Purpleheart

[ohaganma]

OK, so i just started making pipes, and only have one completed to my name, which took about a week of leisure work, and lets be honest its not what i hoped, but its functional. Anyways I wanted to make a pipe for my female friends birthday in august, and once i saw a piece of purpleheart wood online a few days ago i knew the pipe had to be made of it. The problem Ive found is apparently purpleheart is toxic.

Thus, i need to know for sure, is purpleheart unusable for pipes? Ive seen pipes made of it and have read varying statements on its toxicity, some saying its toxic nature with have no effect on smoking from a pipe made of it, others saying that it is extremely toxic. So I'd like to hear from everyone on the topic especially those who have used purpleheart for a pipe, either in part or in whole.

also, i would much appreciate any recommendations for a type of wood i can use that is as vividly beautiful as i find the purpleheart to be.

Thank You for your time and help!!

[Grammaton]

I have no idea if Purpleheart is toxic (I suspect it's not) but it doesn't stay purple for long after you work it. It turns a boring brown color. Sometimes you can temporarily turn it purple again by exposing it to sunlight, other pieces just stay brown with exposure to sunlight.

It's also really hard stuff to work.

Good luck. Take pictures.

[SimeonTurner]

I made a pipe with purpleheart for a wounded soldier a while back. Not the whole pipe, mind you, just a stem extension.



It's an irritating wood (as in, irritating to the skin), and has weird sappiness to it as it is worked. I wouldn't dream of making an entire pipe made of it, and certainly would not encourage anyone to set fire to something inside of it and smoke it.

That said, as you can see, making a stem or shank extension with it can work out nicely. I'm sure if it was a nice feminine shaped pipe with a purpleheart extension, it would look nice. Another option would be pink ivory.

[potholer]

ohaganma

try this: http://www.wood-database.com/wood-artic ... -toxicity/

i would not turn or work purpleheart without respirator or face mask and goggles

the wood will not stay purple but turns brown in time in contact with air

im not sure i would smoke a pipe made of it myself but i am allergic to it!

regards dave

[KurtHuhn]

I made one of my daughters a pen with purpleheart, and two years later it's still blazing purple. It started out as brown, but the compounds in the wood react to ultraviolet light and turn purple. I suppose if it was kept in a dark place, it might revert to brown, but I personally have never seen that. Under regular use, I would think it would stay purple once it turned.

I do not suggest making the entire pipe put of purpleheart. Use it as an accent, but I don't think I would smoke from it.

[staffwalker]

I made a few gift Purpleheart pens for X'mas a couple years ago, the ones I have seen since are still purple. bob gilbert

[Sawdust]

Hi ohaganma,
I can vouch for what others have said about the purpleheart. I wouldn't call it toxic, but rather a big-time irritant. When ever I have used it, my eyes & skin would itch. I sure wouldn't want to smoke it. If you want the color purple, you can mix it from Fiebing leather dye. I use 1 part Navy Blue; 3 parts Red and about 3 parts reducer. I am also new to making pipes so I'm not sure how the briar would take the dye, but it works well on leather.

Jim

[mcgregorpipes]

I agree several exotic woods I've cut leave me with a stuffy nose the next day, one time I cut a large amount of various exotics including some purple heart without my dust collector running just wore a mask and I was really sick the next day.

Has anyone here used santos mahogany? The heartwood boards are purple very similar to purpleheart. and it has an awesome aromatic smell when you cut it, apparantly the tree is super fragrant and the sap is used to flavor stuff. I picked some of the most purple boards from a lift, think it was around $10/bf. could supply some small pieces if anyone wanted to try it out for extensions etc.