The Briar

The pipe that I featured at the end of The Kemble Pipe was the second pipe I carved. I carved it from maple and was carving it more or less at the same time as the Magnus Pipe. Before I had even finished those two, I was so excited about making pipes that I came upstairs and told my wife, Kate, "That's it, next year everybody's getting a pipe for Christmas."

Having felt so good about those two pipes I ordered my first briar online from Pimo (http://www.pimopipecraft.com/index.html). I have been quite satisfied with their service, prices and quality. It has been amazing how quickly they fill my orders (amazon isn't always as fast as they have been). When the briar arrived I used the first piece to create a freehand. I also started using an upright bandsaw for the initial shaping. The bandsaw is so much safer than my previous technique. I also switched to a carnauba wax finish. This pipe I left the natural briar color and started experimenting with bending the stem.