Adam Savage's One Day Builds: Gandalf's Pipe! 

I think it is important to repeat, if you plan to make a pipe that you will use, please, please do research. Beyond the fact that the wood from conifers often burns and tastes terrible. Types of both soft and hard woods can be extremely toxic. Always be safe and have fun!

As someone who has made a living as a pipe maker/sculptor for the last 20 years, I really enjoyed watching this video. It doesn't resemble pipe making at all, but it's not supposed to.

As a woodworker who has made a couple pipes I will say that you usually wanna make the bowl and the stem separately. To carve out the bowl you wanna use a drill press and a modified spade bit that has a rounded/radiused shape on the cutting end. The easiest way to make the bowl is on a lathe, one piece, no glues around fire…

This man opened me up to science when I was a teenager and still finds a way to entertain me as a man

I think I must brag a bit here: my mother-in-law worked at Vauen and she made the original pipes used in the movies 😁

Hi Adam. I am a long-time pipe smoker. Yes, you are correct, it is referred to as a Churchwarden pipe. For those who might want a safe and "smokable" churchwarden that looks just like the one Adam made they can be found at any Renaissance Festival. They are made from olive wood usually and smoke quite well.

I remember watching mythbusters as a kid and wanting to be just like adam. then last month i found his yt channel and got to relive it. thank you adam for years of inspiration and fun!

The space between nerdom and craftman is beautiful. I can hang out there all day.

The way Adam moves around his workshop is so stressful, but all too relatable.

Man, the quick jump from the belt sander to the disc sander on the “actually this tool would be better” thought and having them be 100% available and ready to just flip a switch and go is such a beautiful thing and the absolute dream.

I love it when Adam turned from himself to Bob Ross at the end. Two of the most satisfying things to watch, "combined".

Adam Savage, you are a true treasure of a human being. A simple RU-vid comment could never express the amount of value and impact you instil into the world doing something as simple as carving and staining a pipe from a movie that you are truly passionate about. Thank you

"In which Adam makes a pipe-shaped-object, nothing more." 🥰

I cant be the only one that just constantly smiles when this man talks and explains something he is passionate about. From mythbusters to tested, I love this man with all my heart. Thank you Adam for always putting a smile on my face

Vicariously not super gluing myself to that pipe was wonderful. Thank you, Adam.

Adam works at a frantic pace and says things like “slowly and methodically.” 😂😂

Adam is every kid's desire of what a big brother should be. Inventive, cool.

Watching Adams wristwatch gives a great insight in the actual time the work steps took. Great as always.

A SKILLED ARTISAN you are Mr Savage!

I love him so much. Like since I was a kid. He has always made me feel like there was a place for people like me to do science and crafts. Not needing a reason then you want to make something. Truly an inspiration. He gives me hope that one day I could too fallow my dreams and make things

Use high heat resistant woods! Ones that are as food safe as possible. Briar, Cherry, Olive, Pear, Elder, Maple, White Ash. Like cigars, pipe smoke should not be inhaled. If you want to impart pleasant smells in your pipe, use an aromatic blend of tobacco. I recommend Captain Black as it is cheap and smells quite nice. My dad smokes pipes constantly and he hears me complain when he doesn't smoke aromatic blends. More than a few pipe tobacco brands and blends are named after LOTR references, so you might try those as well. GL out there and please dont smoke your daughters out of the house with non-aromatics! EDIT: longer pipes are referred to as churchwarden pipes, the clay variants were very long so as to be somewhat communal and hung in pubs, you could pick it up, break off the end and smoke it yourself, then place it back. Or so some stories tell. Originally however, legend has it that at night, the wardens who watched over the church and its grounds (while not in use) were not allowed to smoke inside the church, so a longer pipe was developed which could be set out of the window, while the warden sat inside the church and kept smoking. EDIT EDIT: Definitely dont stain the inside of the bowl! You can either begin smoking immediately or prepare the bowl with a mixture of activated charcoal and yogurt. Eep eep dont smoke anything with a stained bowl eep eep eep! It is, of course, actually a prop in the video, though so dont fault Adam lol

Omfg ! I can’t explain it but I get the best therapy watching Adam in his element. And an excuse for my shop to be messy & organized. Im always moving or tweaking shop set up it evolves by the project and never seems to have an idle shape.😊thank you again mr Savage & crew.

As a violin repairer I really appreciate this vid

I don't know why but I just love Adam he's just so interesting to watch with so many skills and I feel so wholesome that I watched him growing up as a kid on MythBusters and now I watch him on RU-vid doing his own thing.

I think the most fantastical thing about the LOTR series was how after all the characters had gone through, they never once had a broken pipe stem.

