henry
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Post by henry on Feb 21, 2022 0:28:16 GMT -5
Recently I came across the assertion that Olivewood lends itself very well to Latakia. First time I'd heard that though I am aware some claim that citrus woods (osage orange, lemon) enhance the taste of Virginias.
Other than briar I have one pearwood, one morta and a meerschaum lined olivewood. They smoke well but I couldn't say that their taste bends in the direction of any tobacco type. I'm intrigued by apple wood and cherry wood & may try at some point. (other than meerschaum non briars aren't especially thick on the ground)
Am curious about other members experience here: do any non briars stand out for you? Can any pipe be tobacco specific?
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Post by urbino on Feb 21, 2022 0:44:12 GMT -5
Interesting. I've never heard that about olive, either. Do you know what it is about it that's supposed to make it work well with latakia?
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Post by Legend Lover on Feb 21, 2022 5:50:47 GMT -5
I've never heard that either, but again, I'm not sure I'd notice the effect of the wood on any of my tobaccos.
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Post by terrapinflyer on Feb 21, 2022 8:19:46 GMT -5
I've only smoked cob, meer, briar, and beech. I only notice a consistent but minor difference between meer and the others. I'm not saying the difference isn't there, but if it is, the nuance is lost on this smoker. I'm a cheap date, I guess.
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Post by Plainsman on Feb 21, 2022 11:03:55 GMT -5
I have one olive-wood pipe. I don’t notice anything special about it in the flavor department.
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JimK
Junior Member
"Happiness can be found, even in the darkest of times, if one only remembers to turn on the light".
Posts: 181 
First Name: Jim
Favorite Pipe: Canadian
Favorite Tobacco: almost any Virginia/Perique blend
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Post by JimK on Feb 21, 2022 11:08:45 GMT -5
Interesting. I have an Osage orange churchwarden. I think I've smoked everything in it from latakia blends to Va/Per blends. And I can't tell the difference between it, and my briar or meerschaum pipes.
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Post by sperrytops on Feb 21, 2022 13:09:39 GMT -5
I don't have an olive wood, so couldn't comment on that. But I've never noticed a smoking difference between briar, morta, meerschaum or cob, other than cob does lend a slight taste note to some tobaccos.
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henry
Junior Member
Posts: 108
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Post by henry on Feb 21, 2022 14:21:59 GMT -5
Interesting. I've never heard that about olive, either. Do you know what it is about it that's supposed to make it work well with latakia?
Amazingly, Tom uses no power tools in the making of his pipes. Everything is done by hand. Considering the additional time it must take, his pipes are pretty reasonably priced. His cork-covered pipes are also beautiful and I’ve received more favorable comments about them than almost any other pipe in my collection. (PipesMagazine forum) also, pipemakersforumI do have an olivewood which is meerschaum lined but I think it's unlikely that the meerschaum and the specific wood combine to impact taste. I prefer meerschaum lined as they're less breakable, and generally I don't trust any pipe that resembles a leprechaun. |
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Post by Ronv69 on Feb 21, 2022 19:23:20 GMT -5
Recently I came across the assertion that Olivewood lends itself very well to Latakia. First time I'd heard that though I am aware some claim that citrus woods (osage orange, lemon) enhance the taste of Virginias. Other than briar I have one pearwood, one morta and a meerschaum lined olivewood. They smoke well but I couldn't say that their taste bends in the direction of any tobacco type. I'm intrigued by apple wood and cherry wood & may try at some point. (other than meerschaum non briars aren't especially thick on the ground) Am curious about other members experience here: do any non briars stand out for you? Can any pipe be tobacco specific? Osage orange is not citrus. |
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henry
Junior Member
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Post by henry on Feb 21, 2022 21:08:38 GMT -5
I stand corrected. As some mulberry woods are listed as mildly toxic what about osage orange? As the lemon tree is not related to any mulberry variety why should both be Virginia enhancers? Maybe we're talking placebo effect.
Maybe some have dedicated pipes for specific tobaccos--haven't seen any discussions though.
