Briar has a brain

[Butch_Y]

Sometimes you just have to wonder if they're not really out to get you. Seems things are rolling along nicely and all of a sudden from the depths of the grain crawls a defect in the worst possible spot.

I swear they're out to get me.



Make no mistake. When held to the eye you can see right through it.

So what to do? Trash it? Can I use some mud and keep it as a shop pipe or is it doomed to just a practice carving?

[ckr]

Ahh, nothing like a pipe that breaths well.

However, if it is not to your liking than by all means plug it with mud. I am sure that it will provide you with many pleasurable smokes and be an excellent canidate for stain testing.

Pay tribute to the briar gods before you slice into your next block.

[Heinz_D]

Stain testing or another idea is to use it for rustication tests... It's almost very bad to get those kind of defects after all the work! I don't believe that you can use mud to repair this failure and make a smokable pipe - even not for a shop pipe! Sorry...

[flix]

I don't know if I would use it or not. But, time is at your advantage: you might just put it aside and work on something else for now, then go back to it after stewing a while longer...

[LexKY_Pipe]

I use these for rustication testing, though some good ole pipe mud might create for you a good shop pipe. You can do both!

[bvartist]

Welcome to one of the joys of pipe making! You might try what some of the rest of us do. Throw the thing across the shop and say a few bad words, then use it for experimentation.

[Nick]

Briar apparently makes excelent seasoning for grilling out too!

[KurtHuhn]

It's where all my trimmings go! Mmmmm.... smoked pork chops....