Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1903-09-16
THE MAKING OF PIPES
MUCH SO-CALLED BRIAR IS AP.
PIE TREE WOOD.
An Industry in Which Millions of Men
Are More or Less In
tereSted.
Letter in New York Tribune.

Rochester Letter In New York Tribune.
This city is the site of an industry which
has an interest to millions Of men through
out the country. and one whose processes
are little known to the general run of the
users of the objects which 1t produces. The
industry is the manufacture of briar pipes.
1t might more truthfully be stated as the
manufacture of wooden pipes. for while. for
the proper amount of money, genuine
briar can be obtained over the tobacconists'
counters. the cheaper grades are. for the
most part, made of apple wood. which.
while not so durable nor capable of SO clear
and rich a colorng. is. nevertheless, very
useful for the purpose.
The veteran smoker who yearly goes
through many pipes is aware that almost
all of them are labelled French briar."
This is a survival of an old designation
which arose from the fact that nearly
century ago the briar out of which the
pipes were made came from Calabria. which
was then French possession. The real
briar comes from there yet. but it could be
more truthfuly called Calabrian. rather
than French wood The briar comes to the
factory in blocks roughly hewn into
shape which resembles the bowl of a pipe
much half chiseled block of marble
looks distantly like the finished statue.
These blocks of almost pinkish colored
wood are Immediately placed In a drying
room. where the moisture is dried out in
about eight weeks The blocks range in
size from four to ten inches in length, and
the first process in the manufacture con-
sists in cutting them into sizes proper for
the length of the bowl desired.
Forming the Bowl.
This is accomplished by means of cir
cular saw the reductions being made at
each end so as not to destroy the general
form of the pipe. These pieces are then
passed on to boring machine. which rims
out the hole for the tobacco. 1t will be no
ticed that almost all pipes have the same
sized hole The form of the bowl and stem
is then obtained by means of an ingenious
machine. 1t consists of a frame the shape
OF large pipe, and a rapidly revolving steel
cutting wheel. The wooden block is attach
ed to this model frame. and then held
heavily against the wheel. with the result
that the block assumes the same shape as
the model. The style of pipe desired can.
therefore, be changed simply by altering
the shape of the model. The pipe is then
polished and the stem hole bored out after
which it is taken into the departments re-
sponsible for the selection of the various
shapes and qualities High polishing is
then given by pumice stone and flannel.
Smokers have often noticed that many
pipes submitted to their inspection are pit
ted with red spots. This is particularly true
of the cheaper grades Indeed, in the fac
tory the pipes are known as 'frsts," sec
oEds'' and thirds" according to the pitting
of the bowls. These pits are caused per-
haps, by knots or worm holes, or other
imperfections in the grain. The best and
highest priced qualities free from them
but the lower qualities have them In va
rious degrees. The little red spot is simply
the colored putty which the workmen lamp
into the pits. and then smooth over to hide
the imperfections. Sometimes, when the
bowls need it, they are vanished and pol
ished after being puttied.
Fitting the Stem.
The kind of stem to be fitted to the pipes
depends. of course. upon the quality of the
bowl. Only to the most perfect woods are
the amber stems affixed. To the other
grades go the horn, ruber and celluloid
bits" The process of cutting and polish
ing the amber is difficult and delicate. for
the real amber is as expensive as 1t is rare.
and as little waste possible IS desired.
The workmen to whom the cutting is in
trusted all tried experts, and paid
high wages which they earn. The amber
comes from Germany and Austria, and
is received in cakes weighing from half
a pound to two pounds. Some is clear and
other is clouded. Generally the amber is
in smooth blocks, but sometimes it is re-
ceived in irregular chunks, called "rocks."
The cutting of the amber is much like the
shaping of the pipe bowls. but. Of course.
more delicate. The stem and the bowl are
then joined carefully, and the Joint sand
papered until all is flush and regular. Then
if trimmings are not desired, the pipe is
ready for delivery to the dealer. Unless a
particularly dark pipe is wanted the bowl is
left in its natural color. but becomes dark
and rich with use. many smokers taking as
much delight and care in coloring clean
briar bowl others do in tinting a meer-
schaum.
OF all the smokers in the western hemi-
sphere, the Canadians. as a class. have the
reputation of understanding the reconcile
side of the art to perfection. This may
be on account of their English proclivites
for John Bull is far superior to the rest
of Europe in the use Of pipes that he is
sometimes represented in cartoons as ac-
companied by his bulldog as much as by
his knobbed stick and squatty top hat
to who has pipe for every day In the year.
and never smokes the same pipe twice.
The reason for this, he says. is because
no pipe, after being ''broken in" was in
tended to be smoked more than once day
To smoke it more frequently, this expert
declares. is to spoil the flavor of the pipe
and at the same time ruin the delicate
bouquet of the tobacco. This fastidious
devotion to pipe smoking is by no means
a rarity beyond the border, for there are
many lovers of the weed who have their
pipe for each day Of the week.
TO BE INVESTIGATED.