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I just messed up the finish on my second briar pipe, and it was turning out to be a really good one... needless to say, I'm a little pissed. So I've been playing around with some of the different stains I got from the hardware store on some left over pieces of briar... and I'm not happy with any of the results. It looks like the stain isn't soaking into the wood. Perhaps the briar is too dense.. anyway, what kinds/brands of stain do you guys use? What should I look for when choosing a stain?

Do some searching through the archives for the long answer and options. A lot of guys here use fiebings leather dyes or aniline dyes.

DON'T go to your local hardware store, unless you're going to stain your floors or furniture!
If you have a Tandy Leather in your town, try them. They have leather dye. Buy the Fiebing's, not their brand.

Fiebings or a powder dye at your woodworking store and mix the powdered dye in water or alcohol to get it how you want. Pipe makers emporium sells the fiebings at a decent price and has all the colors you would need.

Steve / Vermont Freehand also has the full line of Fiebings at great prices.

+1 for vt_freehand he has everything you need, he has never not had what I wanted in stock.


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Fiebing's if you want premixed. J. E. Moser's if you want to mix your own from powder.

wdteipen wrote:Fiebing's if you want premixed. J. E. Moser's if you want to mix your own from powder.

Water or oil soluble? ... or both. I do like the color selections. For the oil soluble they recommend mixing with toluol or high grade lacquer thinner. Can denatured alcohol be used?

Fiebings oil dyes penetrate deeper, but take some work to get the oil back out of the pipe. I used it for a couple pipes a while back. I know J. Alan uses oil dye at least some of the time. Not sure how to thin it out, though.

BobR wrote:

wdteipen wrote:Fiebing's if you want premixed. J. E. Moser's if you want to mix your own from powder.

Water or oil soluble? ... or both. I do like the color selections. For the oil soluble they recommend mixing with toluol or high grade lacquer thinner. Can denatured alcohol be used?

All of the above work for Moser's. They are soluble in water, alcohol and oil. Be sure to read the instructions though, all 3 methods are different.

If you're looking into powdered dyes, look at wdlockwood, they have three bases; water, oil, and alcohol. Some of the alcohol ones are also water soluable. If you want to try a little packet of a color, let me know, I have the full 45 color tint base that I use. Hopefully one day I'll be selling them again

Steve, are the water soluble dyes. Water only? I'd think that would be a good option for a top color in a contrast. Then they wouldn't bleed together?


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baweaverpipes wrote:DON'T go to your local hardware store, unless you're going to stain your floors or furniture!

Oh believe me, when I stained that pipe I got the floors and furniture too!

E.L.Cooley wrote:Steve, are the water soluble dyes. Water only? I'd think that would be a good option for a top color in a contrast. Then they wouldn't bleed together?


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They come in water, oil, and alcohol base. Some of the alcohol ones are water soluable too.

I got some Fiebing's Leather Dye and gave it a try. That stuff is amazing! Though I'll have to working on the evenness of the stain on my hands... it's kinda blotchy!