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Has anyone tried bleaching briar?

I'm currently working on a Cutty, which is supposed to emulate the look of an old clay pipe, and I got wondering what it would look like if I also tried to emulate the colour to some degree... Thoughts?

Thanks!
Greg

I know its been brought up before, but I don't think there was any clear answer on how to do it. There are commercial wood whitening kits available.
I think Sasquatch mentioned using a particular suppliers briar that is naturally very light colored. May have been from Samantha on Ebay ?

The thought of bleaching briar greatly disturbs me.

This could be, in part, because I don't know how it is done or what kind of chemicals are used.

Seems like there are all sorts of unsavory fluids being used on pipes these days... It's a little pet peeve of mine, as I keep seeing discussions of various types of finishing oils, bowl coatings, stain bases, some of which have long been known to have toxic properties.

Please keep in mind, folks are supposed to inhale the fumes off of these briars at some point, and I've run in to a couple of pipes (artisan, new, not estate) within the last year which, upon the first light-up, emitted such a noxious odor that I just could not continue to attempt to smoke them.

If you want to make a pipe, make a pipe... make it something that is enjoyable to smoke. Otherwise, make furniture.

My two cents, FWIW...

Bravo Walt!

Thanks for your input, Walt. I agree that there may be harmful ways of bleaching/staining pipes, and I would like to find the "best" way to do it, which would mean the right compromise between safety and effectiveness. Ultimately though, nothing is 100% safe, and we are smoking tobacco, so a bit of risk is acceptable to me, especially since whatever might contaminate the bowl would either be burned off or covered by carbon after a few smokes.

If anyone has tried it, please let me know, otherwise, maybe I'll give it a shot and report back.

Cheers,
Greg

Bleach will not whiten the pipe...especially if you're using Mimmo's briar. Fiebing's does make a white dye though.

There are briar vendors that sell really bright white briar. And it stays that way for about 1 smoke, so I wouldn't bother.

If you want it to stay whitish somewhere, you'll have to basically paint it white or stain it or wash it or whatever.

I don't know if I got the wrong feiblings or not but the white one I got is thicker and smells caustic, definitely seems like it has a different type of solvent in it, or at least it smells like it does

You could always ask Trevor Talbert. His latest Yule pipe was bleached.

I bought a bleached LB from him some time ago and it colored very fast. I'm not sure if it is worth the effort.

Chemical/safety/etc issues aside, unless it's for a showpiece kept under glass, bleaching briar makes no sense at all. It's going to color as soon as it's smoked.

But Gee Whiz, Mr. Dibos, it looks really, really cool before you smoke it.

Rad

LatakiaLover wrote:bleaching briar makes no sense at all. It's going to color as soon as it's smoked.

I'd agree with that.
The only exception would be (also something Trever Talbert did) bleaching before staining with a non standard color like green, blue etc. I guess you could get a much more vivid color without the underlying brownish/honey hue of briar.
Another question is how do funny colors like blue or green look after a couple of years of smoking- I would be worried about them turning some ugly shade of grey... Not that I like funny colored pipes anyway...

They look bad, and ten years won't change your mind.I had a chocolate pipe once, great color, but I ate it.It were Good!

You could try a fruit wood instead of briar (unless it has to be briar) peach will stay pretty white if you don't oil/stain it before putting on a finish coat.

RadDavis wrote:But Gee Whiz, Mr. Dibos, it looks really, really cool before you smoke it.

Rad

There you are being short-sighted again, Beev... How often do I have to remind you of what that wise old fly fisherman/pipemaker from Alabama said? "Slow and steady---and designing for the long term---wins the race," remember? There are no shortcuts.

Whippersnappers

Bleaching briar with the same chemicals you use to bleach other woods does not work. Bill Shalosky has tried it without success. Fiebings white dye is horrible and does not work on briar.

I have seen a bleached or white finish on a few pipes. Roger Wallenstein, Jim Cooke, and many dr. Grabows. So it is possible, but I suspect you must have level 8 clearance to learn it from Cooke or Walle, but I can share what the old Doctor uses. It is a very interesting super secret level one clearance material.

White Paint

PremalChheda wrote:
White Paint

Whoa, WHOA! You're revealing some serious secrets here. You need to back down.

PremalChheda wrote:Bleaching briar with the same chemicals you use to bleach other woods does not work. Bill Shalosky has tried it without success.

Like oxalic acid? That's one of the more common ones. Woodworkers will use Barkeeper's Friend scouring powder on raw wood to bleach it. I've never thought of trying it on briar, but if what you say is true, there's not much point. It does a great job on my porcelain sinks, though.

Literaryworkshop wrote:

PremalChheda wrote:Bleaching briar with the same chemicals you use to bleach other woods does not work. Bill Shalosky has tried it without success.

Like oxalic acid? That's one of the more common ones. Woodworkers will use Barkeeper's Friend scouring powder on raw wood to bleach it. I've never thought of trying it on briar, but if what you say is true, there's not much point. It does a great job on my porcelain sinks, though.

Bill used a 2 part industrial Hydrogen peroxide type solution that reacted with the tanins and turned it darker. Also it would have to be neutralized thoroughly and can affect taste potentially.

Many many years ago folks during the beginning of the woody restoration period the wood of the raised portions would be bleached to lighten them and provide contrast. Nasty stuff and something I would not want on/in a pipe I smoked.

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