Help, where to buy the best briar?

[smokepiper]

This is the url to a spanish dealer http://www.briarblocks.com the briar ain´t the best but you can see what you buy at the site, if you write to him personaly and ask for better quality than the site showes he will ship samples.

[Skip]

I have been making pipes for about 8 years and still make mistakes. I have paid as much as 35.00 and as little as 8.00 a block.
It really hurts when I screw up a 35.00 block. It also hurts when a 35.00 block has project ending flaws hidden inside.
I have seen no connection between how much I pay and hidden flaws. In fact the best briar for just simply being clean was some ebachaun briar that I bought from Mark Tinsky when I first started. I got a whole bag and still use it all the time. Mark thinks that I just got lucky. Years ago Todd Johnson had a flood in his shop and I sold a few blocks to him that he turned into some outstanding pipes.
I bought from Mimmo twice. He is a very nice guy and very helpful. He even called me at my store to explain what I should expect. The first batch had not been sanded for inspection and had some outstanding briar in it. He said to expect some great stuff, some good stuff and some fair. He was dead on. The second batch had been sanded and had some fair briar at best. Both batches looked very clean but seemed to have quite a few hidden blemishes. No one is at fault here because like I said they were hidden.

I have bought from several other people but for the dollar invested I can not beat the very first Grecian briar from Mark.
I would prefer to work on a fair piece of briar that has no major flaws than a beautiful straight grain that has flaws and costs 4 times as much.

One other issue is that when you find a great looking piece of briar the block looks like it needs a specific shape to come out of it. What if you do not want or need to make that shape? Then your fine briar just sits around waiting for that eventual project. I prefer to grab a block and see what comes out of it. I end up with less money invested and my creativity is awarded.

Those are my opinions and I am sticking to them!

Skip Elliott

[ToddJohnson]

Hey Guys,

I'm going to try to respond to multiple things in one posting, so I hope this doesn't seem too rambling. Decent briar exists in all price ranges, and price doesn't necessarily determine quality. I've come to believe that the briar cutter actually determines quality. That is why I use Mimmo and *ONLY* Mimmo. At this point, I can look at my briar and determine which blocks are likely to make smooths and which blocks will have to be blasts. This comes from developing an intimate familiarity with the briar. Such an eye for what's actually inside a block--that is, knowing how to read the briar--comes with time and experience. That, however, starts with the cutter.
It's easy to cut blocks and maximize the number of blocks per burl. This is what most cutters do. It's also easy to take the best blocks from that bunch, sand one side, wet it, and say "See, a perfect straightgrain block." Unfortunately, this is only one of many aspects that determine the quality of a block. To hear Mimmo tell it, there are briar burls that just don't have the necessary characteristics to produce extra quality plateaux. That means that a block from such a burl, even if it looks very nice on all four sides, won't go in with the highest quality stuff. It's not all just a craps shoot. A great cutter like Mimmo makes a big difference, and he starts the process by giving the pipemaker a significant advantage at the outset. I've been through wood from multiple sources, and it's simply no comparison. Mimmo's briar far exceeds anything else out there. The results speak for themselves. Look at an "average" Teddy.

Re: the question of whether or not pipemakers skim off the top, the answer is yes. They would be insane not to keep the best blocks for themselves. That said, I know Jess takes the top 10% of his briar, puts it aside for himself, and sells the rest. You can still get some pretty amazing stuff from guys that are selling the briar they don't need.

Re: Tom's statement that he never pays more than $5/block for briar, there's probably some hyperbole there. I know that at one time the Moroccan stuff from Stanwell was about $5/block, but Tom buys in very large volume. I will also say, that if you're someone else buying briar at small quantities for $5/block, you'd better sharpen your rusticator or have a closet full of black laboratory stain.

Now, with all of that said, I can understand the resistance that some might feel to paying high prices for briar. It depends on your skill level and the price point where you're marketing your work.

Finally, this discussion is not a new one here. There have been many "best place to get quality briar" threads, and they all follow the same basic pattern. Guys are frustrated with their crappy briar and want to find a better source. Various people chime in and tout their favorite cutter, or a source they've never used but heard is good. Mimmo's name comes up, there's a debate about whether or not high-priced briar is any different than Tinsky briar, and half end up in each camp. Then, price lists are posted, a group order gets talked about, and everything fizzles out before it materializes. I'm going to put together an order separate from whatever happens on this forum. I will post some specifics about it here. If you're interested, e-mail me and let me know. I'm going to the mill in November.

Best,

Todd

[sethile]

I have been making pipes for about 8 years

Yes, and they are awesome! Great article in the Spring P&T. I have really enjoyed checking out your pipes ever since. I especially love the Calabash pictured in the article and I had a minor breakthrough just after that as a result, thanks! Really hoping to get down to The Briary sometime soon.

Thanks also for your comments and insite here. Pretty well matches my very limited experince. I got some great ebauchon from Tinsky too. I've taisted a couple of really nice blocks now and would love to increase the odds.

Todd's comments are right on the money for me. I'm frustrated and looking for solutions I can afford. I'm recovering from tooling expenses, so I've been limited to a few blocks at a time, which makes it tough. Hopeing to get an inventory of options to avoid having to stare down a few blocks and force my limited ideas into them. I'm still ruining material from time to time too. Had two failures this weekend, but they were bad blocks anyway....

In spite of the many frustrations, the mystery and challanges are really just part of the enjoyment when something finally comes together.

Todd pretty well summed it up and has kindly offered a solution for those of us wanting to try some of Mimmo's briar. Hoping to get the funds together for that. Meanwhile, thanks to all for your participation!