Manu Propria Pipes - New pipe maker

[Martinpauli]

Hello, I am a fountain pen manufacturer, specialized on the application of Japan Lacquer (Urushi) and have recently started making tobacco pipes.
I have developed two pipe concept, First the SHIBUI Pipe Concept and secondly the KOKUZÔ Pipe Concept

In this post I would like to introduce and explain the SHIBUI Concept

SHIBUI is a Japanese aesthetic concept (adjective), shibumi (noun), or shibusa (noun) are Japanese words which refer to a particular aesthetic or beauty of simple, subtle, and unobtrusive beauty

The Shibui pipe can be disassembled and consists of roughly 3 parts, the chamber, the stem and the mouth piece
The Stem has two ends that can be screwed off for cleaning, made from polished Ebonite
The Chamber is made from an ebonite body with a solid Morta core, made from Bog Oak found in Denmark and is screwed on the stem via a gold plated brass screw.
The Chambers and stems are lacquered with Urushi Lacquer and are available in over 120 different lacquer designs.

Measures:
Chamber outer diameter 40 mm
Chamber diameter 20 mm
Chamber depth 35 mm
Total length 160 mm
Total Height 45 mm
Weight 100 gr.

URUSHI
Urushi is a natural lacquer from Japan harvested from the Urushi Tree „Rhus Verniciflua“ in a similar way Kautschuk is harvested by cutting the bark.
Around 80 to 150 germans can be harvested from one tree.
After the raw lacquer „ki-urushi“ is cleaned and refined Urushi is used to protect or decorate almost everything of daily life, from soup bowls to warr armors.

An average lacquer is built from +/- 30 layers, including foundation, middle layers, final layers and polishing.
Each layer is just 0.01 mm thick and needs to harden/cure for 24 hours in a special cabinet called „ urushi muro“ with a temperature of around 25 degree celsius and a constant humidity of 75%
The production of a pipe takes 30 days of which only the polishing process takes one week

Urushi lacquer is literally indestructible, The hardness of Urushi lacquer reaches Mohs 4, the hardness of Glass, Urushi Lacquer has strong antibacterial properties, Urushi lacquer is resistant against all known Acids and Alkalis, Urushi withstands heat up to 300 Degree Celsius, Only long and strong exposure to UV rays could destroy Urushi over time.

https://www.manupropria-pens.ch/welcome ... Pipes.html

I look forward to hear your opinions and questions

Best regards,

Martin

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[DocAitch]

Are you aware that urushiol is the resin that causes the contact dermatitis of poison ivy, poison oak and poison sumac?
Amateur firearms tinkerers have found to their chagrin that refinishing WWII era Japanese military rifles can cause real problems with acute contact dermatitis and respiratory problems.
In the case of finished wood items, as long as you don’t fiddle with the finish (sand it or otherwise cause it to fragment), you are probably OK, but I personally would have strong reservations about working with that particular finish.
DocAitch

[Martinpauli]

Thank you for your comment.
Please note, in China and Japan urushi lacquer is the preferred material for everything used for cooking and eating from soup bowls to baby spoons because its strong antibacterial properties.
In China, water cisterns and water pipes were coated with urushi.
In Japan almost all wooden furniture are sealed and stained with urushi.
In liquid state the urushi is indeed allergic but when dry/hardened it is completely safe.
Urushi is not new to pipe making. Dunhill and Namiki have made urushi pipes for decades

Cheers,

Martin

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[W.Pastuch]

Cool ideą, but way too much work for this kind of final effect, I don't think you will find many clients willing to pay a premium price for this kind of pipe. Take a look at the high grade pipes sold in online shops, take a look at the level of finishing and shaping- that is the minimum that you need to achieve to make it reasonable to then coat the pipe in urushi. I think Smio Satou does that.

[Martinpauli]

What's exactly wrong with the finish?

[sandahlpipe]

Smio Satou does use Urushi on pipes. It should be just fine to use as long as you take the necessary precautions while working with it. It should also be inert once dry.


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[Martinpauli]

That's correct, thank you Jeremiah

[W.Pastuch]

I think Martin is an expert in urushi, take a look at his pens. It's the pipe part that's the issue