My First Pipe- Osage Orange

[JLiberty]

Hey everyone,

Here are some pics of my first ever pipe. I made this using Osage Orange because it was the best material I had available, and I really like the orange color. I made this using 95% hand tools, so there are some things that are a bit crooked, haha. The stem of the pipe was my grandfathers, and I made the pipe so it would fit to the stem.







Here is the case that I made using a cigar box.






What do you all think of my first ever pipe? I would really appreciate some helpful tips and critique, you guys are great pipe makers!

Thanks!

[Ocelot55]

That's some pretty nice looking material. Does that wood seem heat resistant?

I'll tell you what a lot of novices are told after they post their first pipe: the junction between the bowl and the stem needs more definition. Don't be afraid to remove some more material. Also the stem/shank junction needs smoothed out. It should look like the stem gradually tapers toward the bowl; there shouldn't be a ridge. Finally work on rounding the bottom of the bowl more. Right now from the front it looks more rectangular with rounded edges.

Overall nice job. On your next one, pick a pipe you own that you like and try to copy it. You'll see when you need to remove more wood.

I love the cigar box setup you have. (P.S. Brickhouse is an awesome cigar)

Welcome to the forum. Stick around, absorb info., and go make some more pipes.

[Alden]

Good old Bois D'Arc, we always called them horse-apples. I think it has a couple other names too.
Dont know about fire resistance, but its sure one of the toughest woods I know.
My Grand Dad cut Bois D'Arc gears for machinery during the metal drives of WWII.
Nice looking piece of wood there for sure.

[taharris]

That is a nice first effort.

OO is a really cool wood to work with. The colors remind me of a sunset, but keep it out of the light as much as possible because it will eventually turn brown.

Ocelot55 gave you a couple of good pointers.

You seem to have the engineering down; so much for the easy part.

Now go make some more pipes and focus on the hard part: ascetics.

Look through the forum gallery and you will get a lot of good pointers from other people's mistakes.

And welcome to the forum!

Todd

[JLiberty]

Does that wood seem heat resistant?

Yea, it seems really heat resistant. I figured it would, because it is an extremely hard wood. It only gets slightly warm in my hand while smoking, though I have been taking it easy during the break in.

Thanks for the insight, I am really hoping to try my hand at making a few more.

Edward, we usually call them Hedgeapple, and I had never heard the name horse apple, but it is really interesting. I believe it when you say they were used as gears, I am pretty sure I could run my pipe over with my car and it would be fine, haha. (Not that I would try, I am much to attached to it already!)

Thanks for the warm welcome!

[Alden]

Does that wood seem heat resistant?

Yea, it seems really heat resistant. I figured it would, because it is an extremely hard wood. It only gets slightly warm in my hand while smoking, though I have been taking it easy during the break in.

Thanks for the insight, I am really hoping to try my hand at making a few more.

Edward, we usually call them Hedgeapple, and I had never heard the name horse apple, but it is really interesting. I believe it when you say they were used as gears, I am pretty sure I could run my pipe over with my car and it would be fine, haha. (Not that I would try, I am much to attached to it already!)

Thanks for the warm welcome!

I dont know just why we call them horse apples. We had horses, and I never saw them eat one of those stinking things. I've heard that livestock will eat the fruit when theres nothing else around, but I've also heard they're poisonous in large quantity.
Another thing about Bois D'arc, the reason they're called hedgeapples, they were used as fences on the prairie before barbed wire came along.
You could plant seedlings 18" apart and within 4 years the trees would grow together into a living fence.
Collecting the seeds was big business in Texas Oklahoma and Arkansas.
The sales pitch was, they made fences "Horse High, Bull Strong and Pig Tight".
After Barbed Wire, the hedges were cut down as fence posts and corner posts for wire.
Lots of history in that humble tree.

[JLiberty]

I dont know just why we call them horse apples. We had horses, and I never saw them eat one of those stinking things. I've heard that livestock will eat the fruit when theres nothing else around, but I've also heard they're poisonous in large quantity.
Another thing about Bois D'arc, the reason they're called hedgeapples, they were used as fences on the prairie before barbed wire came along.
You could plant seedlings 18" apart and within 4 years the trees would grow together into a living fence.
Collecting the seeds was big business in Texas Oklahoma and Arkansas.
The sales pitch was, they made fences "Horse High, Bull Strong and Pig Tight".
After Barbed Wire, the hedges were cut down as fence posts and corner posts for wire.
Lots of history in that humble tree.

That is some really cool history. I know the trees are tough as nails, there was one in my grandmas creek that we would try to cut down as kids and it was pretty much impervious all our attempts...haha. In fact, the osage I used for my pipe came from that very creek, and since the pipe stem was my grandpas, I have some cool family history in the pipe!

I've also heard the apples are not good for you, but we use them primarily to shoot at with rifles, the are about the perfect sized target. But that is some cool history, thanks!

[Alden]

But wait, theres more;
Bois D'arc means Bow Wood in French, that was its first use. One good Bois D'arc bow could get you a half dozen horses and a couple of squaws.
Before synthetic dyes, there was a commercial harvest to make yellow dye from its roots.
The wood takes a lifetime in the ground to rot, it was used for home foundations for years.
Some towns in Texas cut paving stones from Bois D'arc, and used it to line the streets in place of bricks.
The rotten fruit was used as a bug repellant (personally I'd rather have bugs).
And the last little known fact; Its pronounced "Bo-Dark".

[wdteipen]

Now go make some more pipes and focus on the hard part: ascetics.

The life of a full-time pipemaker is very similar.


That's beautiful wood.

[JLiberty]

Now go make some more pipes and focus on the hard part: ascetics.

The life of a full-time pipemaker is very similar.


That's beautiful wood.

Haha, nice catch!

Ohh, and thanks for the extra osage info!