Hobbit Pipe: Burning the Pith Out of an Ash Sucker for a Pipe Stem (Easy) 

OK short of letting it dry slowly is there something to put on end grain to stop it from splitting? Wax?

I'd like to buy one of your pipes sir. How do I go about buying one from you? Thanks!

I am also very interested in a Hobbit pipe

It’s not even hard to do! Thanks for watching.

Thank you so much for checking us out! I’m glad that little trick worked out for you!

@@StockmanOriginal oh slicker than snot! And if you need wire coat hangers let me know! Got bunch of em. Millions of uses not just to hang shirts on 😆

So happy that you have found our channel , what part of N.H.are you from?

@@StockmanOriginal Concord!

Tactical Turtle, thank you for checking out our channel, we appreciate your support. You’re right, l’ve done that too and it works well.

Hello Rebuilding Gnoseas, we’re so happy you found our channel! I fell in love with ash as a kid because I spent a lot of time on snowshoes. I felt to be able to make something as cool as that would be amazing and ash was the magic ingredient. Since those days I have used ash for a lot of things, wonderful wood. Thanks for the subscription and WELCOME TO THE TRIBE!!!

Best of luck Kitty, I would love to see your woods!

Thank you MrTolson, we’re so happy you did! Welcome aboard.

Thanks, John!

Thank you Hatasumi, I appreciate your feedback. I would love to see how your pipe turns out. Welcome to the tribe!

@@confusionprice1422 , yes it’s much easier and there’s quite a few trees and bushes that this trick works with.

Carlos, everybody should know how to make a pipe stem!😁Just kidding and wicked glad you found our channel, welcome to the tribe my friend!

Thank you Ye Pirate, so happy you have found our channel!! I hope you enjoy it wherever the winds take you. We have a video on carving a pipe out of pipestone you might like. Safe travels to you and l would love to see your pipe once you have done it!

@@StockmanOriginal Thank you! I'm real happy to find your channel. I have a few very antique (1800's Native American made) pipe bowls that had been made from the red or reddish-brown pipestone, and thought about putting a stem in one and trying it out, but it's something that once belonged to and was enjoyed by someone else long ago and it seems a bit of a personal or spiritual intrusion if I were to do that. I do a lot of pirate reenacting and thought I'd look for something similar to a meerschaum type of hardened clay so that I could carve a skull and cross-bones out of it. I'm thinking that as it toasted and browned with use, it would give the skull and bones a nice "old-timey" look. Speaking of pipes... Have you ever tried making a ceramic bowl as an insert inside the wooden pipe? I'm' wondering how something like a thickened version of the stuff they used to make porcelain would work out. I almost think that it could be largely dried in an oven and would eventually cure itself as the pipe is broken in and smoked. Also, I have a source of good, thick black slate here on the farm and it would probably work well as a pipe stone. I'll send you some if you wish. Hmm... that has me thinking about carving the skull and cross-bones from that. It'd look outstanding in a polished slate or soapstone.

Sorry it took so long to respond but yes a skull and cross bones pipe would look awesome in black slate! No l haven’t tried lining a wooden pipe with clay, l would probably just make a liner out of pipestone or slate. I would love a little black slate to play with, hit me on Facebook messenger and we can talk.

@@brianstockman5764 Brian, thanks for the info. I haven't started carving it yet -- still inundated with some family stuff. The slate quarry is just adjacent to my farm, so there's no problem getting you some black slate. There's supposed to be some slate on my farm, too, but I haven't found it yet. Give me some idea of the sizes/thickness that will work for you and I'm sure the neighbor will just give it to me. I can probably pack and send it in one of those USPS fixed rate boxes. Are you interested in any clays? We have a clay here (and I'm not sure which one it is) that was famous for pottery making in the 1700s and 1800s. There's a white, gray and a bluish gray. It's in the riverbank that borders my farm. I've never played with the stuff, but it might make some interesting pipes, etc. but would have to be fired, of course. I don't have a FB account, so we'll have to get in touch some other way.

Welcome to the tribe No Name, glad to have you.

That’s awesome, I would love to see how it works out. Thanks for checking us out!

I’m glad you enjoyed this video, we’re so happy you found our channel and we appreciate your support.

Thank you so much McNerdy Makes, I have been enjoying your channel as well. The sword in the stone was so cool, and I loved what you did with your sewing room!

@@StockmanOriginal thank you!!! Unfortunately, I’m moving so the room will no longer be mine 😔 but on the bright side I get to build my own workshop out on an acreage. Maybe Brian has some timber framing tips for me lol.

How exciting to be building a place on some land, that’s great!! Your sewing room was good practice and I’m sure your next one will be even better. Find some one with a sawmill, it could be handy.

Thank you. Tinman

Those beetles are awful.

Thank you Allen, for checking us out, we appreciate that. And welcome to the tribe. These belt bags are great, never have to sit on a wallet again.

Hello Heretic, thanks for checking us out! Yeah, in the next town over there was a pipe factory

Oops, hit the wrong button! Anyway, there was a pipe factory back in the nineteenth century and these pipes were designed to be used with those reeds. The reeds were probably cut between the knuckles. They’re handy but not as sturdy as the wooden ones.

Thank you Travis 👍🏼

graefx, l’m so happy this video helped you out. That’s exactly why we have been doing them. There’s another video in our library that you might enjoy on making a hobbit pipe. Love to see how you make out.

