Tag Archives: briar wood

How to Make a Tobacco Pipe with Hand Tools, Part 2: Drilling the Briar Block

In my last post, I explained how I prepare a stem to be fitted to a pipe.  In this post, I will show how I drill the holes in the block of wood itself. This stage of the pipe-making process … Continue reading

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How to Make Refrigerator Magnets from Wood Scraps

Some wood scraps are just too pretty to throw away.  For example, the briar wood burl from which I make tobacco pipes has beautiful flame-grain, and some even has eye-catching natural edges.  So every time I make a pipe, I … Continue reading

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The Tragedy of Dull Saws

This afternoon, I was reading William Goldring’s The Pipe Book: A History and How to (1973), which briefly recounts the history of each historical type of pipe and explains how to make a similar one using a few, simple tools. … Continue reading

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Making Another Tobacco Pipe

Not long ago, I carved my first tobacco pipe from a kit that my friend Doug provided.  Now mutual colleague of ours is retiring, so we have decided to make him a pipe as a going-away present.  Doug, who is … Continue reading

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Carving a Tobacco Pipe

I don’t smoke, and don’t plan to take it up, since tools and wood are expensive enough as it is, but a couple months ago a pipe-smoking friend dropped a package on my desk. It contained this: A chunk of … Continue reading

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