All About a Pipe.

Manawatu Herald, 7 March 1903, Page 3

All About a Pipe.

What smoker who does not like a good .pipe? How few know what a good pipe is ? All ask for a good briar 1 Here’s the joke, as not a single wooden pipe is made out of a briar root. Iho misconception arose from the British workman having a slight difficulty in pronouncing the French word bruyire, which'means a heath, and promptly decided it easier to designate the root as briar. The heath from which the root Is obtained thrives in gaeat profusion on the rocky sl«pes of the Tuscan Alp in North Italy, on the mountain sides in Corsica. Previous to 1883 there was scarcely a single briar pipe manufactured in England, and yet today the industry has so grown that the men employed have instituted a Pipemaker’s Union.

The English pipe, the bowl and the mouthpiece is finished by one man, who thus ensures the correct and tightfitting of the various pipes. When the roots have been dug up all the useless parts are cut away so as to reduce freightage charges in shipment, and are divided up into small blocks of various shapes and sizes; they are then scalded, some of the Clayey soil in which the roots grew being put iuto the water with them. This drastic treatment is to drive out most of the sap. On their removal from the scalding bath the blocks are stacked and dried and finally sorted into varieties of shapes and sizes, each variety being known by some trade name. .

The long thin sections of briar are sent to the French market, because the Frenchman, who smokes at leisure, prefers a long pipe, while the Englishman, who smokes everywhere and under any circumstances, prefers a short, thick, stumpy pipe; consequently the small thick blocks are invariably reserved for the English market. As a rule only two pipes are made out of each root of briar, and they have to be cut very dexterously from the block to avoid waste. At the factory the blocks are again spread out to dry and the longer they take to dry the better, but they must not be over-dried. When the bowls are turned they have to be stored away to become thoroughly seasoned and a good bowl ought to have two years seasoning before proceeding with the pipes. A largo manufacturer says “you may take it for granted that a briar pipe will last you as many years as jt costs you shillings. The briar that is mostly in demand is that with a bowl cut the straight way of the grain. This, I may tell you, is not the most reliable kind of pipe, as the sudden expansion by the heat, and contraction of the wood when you stop smoking, cause it to split in a short time. The most durable briar is that which is cut the crosswise of the grain, showing what is commonly known as the 1 bird’s-eye ’ grain. This is practically everlasting as regards wear."