Better than smokin'

[DaveO]

Turning pipe briar into pens. This is another piece of my grandfather-in-laws pipe briar. It turns into a nice pen with tons of figure.

Flipped, same pen

And a big THANKS to Jeff for some of his curly Eastern Red Cedar blanks. They gave me a few fits, blew the first one out twice trying to add a center band, but pulled it out on the second one...then went to Nick's shop to sharpen my tools right. Makes all the difference (Thanks, Nick!)

Man, it sure smells good while turning :icon_thum

Thanks for looking:-D

Dave

 

[NCPete]

very handsome pens Dave!

 

[cskipper]

Great looking pen! Looks like you resolved the thickness/nib issue.

 

[b4man]

Dave, beautiful work, as always from you! What is pipe briar?

 

[Monty]

Looks better than a pipe... and I'll bet it smells better too!

 

[DaveO]

Barbara, pipe briar is actually a root burl of the the White Heath (Erica arborea ) plant (shrub/small tree) it forms right at the soil line at the intersection between the trunk and roots. The harvest is controlled by the government to limit it to mature plants and certain quantities. It grows in Mediterranean countries in sandy, rocky soil.

Dave