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Post by Ronv69 on Feb 21, 2022 21:57:30 GMT -5
I stand corrected. As some mulberry woods are listed as mildly toxic what about osage orange? As the lemon tree is not related to any mulberry variety why should both be Virginia enhancers? Maybe we're talking placebo effect. Maybe some have dedicated pipes for specific tobaccos--haven't seen any discussions though. Osage is supposed to be toxic, but I understand that if it's dried properly of something that it's OK. I probably wouldn't use it without knowing more. |
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Post by urbino on Feb 22, 2022 0:30:05 GMT -5
Yeah, I believe there's an oil or something in it that's toxic. No idea how toxic, but I'm not volunteering for the experiment.
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Post by exbenedict on Feb 22, 2022 11:04:15 GMT -5
Recently I came across the assertion that Olivewood lends itself very well to Latakia. First time I'd heard that though I am aware some claim that citrus woods (osage orange, lemon) enhance the taste of Virginias. Other than briar I have one pearwood, one morta and a meerschaum lined olivewood. They smoke well but I couldn't say that their taste bends in the direction of any tobacco type. I'm intrigued by apple wood and cherry wood & may try at some point. (other than meerschaum non briars aren't especially thick on the ground) Am curious about other members experience here: do any non briars stand out for you? Can any pipe be tobacco specific? I have one olive wood pipe that I bought on a lark 3 years ago at a B&M in Southern Cali while there for a conference. It was around $40. Very light, with good grain structure, smooth, 3/4 bent billiard-esque. Since then, I smoke it once every couple of weeks, and not only has the whole ting darkened faster than my meerschaums, it still smokes beautifully. |
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Post by Legend Lover on Feb 22, 2022 11:28:14 GMT -5
Thinking about this, one of the first threads I started here was asking the question if cake normalises a pipe...I would wonder, given all the woods mentioned here, if there was a millimetre of cake on each, would the cake serve to produce no discernible difference in smoking taste as opposed to fresh, just-off-the-lathe- pipes.
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henry
Junior Member
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Post by henry on Feb 22, 2022 14:33:44 GMT -5
Thinking about this, one of the first threads I started here was asking the question if cake normalises a pipe...I would wonder, given all the woods mentioned here, if there was a millimetre of cake on each, would the cake serve to produce no discernible difference in smoking taste as opposed to fresh, just-off-the-lathe- pipes. Chemically each wood produces its own ash which initially interacts with the burning tobacco to form cake. The question remains as to the impact on taste. (I was a psych major and sensory perception continues to fascinate me). Taste is very subjective and probably follows rules we haven't discovered yet. A more practical question about non briar is life span: briar is #1 for density and fire resistance. Olive is also good here. Haven't found much on osage orange and lemon wood for bowl life span. Beech reportedly smokes well but burns out much quicker than briar. Hickory and Juniper have also been used for pipes. Much of this info comes from the WWII era when there was a briar shortage. Toxicity is also an issue. Rosewood is to be avoided--there are inexpensive Chinese rosewood pipes found throughout the web, including Amazon. One quality provider for non briar I found was Tom Spanu pipes. He is now deceased and I am uncertain if the line continues. Maybe a forum member can update me here. |
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Post by johnlawitzke on Feb 22, 2022 22:30:20 GMT -5
I’ve heard that morta and Latakia go well together but haven’t heard that about olive wood and Latakia. I have three olive wood pipes. I do not notice anything different from briar in their taste.
