Pipe Carving

[Highbinder]

Hey guys,

I've made a few pipes following Mors Kochanski 's guide in his bushcraft book but I was wondering what other methods are our there?

Whats' the best way to 'core' a length of wood. I've read people using a hot length of metal to gradually burn it out in the same way as you can use coals. What woods have a soft pith or otherwise be the easiest to work with?

So far I've been splitting the stem to make the channel, I can't think of any other way to do it with a long stem, or one with a curve (gandalf pipe!). Usually the split is airtight when bound tight but it's not the prettiest finish.

What about the bowl? So far I've only tried making it all together, considering making a seperate bowl next time if I can figure out how to get a good seal.

 

[John Fenna]

I made a pipe from a bowl drilled out to make the bowl and a stem made from elder with the pith removed.
It smoked OK but I gave it away in the end...

 

[savagebushcraft]

Mr Fenna has the best answer for that. The pith can be easily pushed out of elder. The key is to ensure the elder is seasoned for a few months before the bowl material, as the bowl will shrink as it dries. If the elder is behind the bowl, a large gap will open up. Another wood to use is willow. I had an 8" piece seasoning for 6-7 months, by which time the core was "drilled" out fairly easily with a wire coat hanger (no heat needed). If you cut the wire with side cutters, it has a natural chisel shape in the end, which makes drilling a little easier.

I must admit, for my last pipe I cheated, and purchased a cheap pipe for £5, and used the stem from that lol.

 

[Highbinder]

Very nice pipe! But I'm thinking more along the lines of a bushpipe. I'll definately keep an eye out for some elder and willow to harvest but what about when you want to use it there and then?

Google has turned up using reeds as the stem. Read a thread over on BcUSA with a guy explaining you can bend reeds easily over a candle. Wonder how durable it is tho#!

 

[savagebushcraft]

Not sure on that one. Never heard of reeds being used, but I haven't been interested in pipe making for long. The method you use already is probably as good as any, for a right here, right now solution, but maybe hunting around for a piece of dead standing wood could be of use, as they're usually half way to being "seasoned", and should be fairly easy to de-pith . I know they won't be totally stable, but it's better than green timbers. Just means you'll have to carry a piece of wire in your kit, or maybe relieve a nearby fence of it's surplus

 

[dwardo]

I made a pipe from a bowl drilled out to make the bowl and a stem made from elder with the pith removed.
It smoked OK but I gave it away in the end...

I have made a few long serving elder pipes. best to look for the stem that grows out from the branch then directly upwards. All your pipe needs in one. A red hot wire coat hanger will do the rest. Season properly (doesnt take long) and your set.

 

[wildranger]

Absolutely no need for a piece of wire to de-pith a piece of elder! You can take a strong stick with the approximate same diameter as the internal diameter of the piece of elder and push this forcefully into the pith and the pith will suddenly shoot out at high speed all in one intact piece!

You can also drill out the main bore for a pipe using a hollow seasoned drill such as teasel or elder or whatever, used in conjunction with some grit such as sand or ground up flint. You keep placing a pinch of grit into the hole every so often. It's a primitive method that's commonly used to drill holes right through rocks. It's supposedly quite time-consuming but it would give you a very nice and uniform bore. From reading up on it a while ago, the grit should have certain qualities for the process to work optimally. You should do some research on it and give it a go!

 

[dwardo]

Hot wire makes things a lot easier when it has to go round an almost 45 degree angle at the bowl end.