater.
If cattle branding is any indication of what smoking a leather pipe might be like, it would be hard to imagine someone resorting to such.

 

[DrT999]

If it ever shows up, be sure to tell us about it!

 

[ralphmcculley]

I've never in my life heard or read about leather pipes. Leather wrapped yes, but the whole thing just being leather, I don't think it would be possible without the whole pipe going up in flames.

 

[Blackhorse]

Offices of the International Association of Leather Pipe Smokers.

]

 

[Singed]

Have some images of the "leather" pipe. Definitely a briar. There is an oval maker's imprint on the shank , but it's too faint and deteriorated to identify. All that I could make out was the edge. It was found near York Factory, Manitoba - a National Parks Historical Site on Hudson's Bay. I would not place this pipe in the same era as the clay remnants found at YF by a long shot. Likely discarded or lost by a Parks Canada employee involved in the restoration of the historical site, it is definitely a 20th C. factory pipe. No pun intended.