PRODUCTION PROCESS

 

The material...

The classical, and superior material for the wooden pipe is briar wood.
The pipe is made from the root of the Erica Arborea, a bush which only grows wild and flourishes mainly in the rocky soil of Mediterranean countries such as Greece, Italy, Southern-Spain, Algeria and Morocco: countries which enjoy a hot and dry climate in the summer and suffer rain in the winter. The conditions here allow the root to develop a nice grain.

The more the root has to fight its way through the rocks and stones, the more beautiful the grain or pattern of the wood becomes.
The most exclusive and expensive pipes have a parallel regular grain which runs from the top to one point at the bottom and is known as 'straigtgrain'.
The 'bird's eye' grain shows a regular pattern of small, round or oval rings and is also very rare, but above all, wood is a natural product and each root has its own different grain ensuring that no two pipes can ever be quite the same.
After 40 years of growth the bush is mature, the root is at its best and it is suitable for the manufacture of pipes.


From the ground to E. Gubbels & Zn. B.V…
At the onset of the winter the roots are dug out. It can take up to an hour to find 1 or 2 pieces weighing roughly 10 lbs. (4,5 KGs). Because of the rough territory the roots have to be carried in baskets by donkeys which is a very slow process and one of the reasons that briar wood is so expensive.
Due to forest fires many roots have been rendered useless. Even bushes that escape from the fire can be damaged by sparks: these sparks penetrate the wood and thus give access to all kinds of insects. Owing to the fact that the bush keeps growing, this damage can only be discovered at the time of sawing.

 

 

 

The full baskets are brought to a place where all the roots are collected and covered with soil and branches to protect the wood from the sun. From this point on the wood is transported to saw mills where it is again covered to prevent the wood from tearing.

 

During its growth, the root forms a tuberous thickening, the so-called 'souche' and good pipes can only be made out of the thickest parts without any splits.
Briar is very suitable for tobacco pipes because it is very hard, has a nice structure and a high grade of silicic acid which makes it fire-proof.

 

 

In the mill the roots are sawed in rough blocks, this is called 'calibrated' and examined for spots, splits and grains. These faults and grain taken into account, the experienced 'coupeur' an 'artist' with a sixth sense for quality and structure, decides what is the best way to cut the blocks from which the bowls are turned later on in the process.
These rough blocks are called 'ébauchons' a French word coming from the verb 'baucher' which means: to shape, design. It will not be a surprise that a large part of the wood is deemed unsuitable and therefore rejected.

 

When the ébauchons are sawed and divided into various sizes they are boiled for 20 to 36 hours to kill all insects which may be present and to remove the plant juices and resin. Afterward, they are categorized by quality and stacked in special drying and may even have to be reassessed for quality. 

 

 

Finally after 6 to 12 months they are packed in sacks for shipment to pipe manufacturers such as Gubbels and Sons in the Netherlands.

When the wood arrives the ébauchons are put in small cases in a drying rood (a room with a constant temperature of 35°C) for a few months to allow the wood to slowly reach the correct temperature and humidity. Thereafter the wood is stored in iron containers by the caliber (size) in a room without heating and with hardly any daylight.

 

In the factory…

When they are finally taken into production the blocks are sorted subject to the model that has to be made. This sorting is done nowadays by an electronic machine and after this they are sawed (calibrated) and then the bowl is turned.

 

 

 

 

First of all the tobacco hole is turned with the upper part of the bowl and afterward the 'tige', the part of the stem that is connected to the bowl, and then the bottom part of the bowl. Finally the last roughness is removed with a file or with a machine.

 

 

 

 

Then one of the most important parts of the production process starts: the making of the flue. This is so very important because if the flue is made too high, the pipe cannot be fully smoked, and if it is too low, the pipe cannot be properly cleaned.
A straight pipe has a straight flue and a bent pipe has two flues, because it is not possible to drill a bent hole. Furthermore the lower flue of the bent pipe is meant to collect the fluid during smoking.

What will it be…

After the bowls have been turned they are graded by the experienced 'choisisseur'.
The choisisseur sorts the bowls in spotless perfectly grained prima bowls (a rarity), in first, second and third quality etc.
This classification of grain is very important to E. Gubbels & Zn. B.V. because the pipe should be worthy of the brand Big Ben.

The bowls are turned in large enough quantities to make it profitable for the pipe maker to adjust his machines. Bowls that are not immediately finished, are stored in the bowls' warehouse. The larger the bowls' warehouse, the greater the selection.

The mouthpiece
Next to the bowls' warehouse, there is also a mouthpieces warehouse.
Mouthpieces are nowadays mainly made of ebonite (hard rubber) of acrylic resin.
The value of the mouthpiece should not be underrated: ebonite has the advantage that it feels nice and pleasant in the mouth but acrylic resin has the advantage that it is not so easily broken by biting, and does not develop any unpleasant aftertaste or dull appearance. In the past also horn, bone and amber were used for the mouthpieces.

The mouthpieces arrive in rough condition at the pipe manufacturer and he has to take off the seams and make a tap or floc of the correct size. Then the mouthpieces have to be fitted to the bowls. This fitting is done by a drill with an industrial diamond and every bowl and every mouthpiece has its own drill.
When the mouthpiece is finished it is assembled to the bowl.

At the end of the process…
Now the pipes are all ground with various sorts of sandpaper. Small holes and mistakes in the wood are hollowed out, filled and ground anew. This work is mainly done by women because it requires a lot of patience and has to be done very accurately.

After this the pipes are stained. The superfluous stain will be removed by polishing until the desired colour is reached and then the mouthpiece is polished. After this the bowl will be waxed or lacquered with a porous lacquer because the pipe must be able to 'breathe'.
Then the pipe is finished: a system is fitted, the tobacco hole will be prepared with a carbon layer and the brand is stamped on the shank. The pipes are polished one last time and are now ready to be forwarded to customers all over the world as Big Ben pipes.