First ever pipe....what tools are a must?

flea1 · Post by **flea1** » Thu Feb 03, 2005 3:55 pm

Hey...I have absolutely no knowledge on pipes. I just wanted to pick your brain's so there would be less reading on my part.

achduliebe · Post by **achduliebe** » Thu Feb 03, 2005 3:59 pm

I have heard the honey thing...have not actually done it. Up till now I have not used any coatings but I will change that with the pipe that I am currently working on. I plan on trying the buttermilk, sour cream and activated charcoal bowl coating.

flea1 · Post by **flea1** » Thu Feb 03, 2005 4:13 pm

very interesting indeed!

jeff · Post by **jeff** » Thu Feb 03, 2005 5:04 pm

Honey, to my mind, connotes a scene filled with old men in worn out hats and flannel shirts smoking beat up Grabows. I'm not sure honey is what you're looking for. Then again, maybe you are an old man who wears the aforementioned clothing regularly and love Grabows! To each his own.

You might want to be aware that when looking for the leather dyes that Tyler recommends you want to avoid oil-based dyes. Try to stick to alcohol or water based ones.

The bits are pretty easy to grind if you know what you're doing. I believe that there is a thread or two on here that deals with the issue. If you have a grinder, all the better.

Oh, make sure you acquire the proper sizes for the draught hole, mortise, and (if you choose to) the stem.

You'll find that it's a lot of hard work to make your first pipe, but it's a ton of fun! Good luck!

Jeff

flea1 · Post by **flea1** » Thu Feb 03, 2005 5:48 pm

thank ya...thank ya vury much! for all the suggestions and pointers.

marks · Post by **marks** » Thu Feb 03, 2005 10:10 pm

There are may threads here that will help you. For example, if you are wanting to learn about drilling, search for drilling. If you want to learn about buffing, search for buffing.

If you don't find what you need, just ask.

Starting from scratch on your first pipe is quite the undertaking. Many of us made our first pipes with a kit. Personally, I would recommend working with a kit for your first pipe or two, instead of starting from scratch. You may find that you don't like making pipes, and working from a kit is a whole lot cheaper.

If you find you do like making pipes, then buy away, but buy good stuff. Cheap tools just end up costing you more money in the long run when they don't work to your expectations and you have to get a good one after you bought a cheap one that doesn't work.

Just my $.02, though. Hope this helps

flea1 · Post by **flea1** » Fri Feb 04, 2005 10:02 am

I was actually thinking about buying a kit, but wasn't sure if would be any less challenging or not. I cut off a nice limb from an apple tree last weekend which I intend to use for one of my pipes. More than likely my first pipe will be from a kit, as I see that a lot of the other first timers started out that way. My heart is pretty determined to make some pipes...one of my dreams is have a nice handmade pipe of my own to smoke after a long day of hunting. I can see it now sitting up in my tree blind after killing a massive 30 point buck, packing my bowl, light it and puff on sweet goodness!