Quick update:
I've finished with the sanding and all that is left to do now is decide on the stain I'm going to use. No sense in posting photos yet since the most noticeable difference between the last pics and today is all in the feel of the pipe. Smoother than a new-born baby's bottom.
I've learned one thing about briar wood in this little project. The wood, being a root, is filled with many imperfections. As I was sanding it, marks appeared that weren't there initially. At first I thought they were tool marks but looking at them with a 15x jewelers loupe, I soon realized these marks were tiny voids in the wood or minute knot-hole types of imperfections. In one area I had a small mark that looked like a simple shallow nick and as was sanding it, it got bigger and bigger and bigger before finally getting smaller and sanding out. There were even grains of sand embedded inside the wood at a couple places.
I can really appreciate now how a quality pipe can end up costing so much since it must be difficult to find a good piece of briar with the right grain and without these many defects in the wood. I read an article from a pipe maker who was talking about these natural defects and how he has had to scrap many a pipe and start anew because of them (he refuses to use wood fillers in his pipes).
The one thing I will want to do eventually with this pipe is replace the stem. The one that came with the kit from Pimo is a very poor molding. The two halves of the mold used were not fitted correctly and so there is an offset in the stem that makes it not symmetrical. I've sanded and shaped it as best I can but it is noticeably deficient.
I'm experimenting with a natural stain for this pipe that uses orange-pekoe (generic Lipton) tea as the stain. Supposedly the tannin in the tea works on the wood to make a nice light stain so I'm trying it out on a piece of cut-off wood from the original block of briar. We'll see how it goes.
Next thing I need to do aside from the staining is build a buffing tool to apply and buff the carnuba wax. I have a small electric motor left over from an old rock tumbler that should do the trick.
We are almost done and I hope to have this pipe ready to smoke by Christmas!
