Pipe Making

Pipe making is the handcraft in which every stage of a pipe, from the rough block to the finished product, is carried out by a single person. In a factory the work is divided among many stations, each tied to its own machine; this arrangement is described in the how a pipe is made entry.

At workshop scale, every decision — from which grain in the block will stand out to the diameter of the airway — falls to the same person. The craft has no written curriculum; knowledge builds up largely through trial and error and through practical solutions makers pass on to one another.

Block and Stem Material

The briar burl used for the body (stummel) is dug up between thirty and sixty years of age; details are in the briar entry. Two different cuts come out of a burl. "Ebauchon" blocks, cut from the interior, are more plentiful and cheaper, but are considered more likely to contain a crack or void inside. "Plateaux" blocks, cut from the outer surface, are considered superior in grain pattern and are the preference of most craftsmen.

The stem, meanwhile, is worked from rod-form material. Of the two common options, ebonite is a hard rubber obtained by long vulcanization of natural rubber with sulfur and linseed oil; its sulfur content ranges from 25 to 80 percent. Ultraviolet light oxidizes the surface over time, after which free sulfur bonds with moisture to form sulfate and sulfuric acid; the surface gradually shifts from grayish green to brown. Acrylic does not show this degradation. The two are compared in the stem materials entry.