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henry
Junior Member
Posts: 108
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Post by henry on Feb 23, 2022 14:33:06 GMT -5
Recently I came across the assertion that Olivewood lends itself very well to Latakia. First time I'd heard that though I am aware some claim that citrus woods (osage orange, lemon) enhance the taste of Virginias. Other than briar I have one pearwood, one morta and a meerschaum lined olivewood. They smoke well but I couldn't say that their taste bends in the direction of any tobacco type. I'm intrigued by apple wood and cherry wood & may try at some point. (other than meerschaum non briars aren't especially thick on the ground) Am curious about other members experience here: do any non briars stand out for you? Can any pipe be tobacco specific? Addendum: Mr Brogs (pipe vendor) reports that olive wood is less absorbent than briar. Hence olive wood bowls are more resistant to ghosting. |
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Post by johnlawitzke on Feb 23, 2022 23:29:06 GMT -5
Recently I came across the assertion that Olivewood lends itself very well to Latakia. First time I'd heard that though I am aware some claim that citrus woods (osage orange, lemon) enhance the taste of Virginias. Other than briar I have one pearwood, one morta and a meerschaum lined olivewood. They smoke well but I couldn't say that their taste bends in the direction of any tobacco type. I'm intrigued by apple wood and cherry wood & may try at some point. (other than meerschaum non briars aren't especially thick on the ground) Am curious about other members experience here: do any non briars stand out for you? Can any pipe be tobacco specific? Addendum: Mr Brogs (pipe vendor) reports that olive wood is less absorbent than briar. Hence olive wood bowls are more resistant to ghosting. Mr Brogs is a very low end pipe manufacturer. I would be very very skeptical about anything they claim. Ghosting comes primarily from cake. Considering that olive wood pipes darken and develop a patina faster than briar, I’d say that their less absorbent claim is false. Plus, the simple fact that briar is harder and denser than olive wood. |
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Post by Ronv69 on Feb 23, 2022 23:42:28 GMT -5
Addendum: Mr Brogs (pipe vendor) reports that olive wood is less absorbent than briar. Hence olive wood bowls are more resistant to ghosting. Mr Brogs is a very low end pipe manufacturer. I would be very very skeptical about anything they claim. Ghosting comes primarily from cake. Considering that olive wood pipes darken and develop a patina faster than briar, I’d say that their less absorbent claim is false. Plus, the simple fact that briar is harder and denser than olive wood. I have 4 Mr Brog pipes and I am happy with them. They smoke about as well as most under 100 dollar pipes. |
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Winton
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First Name: John
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Favorite Tobacco: no latakia please
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Post by Winton on Feb 24, 2022 7:15:39 GMT -5
I grew up on an orange orchard. I can confirm that the wood from a citrus tree would produce a lot of heat. BUT, only if Dad figured out which one of his sons set the tree on fire!
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Post by Legend Lover on Feb 24, 2022 9:42:58 GMT -5
Mr Brogs is a very low end pipe manufacturer. I would be very very skeptical about anything they claim. Ghosting comes primarily from cake. Considering that olive wood pipes darken and develop a patina faster than briar, I’d say that their less absorbent claim is false. Plus, the simple fact that briar is harder and denser than olive wood. I have 4 Mr Brog pipes and I am happy with them. They smoke about as well as most under 100 dollar pipes. I agree. My Mr Brogg pipes are great. That said, I also don't doubt John's point either. |
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henry
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Post by henry on Feb 24, 2022 14:21:59 GMT -5
Mr Brogs is a very low end pipe manufacturer. I would be very very skeptical about anything they claim. Ghosting comes primarily from cake. Considering that olive wood pipes darken and develop a patina faster than briar, I’d say that their less absorbent claim is false. Plus, the simple fact that briar is harder and denser than olive wood. I have 4 Mr Brog pipes and I am happy with them. They smoke about as well as most under 100 dollar pipes. Yes. Ghosting like taste is a subjective rendering. Yet olive wood pipes are not hard to find and users speak highly of them. |
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henry
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Post by henry on Mar 2, 2022 14:32:00 GMT -5
Tommaso Spanu Zebrano Zebrano is a heavy, hard wood with a somewhat coarse texture, often with an interlocked or wavy grain. A decorative wood, it is also used in a limited way for veneer, furniture trim, marquetry and turnery. It is also sometimes seen as stocks of shotguns and rifles or in exotic guitars. In the past it was used in Cadillac and Mercedes Benz cars. It also lends itself extremely well to smoking pipes, and is just as durable as the more traditional Briar, but with added flair and individuality.
Just discovered. Zebrano a new one for me.
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