Morta Pipe

Post by **KurtHuhn** » Wed Feb 04, 2009 7:26 pm

I recently came into a really good bunch of Morta from an unexpected source, and after making one tester pipe for myself, I made this one:

This is a very interesting material. It actually feels like a light metal on your fingers, but works a lot like kiln-dried rock maple.

Gainza · Post by **Gainza** » Wed Feb 04, 2009 8:06 pm

very interesting result! congratulations, I like so much this tone of black, really elegant!

wdteipen · Post by **wdteipen** » Wed Feb 04, 2009 9:25 pm

Very interesting. I'm not familiar at all with morta. It looks like it has nice ring grain. Does morta sandblast well? It looks like it needs a filler applied. Can filler be applied to a pipe without ill effect?

Sasquatch · Post by **Sasquatch** » Thu Feb 05, 2009 12:19 am

Wayne, I think Morta is basically petrified oak, so you see those big oaky pores. A guy could go hog-wild and use a really light colored filler right at the end of the process. (The opposite is sometimes done with light colored hardwood floors - fill-coat a maple floor with dark walnut filler and the results are astounding)

ToddJohnson · Post by **ToddJohnson** » Thu Feb 05, 2009 1:50 am

It sandblasts interestingly, and no, it doesn't need to be filled.

Todd

wdteipen · Post by **wdteipen** » Thu Feb 05, 2009 9:29 am

Okay, let me restate my newbie question so that it doesn't offend or tick off Todd: Would a filler in an alternative wood negatively affect the smoking properties of said pipe?

Post by **KurtHuhn** » Thu Feb 05, 2009 12:01 pm

Personally, I don't see a reason to apply a filler. You might get an interesting effect, but at the same time lose a good bit of the beauty of the wood. It's not really evident in the photos, but there are subtleties to morta that are difficult to explain if you've never seen it in person.

Aesthetics aside, I don't think that a paste filler would hold up well to the heat of the pipe. A water based paste filler is made up of various things, but primarily it's a thick poly-based finish that will probably soften with heat and provide unpredictable results. And oil based filler also, come to think of it. Plus add in possible VOCs let off when it heats up.

So, in my opinion, a paste filler would be bad for a variety of reasons.

Charl · Post by **Charl** » Thu Feb 05, 2009 12:09 pm

Nice one Kurt! How do they smoke? And what did you use for the shank extension?

ToddJohnson · Post by **ToddJohnson** » Thu Feb 05, 2009 12:43 pm

wdteipen wrote:Okay, let me restate my newbie question so that it doesn't offend or tick off Todd: Would a filler in an alternative wood negatively affect the smoking properties of said pipe?

Not offended, just answering your question. Looking back at your post, I realize you were asking about the sandblasting, and stating an opinion about it needing to be filled. Your opinion was wrong, but I'm not sure how to say that less directly. Subtle communication has never been my strong suit.

I hand carved (as in with a knife) a pipe out of oak once about 12-13 years ago. You could plug the tobacco chamber and puff easily through the pipe. It would have made a great respirator, but it sucked as a pipe. Morta, however, is far more dense and doesn't have the same porosity as un-fossilized oak.

Todd

Post by **KurtHuhn** » Thu Feb 05, 2009 12:47 pm

Thanks everyone for the compliments. Though I figured Jeff would have told me to fix the bend on the stem by now.

The shank extension is ebonite.

(EDIT)
These pipes smoke really well, and are good for flakes and cakes - which is about all I smoke anyway. I know they work very well with latakia-laden blends, and blends with a lot of orientals. Dunno about aromatics, since I don't smoke any, and I really don't know about straight virginias since those bite me consistenly and I tend to shy away from them. Hopefully Trever sees this thread and chimes in since he's got a hell of a lot more experience with morta than I do.

TreverT · Post by **TreverT** » Thu Feb 05, 2009 1:15 pm

Wow, that's an, erm, familiar looking morta style and photo layout!

To answer some of the questions above:

Yes, morta can be blasted. I think it makes a beautiful blast, more attractive IMO than the smooth finishes when done sharp. For some examples, see my morta catalog page and gallery pages:
http://www.talbertpipes.pair.com/mortacatalog.shtml
http://www.talbertpipes.pair.com/mortagallery.shtml

It can also be filled, if one really wants to. Most commercial grade pore fillers will simply fall out when heated up, but applications of heat-durable epoxy mixed with neutral mineral grain filler will do the trick. In my experience, however, this is a lot of work for nothing. The end results were not that attractive, and I would not want to gamble on how they'd do down the road. It doesn't matter how heat-resistant the filler is, anything applied in such volume and such tiny particle all over the surface is going to be in danger of eventually falling out with heat and wood expansion/contraction.

Morta smokes excellently provided you find the right tobacco combinations for it. It's quite different from briar in what it prefers. I recommend Gawith Black XXX for those small bowls. Magnifique!

Post by **KurtHuhn** » Thu Feb 05, 2009 1:32 pm

TreverT wrote:Wow, that's an, erm, familiar looking morta style and photo layout!

GUILTY!!

I've been using the Zippo in some photos for about a year to create contrast and a sense of size - though the pipe style is definitely influenced by yours. I figured, when working with morta, do as the most experienced suggest. The next ones won't be complete knockoffs, I promise.

I sense a bit of thread convergence....

Morta smokes excellently provided you find the right tobacco combinations for it. It's quite different from briar in what it prefers. I recommend Gawith Black XXX for those small bowls. Magnifique!

Oooh. I Was about to fill one with Krumble Kake, but that sounds like a better idea!

wdteipen · Post by **wdteipen** » Thu Feb 05, 2009 1:45 pm

Thanks for answering my questions Kurt and Trevor.