BOBXXII

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BOBXXII
Posts: 7
Joined: Sun Mar 26, 2023 11:11 pm

BOBXXII

Post by BOBXXII »

Real name: Eli Brayden
Location: Central Texas

I am just getting into pipe making after a trip to Europe, during which one of my friends bought his first pipe for about $150. I, being fresh out of cash by that point in the trip, decided that I would do just fine making my own pipe, despite having absolutely no experience with pipes, tobacco, or even woodwork. As of writing this, I have never smoked a pipe, but I have plans to as soon as I finish my first project, which may not be for a while, if my track record for finishing projects holds up.
A pipe gives a wise man time to think and a fool something to stick in his mouth.
~ C. S. Lewis

You might find that smoke blown out cleared your mind of shadows within.
~ Mithrandir
DocAitch
Posts: 1111
Joined: Mon Dec 14, 2015 12:44 am
Location: Baltimore, Maryland

Re: BOBXXII

Post by DocAitch »

Welcome
I know at least one artisan pipe maker who didn’t smoke pipes until he started making them. He started off as a penmaker and had some lathe skills that he brought over.
I will suggest that you purchase a pipe making kit to start out. These kits are bored for chamber, airway and mortise and are fitted with a stem.
You will learn how to work briar and unless you really slip up, you will have a smokable pipe when finished.
Kits are available from Vermont Freehand, Rawkrafted, and J H Lowe , as well as on eBay.
Good luck,
DocAitch
"Hettinger, if you stamp 'hand made' on a dog turd, some one will buy it."
-Charles Hollyday, pipe maker, reluctant mentor, and curmudgeon
" Never show an idiot an unfinished pipe!"- same guy
BOBXXII
Posts: 7
Joined: Sun Mar 26, 2023 11:11 pm

Re: BOBXXII

Post by BOBXXII »

Thanks for the tip. Is there a specific material that is easier to carve by hand? Before I had done any research, I had wanted to make an olive wood pipe. If I am not totally concerned with longevity of my pipe (I am not planning on making smoking a regular habit) what would be the softest/easiest to carve material, and what would finish the easiest?
A pipe gives a wise man time to think and a fool something to stick in his mouth.
~ C. S. Lewis

You might find that smoke blown out cleared your mind of shadows within.
~ Mithrandir
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