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Steddy

Lifer
Sep 18, 2021
1,252
22,063
Western North Carolina
Going to have Esoterica Tobacciana Margate (2021) in a Briar Root (Freehand? Dublin? No idea what to call this organically shaped pipe) that was in the collection of the late pipemaker, Thomas Cristiano for about sixty years.

View attachment 278293

Wow! I’d love to see more of this style being made. Natural and gnarly. The grain on the rim is a sight to behold. The drilling must have been a challenge, but I know not about such things. Enjoy!
 
Dec 3, 2021
5,053
42,963
Pennsylvania & New York
@Steddy

I imagine this gnarly root had to be set up in some kind of jig and everything needed to be carefully checked for alignment from top, bottom, and sides, and kept stationary for drilling. The chamber is conical and the draught hole drilled at an angle to meet the shank airway. The gnarliness is deceptive. This was essentially drilled with just two straight lines. This is not exactly lined up, but these three Churchwarden pipe cleaners should give you a pretty good idea of the drilling (the bent pipe cleaner should be a little higher):

IMG_20230718_152328.jpg

The pipe fits well in the hand, and is fun to smoke, but its tall profile presents a slight problem with relights, as the top of the pipe is above your sight line while smoking. I have to take special care when holding the lighter to avoid scorching the rim while blindly relighting.
 
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