Pipes in Woods Other Than Briar

Making pipes from woods other than briar is a branch of pipe smoking born partly of necessity and partly of curiosity. The benchmark material, briar, comes from the burl that forms on the root of tree heath (Erica arborea); the fact that this wood is extremely hard, dense, and heat-resistant sets it apart among bowl woods.

Even so, a usable bowl can be obtained from most hardwoods. Cherry, olive, maple, walnut, and oak are, after briar and bog oak, the species most often mentioned among pipe bowl materials.

The Forced Substitute of the War Years

In the United States during World War II, briar burls that could no longer be imported were replaced by the root burls of mountain laurel (Kalmia latifolia). This choice was no accident: mountain laurel and the tree heath that yields briar both belong to the heath family (Ericaceae), and both form a hard, tangle-grained burl at the root crown. The same years are said to have seen North European workshops turn to beech. Wooden pipe smoking before briar already rested on a similar logic; Ulm burl-wood pipes were carved from burls of alder, walnut, pear, and maple.