Types Of Material Of The Pipe Bowl

The tobacco chamber of a pipe should be fireproof and non-toxic. Ideally, it absorbs moisture that occurs when the tobacco is smoked. Different materials have been used over and over again over the centuries. However, in the end only a few prevailed.

Briar - Erica arborea
A classic for decades. The root wood of this heather is by far the most used material for pipe making today. It is readily available and comes in different grades of quality. It is fireproof to a certain extent and is quite machinable. Moisture is absorbed excellently in well-dried wood.

Meerschaum
A naturally occurring magnesium silicate, which is mainly mined in Turkey around the city of Eskisehir. It is fire-resistant, tasteless, particularly easy to work with and absorbs a great deal of moisture. However, meerschaum pipes are easily breakable. With pressed meerschaum or Viennese meerschaum there is far less smoke quality. These are meerschaum residues in various sizes that have been pressed into one piece with the help of an emulsion.

Arbutus
From the same plant genus as briar, the root wood of this tree has similar properties. It is light and exhibits a delicate sweetness when smoked.

Bog oak (Morta)
These are oaks that were stored in bogs or gravel layers of old riverbeds and after many centuries have reached a subfossil state. Today the oaks are found more by chance. They must be dried gently to avoid cracking. The pipes are very light and absorb moisture very well - a guarantee for cool, dry smoking pleasure.

Clay
Clay is one of the oldest pipe materials. To this day, pipe are made of clay. It is extremely tasteless and fireproof. Due to the lack of a taste of its own, clay is often used as a tasting pipe. However, the bowl gets very hot when smoking.

Corn
Corn pipes are cheap and popular. The corncobs are dried, drilled and treated with a gypsum-based mixture. The first fillings from a new corncob pipe taste sweet and are reminiscent of popcorn. Afterwards you can enjoy a dry and cool smoke.

Metal
Normally only for the enjoyment of small portions, for example of high-nicotine Dokha tobacco. More common, however, is the variant of a briar head, which is screwed onto a metal base and thus enables a system of interchangeable parts. Metal does not absorb any moisture. So that the pipe does not rattle, you can use filter stones and suction rings with the system pipes.

Alternative woods
You can use some other types of wood. However, some are toxic and cannot be used. Among others, maple, cherry, walnut, oak, olive, beech, rosewood, mahogany, wenge, ebony, boxwood were and are used for pipe making