A Savage pipe 😤 Thank you Adam for all the years of learning and laughter that you and Jamie provided! God bless y'all ✌️

Months go by and i dont see one of Adams videos but everytime i do i just smile cause i could watch this guy all day

I thought he would have touched on this little tidbit, but he actually used a pipe cleaner for its original intended purpose, to clean out a smoking pipe (shaped object)! I'm sure we all grew up using these for arts and crafts lol

I don't need a Gandalf pipe.....but I'm going to make a Gandalf pipe. That was one heck of a splinter! 🤯

I'd love to see an episode where Adam builds a Pinewood Derby car. A decent fast car takes a bit of ingenuity, craft and skill along with a bit of artistic flare. He has it all and now a challenge!!

In terms of making a prop, I think adam completely nailed this. However, if you want to make a working pipe, it isnt a half day job. You need the right wood, do it in one piece, and use the right non toxic stains. It is a slower process with more involved steps BUT still totally doable! He breifly touched upon some aspects of it.

Briar is the most common wood used for pipes, it's also my favorite to use for my pipes. Cherry, pear, and olive wood are also fairly common.

After watching this, I never knew gandalf stored his pipe in his staff. Such a brilliant idea

Adam is the glue holding the whole world together

I've made a number of real pipes from various woods. The really tricky part is lineups in the bottom of the bowl and the neck. You don't want to go below the neckline or you'll have unburnt tobacco below the bottom. The stem was pretty easy, just use a natural hallow wood and drill through the pith. Heat treat the bowl well and use refined hemp oil to keep from scorching. And keep it very clean. Every pipe has a break in point and will season to taste.

That's one of the questions I've always wanted to ask. "Have you ever accidentally made a real thing?" And kudos to the editor on going from Adam blowing to the belt sanding. Very nice!

That is the cutest little plane I've ever seen. I fell down this rabbit hole a couple weeks ago and I had no idea how many different ways there was to assemble a pipe shaped object. The gluing two halves, burning or boring a hole, heating and curving, stem and bowl as separate or one piece. I think my favorite was finding an appropriately curved branch twig and burning out the pith with the stem inserted into a bowl. It creates a different look and experience for sure but to each wizard their own pso.

Im just finding out that he has a youtube channel. Adam, you are one of my heros who sparked my interest in science and building things.

I love those little brass planes. I got a set of them for Christmas a few years ago and they are so useful!

Adam, I loved this build. I had a blown glass version of Gandalf’s pipe a friend made me. Just remember it’s a representation of a “hand carved” pipe, perfection is not what you’re aiming for, functionality (in that kids voice 🤪) is the point, with your P.S.O…🤣. Having used a true wooden pipe, the short time of having burning tobacco is exactly right. The smell is damn near permanent lol. Always reminds me of my grandfather.

Watching Adam do something he loves is always an amazing time but also shout out to the editor(s). That transition from blowing the pipe to sanding was perfect.

This is one of the most approachable one day builds. Adam used some expensive tools, but this could be made with only cheap hand tools too.

Adam, thanks for existing and bringing your energy to this world.

12:01. That's the cutest little brass plane that I've ever seen, and watching Adam use a nail buffer for sanding just made my heart sing 😊

A kid asking you if your space suit is functional is the best thing I have ever heard 😊

I've been a pipe smoker for 10 years, fun fact, before wood became the default material for pipes they were made of clay, they were bought with the bowl ready filled with tobacco and often just discarded once empty, they really were that cheap, this is why in almost every British river you can find pieces of clay pipe stems

Love a cheeky Magritte reference, love a sensible chuckle to start my day, love this channel.

I love watching all your videos, not just for the doses of wisdom and knowledge, but also for the process. I grew up watching Mythbusters, and honestly learned more about science, mechanical/electrical engineering, material science, physics and chemistry from the show than my school.

Hey Adam, love this build, try using Jojoba oil on your next wood project, it has a similar structure to human hand oils and can gives objects a really beautiful "handheld" patina. It also hardens into a hard durable coat after a few weeks. Great stuff!

Be interesting to see Adam's approach to making a "real" pipe one day. As someone who does it for a living I always like to see how people new to a craft approach things. I nearly always learn something that improves my own technique.

You have a beautiful and inspiring mind, Mr. Savage. I grew up watching you on TV and continue to enjoy your content to this day.

I love the sound of inserting pipe into staff so much.

"Is any of this functional?!" Yes, wise words to apply to every project! 😂

I think the scene in the Hobbit Battle of the Five Armies, when Gandalf is cleaning his pipe in silence with bilbo is great. I think Adam should complete the pipe with that pipe cleaning spoon. That would be awesome.

