Briar grading

[oldworldpiper]

Can anyone point me to a resource on briar grading? I am looking to buy my first blocks for carving and I am seeing R's, M's, Extra Extra, Plateau...Trying to figure out what it all means.

I am assuming for the first blocks you guys used were just using ebauchons? Is there a standard grading system? I obviously don't want to spend a lot on my first blocks.

Thanks!

[Jos]

Ok, I'll give it a try.
"R" and "M" stand for "Releve" and "Marseillaise", these indicate standard sizes of briar blocks.
"extra" and "extra-extra" indicate standard qualities - "extra" is regular stuff, "extra-extra" is, of course, the good stuff. There are other grading systems as well, e.g. for Algerian briar.
"Plateaux" and "Ebauchon" indicate which part of the briar burl the block is cut from, "Plateaux" is from the outside, usually with some bark on top of it, and mostly with nice straight grain. "Ebauchon" is from the inside, and available with whatever grain, accordingly to quality grading.

If you're going to try your hands at classic shapes, and not going to spend much money, get some "extra" Ebauchons, and of size according to the size of pipe you want to make.

Jens

[Sasquatch]

That's a pretty good summary Jos.

I would add that "M" type ebauchons are for straight pipes where "R" types have more material and can offer up a bent shape.

Most sellers have a list of their codes and what exactly they mean in terms of minimum sizes. These do vary a bit.

Here is Alex Zavvos' cut-size list for example

http://mapsrv6.terra.gr/tmarnier/Briar%20Blocks.pdf

Compare to Makis Minetos

http://acutabovebriar4.blogspot.ca/p/me ... -list.html

And you have to be pretty aware of what you are ordering, because they just don't have much overlap.


And there is no uniform standard as far as I can tell of what makes any particular block x vs XX, or higher, or lower than either of those. I've had blocks graded XX that I thought were crap, and blocks graded X that I got a super nice pipe from.

One of the pieces of advice that I got early on and which I have really come to agree with is that you need to try a few vendors, see what they offer you, and then pick one and stick with it. Get consistent pricing, consistent quality, and this allows you to have a very consistent product.