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I got a little bit of money back on my tax return and I wanted to set aside about $100.00 for briar. I know that it is not much but I am tired of making pipes out of maple and cherry and I want to make sure I utilize the money as best as possible. So, suggestions? Do I buy the most grade 3 ebauchon I can... or some grade 1 plateaux... do I get seconds from JH Lowe. For that matter what sizes; R2, R2.25, B-4, B-5X?? How in the hell do y'all decide what to order? I need advice on how to get the most out of what little I have. Thanks in advance for those that reply.

My ordering habits have changed from one order to the next. I think it comes down to what you want to do. If you're just practicing the fundamentals, get seconds blocks. If you want to improve your chances of having a decent pipe, buy decent briar. I've had to toss many pipes due to fatal flaws. More so with the cheap briar than the good stuff from Mimmo or others. Don't mess around with plateaux unless it's worth the extra money. Standard ebauchons are just as high of quality.

I've gotten the occasional smooth from a grade 3 and had rejects from grade 1. But generally you get what you pay for. If you want more briar, get cheaper. If you want higher quality, shell out the dough.

For sizes, I think there's a chart on Tim's site that explains the measurements. The smaller blocks are quite adequate for most classic shapes. The larger blocks give you some room to reposition the shape in the block or make bigger pipes.

In the ideal case, you'd buy briar in person and pick out the blocks you like. We don't always have that luxury though.

Assuming you are in the US, contact Steve at Vermont Freehand, tell him you are learning to work with briar having used maple and cherry before, you have $100 to spend and you want to get the most learning material you can for the money. I am sure he will know what to do.

In your position I would want as many medium size blocks as i could get, mostly eb's but a couple of plateau too, not too small and not shitty quality but plain boring grain will suffice.

caskwith wrote:Assuming you are in the US, contact Steve at Vermont Freehand, tell him you are learning to work with briar having used maple and cherry before, you have $100 to spend and you want to get the most learning material you can for the money. I am sure he will know what to do.

In your position I would want as many medium size blocks as i could get, mostly eb's but a couple of plateau too, not too small and not shitty quality but plain boring grain will suffice.

What he said!

Massis wrote:

caskwith wrote:Assuming you are in the US, contact Steve at Vermont Freehand, tell him you are learning to work with briar having used maple and cherry before, you have $100 to spend and you want to get the most learning material you can for the money. I am sure he will know what to do.

In your position I would want as many medium size blocks as i could get, mostly eb's but a couple of plateau too, not too small and not shitty quality but plain boring grain will suffice.

What he said!

I agree with the caveat that you don't need plateaux. At your stage, cutting and shaping briar is your major task. Utilizing plateaux comes down the line.
DocAitch

You don't need it, but a few pieces will be good learning experience to see the different between the 2 cuts and how they machine differently etc.

+1 Caskwith

I agree with Chris!!!

Chris is the man!