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Tagua Nut?
Posted: Sat Aug 15, 2009 7:00 am
by Ladyblacksword
I'm curious, since I've got a couple decent sized ones on hand: Has anyone heard of making a pipe from Tagua nuts?
I'm wondering about heat resistance and possible toxicity.
Posted: Sat Aug 15, 2009 7:24 am
by geigerpipes
I have used it as shank rings in the past ..I think it will stand up to heat well and it is edible when still fresh.. the cavity in the middle of the nut is the big problem when trying to make a pipe from it, many times it is to big and shaped in such a way that it is impossible to get a good tobacco chamber without having lots of cracks and fissures in it.
Hope that helps
Posted: Sat Aug 15, 2009 1:01 pm
by Frank
geigerpipes wrote:.. the cavity in the middle of the nut is the big problem when trying to make a pipe from it, many times it is to big and shaped in such a way that it is impossible to get a good tobacco chamber without having lots of cracks and fissures in it.
It is a good material to use as an alternative to ivory for shank or stem rings - it even darkens like ivory over time, plus it takes a glasslike shine. If left whole for a long period of time, the nut dries out and those fissures get larger, leaving very little useable material. The fissure tends to be a jagged 3-point star shape and the embryo terminates at one end of the nut.
Although they are very hard, you would probably have to experiment to see whether it could be used as a pipe bowl.
Re: Tagua Nut?
Posted: Mon Aug 24, 2009 10:38 am
by JHowell
I made a ring from Tagua nut once, cut several slices and picked the best one for the ring. A day or so later I noticed that the other slices I cut had curled up like potato chips. The ring on the pipe is still fine, so far as I know, but I'd prefer a little more stability in a pipe making material.
Jack
Re: Tagua Nut?
Posted: Mon Aug 24, 2009 4:12 pm
by Frank
JHowell wrote:I made a ring from Tagua nut once, cut several slices and picked the best one for the ring. A day or so later I noticed that the other slices I cut had curled up like potato chips. The ring on the pipe is still fine, so far as I know, but I'd prefer a little more stability in a pipe making material.
Jack
Perhaps the nut was still relatively fresh. If you leave it for awhile it dries and stabilizes - also gets a lot harder.