What grain do you prefer?

[itsKot]

Floating around these boards somewhere there's a few threads about what pipe shapes you like and dislike, well here's a little spin on it. What grain do you prefer and/or how do you like your pipes stained. Naturally you'd expect everyone to say straight grain but the other day I saw a brother mention in a thread that he preferred cross grain instead. So, what do YOU like in a pipe, think of it as describing your dream pipe, you own holy grail of pipedom!

Personally I'm a HUGE sucker for birdseye! The more the merrier! But I also do love some lovely, fine straight grain. As for staining I actually prefer darker more rustic looking stains, but if the grain is truly splendid, it just HAS to be shown off with a lighter stain to illustrate its contrast! Naked briar is also a beauty too, and from what I hear, it ages and colors splendidly with smoking and handling.

As far as sandblasted pipes go, like anybody I LOVE ring grain, who doesn't? However a reverse ring grain can take a hike :lol: .
All in all I just like to be amused by my pipes, each one really is a work of art and should capture your attention as such. Bald spots lacking grain are a huge let down. As long as there's enough interesting grain to either hold my attention there or move it along to the next part of grain I'm a happy camper!

 

[PipePuffer]

Looking at my own pipes, I really have a wide variety of grains and I can't say I prefer one type over another. The grain just has to be visually pleasing and somewhat uniform. As for the stains, I am not too keen on very dark stains. I prefer a stain that highlights the natural beauty of the wood. This can be achieved with lighter or darker stains and, again, I have a pretty wide range of stain colors in my collection.

 

[sstodvictory]

I'm the same way - variable. The grain of a smooth or sandblast has to capture my attention, that's all.

Steve

 

[Frost]

I tend to be attracted to birdseye around the rim and on the heel and bottom of a pipe. Of course this combo usually means straight grain around the bowl too.

The dublin sort of shape is probably my favorite for showing off grain I think. The horn and volcano are probably somewhat better grain displays really, but I haven't had the cojones to add one of those shapes to my racks yet. Rhodesians and buldoggies can often have a nice wide rim that shows off birdseye well, but not as often.


I think my favorites (speaking strictly grain wise) in my racks are a Rad Davis long shanked straight dublin, a Sasquatch big bent dublin, and a stanwell shape 30, which is an acorn...but really just a dublin variation.

Here's some pics:

Rad (I don't know why I decided to take a pic of the rim before wiping it down) :



Sasquatch (Pic doesn't really show you the birdseye on the rim, but man it is definately there in abundance):



Stanwell Majestic (only stanwell would take a pipe with grain like this and make it one of their least expensive grades):

 

[LL]

Eaten as a stand-alone? I'm quite partial to Basmati rice, with steel cut oats not far behind. Once you dial in the technique for perfect texture, they're a whole different thing than most people are familiar with (i.e. American rice and rolled oats)

 

[Obelus]

..

 

[Frost]

Eaten as a stand-alone? I'm quite partial to Basmati rice, with steel cut oats not far behind. Once you dial in the technique for perfect texture, they're a whole different thing than most people are familiar with (i.e. American rice and rolled oats)

6/10...I chuckled.

 

[itsKot]

Wow Frost, I'm green with pipe envy right about now...

 

[19Volks71]

Grain-wise, I find bird's eye to be the most intriguing. Aesthetically, I prefer a walnut stain. All in all though, I have more sandblasted and rusticated pipes because of the durability.

 

[Frost]

Wow Frost, I'm green with pipe envy right about now...

Me too, and they are my pipes! :lol:

Looking at them makes me want to caress them and hug them and squeeze them and call them George. And smoke them...All are good smokers. The Rad requires ultra slow smoking 'cause it's pretty small and can get pretty hot if I get careless. The Stanwell is drilled at the tight end of the spectrum but has smoked everything I put in it well. Still haven't quite found the blend to make it sing yet though. The drilling on the Sasquatch is supposedly slightly off, but i can't even really tell and it's one of the best smokers I got.

 

[itsKot]

Wow Frost, I'm green with pipe envy right about now...

Me too, and they are my pipes! :lol:

Looking at them makes me want to caress them and hug them and squeeze them and call them George. And smoke them...All are good smokers. The Rad requires ultra slow smoking 'cause it's pretty small and can get pretty hot if I get careless. The Stanwell is drilled at the tight end of the spectrum but has smoked everything I put in it well. Still haven't quite found the blend to make it sing yet though. The drilling on the Sasquatch is supposedly slightly off, but i can't even really tell and it's one of the best smokers I got.

Woah, easy there Lenny, remember what happened last time you held em like that? (queue Of Mice and Men references)

 

[Harlock999]

Yes, to all of the above!! Straight grain, cross grain, long grain...I couldn't name a favorite.

But to echo Obelus, this would make me happy!

And so would this!

 

[19Volks71]

Woah, easy there Lenny, remember what happened last time you held em like that? (queue Of Mice and Men references)

"Whatever we ain't got, that's what you want." - George

What I say to myself when I look at new pipes.

 

[itsKot]

Woah, easy there Lenny, remember what happened last time you held em like that? (queue Of Mice and Men references)

"Whatever we ain't got, that's what you want." - George

What I say to myself when I look at new pipes.

All to true here as well! :lol:

 

[MisterE]

I like that Eltang a lot- I´m a birdseye man myself....

 

[Harlock999]

I like that Eltang a lot- I´m a birdseye man myself....

If I remember correctly, that was about $595.00 worth of birdseye, which seemed like a not too crazy price, for a snail grade Eltang.

 

[Tommy]

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.

 

[Rad Davis]

.

As far as sandblasted pipes go, like anybody I LOVE ring grain, who doesn't? However a reverse ring grain can take a hike :lol:

What is a reverse ring grain?

Rad

 

[itsKot]

.

As far as sandblasted pipes go, like anybody I LOVE ring grain, who doesn't? However a reverse ring grain can take a hike :lol:

What is a reverse ring grain?

Rad

The way I took it from the one time (that's right, a whopping one!) I saw it on the web was rather than radiating from the heel of the pipe it radiates downward from the bowl, usually from the rim closest to the bit. It's noting different in the grain, just how the pipe is positioned and cut on the block.

 

[Harlock999]

.

As far as sandblasted pipes go, like anybody I LOVE ring grain, who doesn't? However a reverse ring grain can take a hike :lol:

What is a reverse ring grain?

Rad

The way I took it from the one time (that's right, a whopping one!) I saw it on the web was rather than radiating from the heel of the pipe it radiates downward from the bowl, usually from the rim closest to the bit. It's noting different in the grain, just how the pipe is positioned and cut on the block.

Like this?