Briar Color
Larry LaMere
The briar was almost white in color and you could barely see the grain. When the pipe
had aged a bit with smoking, the pipe slowly turned from tan through caffe-au-lait to
eventually a darker brown.
Now all the pipes I buy have a red tint and slowly turn deeper red with time finally
ending up a dark reddish brown. All the pipes I buy with a varnish finish I sand the
finish thoroughly and the briar still turns deeper and deeper red.
I'm wondering if briar blanks are pressure treated with a red stain so the stain
penetrates deep into the wood, or maybe the briar is of a different variety or from a
different part of the world. Is Algerian briar different from Israeli briar for
example?
Anybody know?
Nick
just due to Brair being some what porous. The grain itself is a
series of capillaries, through which the stain travels.
pipeman
The first pipes you describe sound like unfinished seconds, The lack
of stain and polish makes the briar appear very light. Polishing a
pipe changed the refractive index so light penetrates rather than
scatters making the surface darker and more transparent. No pressure
is need to treat the pipe, briar will abrorb stain to a certain
depth. If you keep on sanding you will get to plain wood. You may
wish to try leaching the stain out by soaking the pipe in denatured
alcohol. The stain itself will change in color over time, and the
briar will pick up dirt and oils coloring it from without.
Algerian briar differs from Israeli briar in that Algerian briar is
rarely available, though probably plentiful, while Israeli briar is
extinct, deliberately removed to make way for farms and orchards. Its
probably been a good 40 years since it has existed.
Juan in Andalucía
You talk about "varnish", which is different from dyes. A varnished
pipe is likely to keep most of the coloring stuff on surface (although
some will be absorbed by the wood in the drying process).
Dyes will go deeper into the grain beacuse of the nature of the suff.
It's almost like comparing a nitrocellulose guitar finish vs a
polyuretane finish. Nitrocellulose, being a vegetal product will -very
slowly- get into the grain of the wood, and the solvents will also
evaporate, so you'll end up with a thinner and more resonant finish.
If you look at the finish of a say, Gibson SG, which is mahogany you
can see the "orange peel surface". A better example is a Les Paul
which is a maple top/mahogany back. The maple surface will look even
because of the tighter grain whereas the mahogany will have -or
develop- the tiny holes overtime.
Then, of course there's the different dyes, lacquers, varnishes from
different brands.
Juan in Andalucía
Rad Davis
"pipeman" <kenlie...@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:5fef8b21-fc50-4f99...@a1g2000hsb.googlegroups.com...
Actually you can buy Algerian Briar pretty much anytime you want from
Pipemaker's Emporium in Phoenix, AZ.
Rad
Larry LaMere
I don't communicate too well so I guess I wasn't clear. The question wasn't about how
briar colors but why the old briar = brown, new briar = red difference. I know it's
not ALL in my mind, I've still got three of the old brown pipes.
Anyway thanks for the info. I had no idea that the Israeli's had denuded Israel of
briar.
JtN©
Dude ... it aint about the briar or nothin else other than the baccy
your smokin in the pipe and the pipe aint really changin color its how
your eyes is reactin to how they work from the type of waccy your
smoking dude.
It aint bout the pipe but bout the waccy.
JtN ©2008
mark tinsky
Hi Larry
Some briar has more red in it especially towards the middle of the
burl. Usually red briar has cracks in it and is unuseable. Briar
tends to be very blond after curing and within 5-10 years there after.
Once briar has set for longer periods of time it starts to turn a
chocolately brown. The grain is not as distinct or vivid after
staining. MT
pipeman
> "pipeman" <kenlieber...@hotmail.com> wrote in message
Thats why it rare, rather than unavailable. There us only one small
mill, and they do not produce industry standard eubachons. Some burls
may be exported through Morrocco. There should be plenty of high
quality briar in Algeria since it hasn't been harvested on a
commercial scale for around 40 odd years. Larry I don't know how to
explain it better; a red stained pipe will turn brown over the years.
Of course pipes may be stained, brown, orange, blue etc from the get
go, but over the years all these pipes will tend to turn darker
brown. It is not true that all pipes made today have a red stain,
though it certainly is a popular color. I should also mention that
the sap of the burl is red, and this dyes the briar to an extent.
Kurt Huhn
As Mark said, some briar is more red toward the center of the burl. But
there's also huge differences in briar itself - Spanish and Algerian are
worlds apart in terms of color, grain, and hardness. This also depends,
to a huge degree, on the specific processing that the briar goes through
once it's harvested. Sometimes (but not always) a reddish color
indicates poor processing. A reddish color, coupled with lots of cracks
and stress fractures, pretty much guarantees it.
--
Kurt Huhn
pipec...@pipecrafter.com
http://www.pipecrafter.com
Larry LaMere
Thanks Kurt, between your answer and Mark's I found what I wanted to know. It's just
that the older pipes were made from better quality briar that had been more carefully
and thoroughly cured. Sort of like the difference in quality of the carving between
19th century and 20th century Meerschaum pipes.
Some of those old meers should be on display in the loover.
pipeman
>
> Thanks Kurt, between your answer and Mark's I found what I wanted to know. It's just
> that the older pipes were made from better quality briar that had been more carefully
> and thoroughly cured. Sort of like the difference in quality of the carving between
> 19th century and 20th century Meerschaum pipes.
>
> Some of those old meers should be on display in the loover.
How people only hear what they want to hear. The difference in color
of a STAINED pipe has nothing to do with the briar itself.
Differences in color between briar from different region has nothing
to do with quality. Most briar has slight reddish tinge and this may
be why red stains first became popular, and may be not. What Mark and
Kurt are talking about is entirely different.