Seriously though it’s Adam just a genuine genius…

I love how clever Adam was with the subtitle referencing a famous 1929 painting by René Magritte

I'll tell you one thing. This guy, this guy right here, he really knows how to make stuff

As the Lord of the rings fan, I love little unique and quincentennial props like this, especially when I decorate my apartment with items like these that only a true fan would know what the object is ! this is one of the ones that I will be building!

sometimes i watch adams videos without sound and just look at how excited he gets

He does things the way I want to do things, so it makes me feel better about the things I haven't done yet

Man I used to watch Myth Busters from elementary all the way through highschool and was sad hearing the show got canceled but now that Ive found your channel Adam I've never been so happy, good to see you're doing well and I hope Jamey is doing good as well. I'm gonna binge watch you now like I did Myth Busters :D

I love the distinction between a pipe and a "pipe shaped object" vis-à-vis a gun vs. a "gun shaped object". As someone who is very into Dungeons & Dragons, I have argued that fluid-filled and custom dice made of hand-poured resin are more realistically "die shaped objects" than dice, since there is no way to ensure any type of balance in such a thing. Fun, approachable build. Thanks!

I love this. This is my favorite video of yours of all time 💜

The asmr is great here for me. The sound of that pipe being taken in and out of the staff is very satisfying. Also the "pup pup pup" noise when pretending to smoke it is also quite a pleasant sound. Sorry for going off on a tangent. To me that's one of the signs of an authentic prop. Such genius!

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Oddly enough as simple as this may appear, it is a thing of beauty. This is now my second favorite once day build. The first being the watering can. Anyway great work once again highly informative and very entertaining. Now off to buy me a violin planer.

this is so nostalgic

This seems like a good object to blow bubbles with!

Love the pipe-like obiect. Very nicely done. Band saws are awesome!

My best friend used to walk around with a wooden staff because of his love of Gandalf, which earned him the nickname Gandalf from my father. I carved him a Gandalf inspired "pipe shaped object" using simple pine for the bowl and the naturally hollow branch of a local bush species. He used to display it on his desk at home (I also made a display base from walnut), but he moved elsewhere, so I don't know what he's done with it since.

This is what blending the line between artist and engineer looks like... and I love it!

As a long time mythbuster fan and LOTR fan i needed to see this build. I get flashbacks to the show's hayday when I hear you laugh with excitement when something works!

As always Adam makes the daunting task so approachable for people who wish to become their own prop maker. 🐘💨❤️

I love it when you use tools that I have bought at your recommendation, and I subsequently came to love them through my own experience. It's not 100%, but you do better than most!

Watching all of Adam's videos still gives me the "Myth Busters" experience. Even after all of these years. I remember Episode 1 Season 1 MB the day it aired.

That's a sweet PSO you got there, Adam!

Thanks Adam. I recommend mixing your brown paint with yellow instead of white to keep the rich tones.

Can I just say how much I love the editing on these videos. I can only imagine how much material you have to use and you make the viewing experience perfect to my mind. Thank you

Thank you for sharing the story at the beginning

I love your use of a hold fast!

Love these one day builds. Really inspires you to make something.

I love makin my own pipes. They're a really good way to get a feel for different woods and materials. I've done a few different hardwoods, some softwoods, one out of carbon fiber, one out of bullet casings... Gonna try bone/antler next. 👌

The Salted Pork line was the cherry on top of an exceptional build video!

That little cut/zoom of "I didn't inhale" caught me off-guard. Cackling. I love this man so much.

Wow, you are so detailed. You share absolutely everything I feel like I need to know to try to attempt something like this. Thank you.

I have absolutely contemplated doing this. I bought a pipe that is the right shape and size but wrong finish and have been pondering refinishing it, but the idea of having a pipe I made is even better. Since I don't have a good way to steam the stem (that was fun to say), this has solved my problem. Thank You!

really entertaining to watch you build staff! thanks for the video!

Lord! The smoking euphemisms in this vid! Love ya Adam :)

You whittled that pipe out fast lol….Came out looking super cool👌 Nice job Adam👍

The two halves construction method is an extremely old one, for smoking pipes the wood is split in half so the grain patterns matches up when you tie the two halves together. I've made several quick and easy chillums from small green willow branches using this method when I forget or break my piece while hiking.

I did not know there was a little compartment for the pipe in the staff. What a genius design

I just love your workshop. You have everything in there

That looks great. I'd love to see the steaming and bending method one day. You could also do a build video of a steaming apparatus.

I think the actual pipes used in LOTR were clay, at least according to half remembered details form the appendices. However, this is amazing to watch, love the shaping that’s possible with sanding tools and planes.

ABSOLUTELY LOVE THE HOBBIT AND LORD OF THE RINGS SEGMENTS YOU DO! Grew up watching your show. God bless

Adam is always fun, instructive, entertaining, nice and interesting.

Missed the one day builds lately! Thanks for bringing us another one

If you want to make a pipe, the recommended wood is briar, it's perfect for functioning pipes. There are loads of suppliers in Europe (Greece specifically idk why) that sell it pretty cheap, I'm not sure about anywhere outside of Europe though

Wow I knew this guy hit a pipe every now and then. Nice pipe

I love this guy. Adam was part of me growing up