I did very much. Pipestone was not something I was aware of and have a lot to research now with care and use before I make that jump. I really appreciate the result reminding me of the Rankin Bass depiction of hobbit pipes.

Thank you Brian, we’re so happy to have you in our tribe.👍🏼

Hello Eric, thank you so much for watching our channel! It is wicked easy with the right wood.

Hello mfcpwoodworking, thanks for watching. I’ll bet it would, the dogwood around here usually has a pretty small pith but once in a while you find one that works well. German pipes often have young cherry stems with the shiny plum colored bark.

@@StockmanOriginal Unfortunately I have to wait till the bark turns red. Even after drying it stays a deep red brown colour. I currently make hair sticks out of it but I'm eager to do this.

You’re probably right. This is safe if you don’t use the wrong shrub. I would love to see how your dad’s pipe turns out. Thanks for checking us out!

@@StockmanOriginal La termine. he love it. i use the tree we have in yard is "ciruelo" for the other part i use Pine since it was bigger and i know the material. its winter here in chile so the wood is dry. thanks for the video again

@@woodyplis9180 Thanks for checking us out Woodyplis. To the best of my knowledge you are the first member of our tribe from Chile and we are so happy to have you!!

Hello Superwesman, so happy to have you with us. Once l get the hole burnt out I do usually run it through a few more times and blow it out. I’ve never really had a problem with the taste, ash is kinda sweet. If you double over some fine wire, like you would use to making a wreath, then twist it up , of course make sure it’s long enough to run through the stem, you can use that as a cleaning swab by putting some cotton string or something in the eye. But I think you might not have used ash, just guessing. There are some nasty tasting woods out there.

Hello Stoutgut, and welcome to our community! I heated the wire till it was red hot, it takes several heatings to get through usually.

Hello azknight, and welcome to the tribe. You might find some maple suckers to have an open enough pith to use but generally not. One person mentioned elderberry and that sounded good. Try looking for suckers growing out of a cut stump for the maple and please let me know how it works out.

@@StockmanOriginal thank you so much for your advice! I really appreciate it, and great video!

Hello Mathias, thanks for checking out our channel. How did that elderberry work out?

@@StockmanOriginal quite easy. I just put some wire from a paper clip through and I had a straw. The pith is that soft it can even be a wooden needle, bbq stick ...

@@mathiaslist6705 Ash is like that too but with the really long stems the pith piles up and it’s better to just burn it out. Plus, when it gets used the moisture will swell the pith up and clog the hole. I’m going to try elderberry soon, thanks for the tip.

@@StockmanOriginal I had the issue too that when it dried some more it got clogged again. Fixed it the usual way.

@@mathiaslist6705 yeah, the hot rod makes it all go away.

Hello there, thanks for checking out our channel. I would love to make a tamper for you. Do you ever use messenger? That’s the easiest way to reach me. Hope to hear from you.

Hey kyleballinger7682, howdy so glad you found our channel! Thanks for watching. Do you do messenger?

@@StockmanOriginal sure do!

Hi Robert, thank you for checking out our channel. I would think fruitless Mulberry would be good so long as it’s not poisonous like one variety of sumac, l’m just not familiar with mulberry.

Hi Kyle, thanks for checking us out! I had a piece of copper wire that I used for that one, but a coat hanger or any wire of a heavy gauge except galvanized, doesn’t use galvanized wire.

@@StockmanOriginal haha ill be sure to not use the galvanized wire. Thanks for being such an awesome human being.

Hey Dylan, thanks for watching. It only takes a couple minutes really, problems l could think of would be: sometimes the saplings have smaller piths, or maybe the wire is too small and doesn’t hold the heat( l use coat hanger wire). The pith is usually about 1/8” on the ones I do.

@@StockmanOriginal yep something wasn’t right, it took like 5 or 10 minutes and went like a inch, I’ll try to find something with a larger pith, I think that might have been the problem, thanks

Hello Del, thanks for checking out our channel, we appreciate your support. Wow, l’m surprised that you still have access to those, I just haven’t seen any for so long. Thank you for your offer but I’m all set, but lordy I used the heck out of those in years past.😀

Hello Tom, thank you for checking out our channel. I’m not sure about Douglas fir, it depends on the pith( very center of the stick). If it’s big enough to run a hot wire through maybe but it’s still a little delicate being a soft wood. I would look into shrubs and bushes, alder or maybe willow.

@Stockman Original sorry I meant can it be used as a main pipe body instead of like Briar or a stem. I will buy a blank if need be I just thought if I have it use it. I can't find anything on ifnit releases toxins when heat is applied so I'm unsure. Thank you for the reply

Hello Zachary, thanks for checking in on us. Yes indeed, in fact that’s the best way and it only takes a couple years. Let us know how it works out.

@@StockmanOriginal Thanks, will do!

Hello PS, so nice to have you with us. Fraxinus would be the one, white ash actually. We do have brown ash but it’s few and far between, usually in the swamps.

Oh you know, this and that.😉

Hey Stan, thanks for checking us out. As for wild rose, if you cut a sprig and look for a pith large enough to burn out, that would tell you. I have never tried rose but some shrubs have naturally hollow stems. I say, give it a try, what’s to lose.

Chris Brown, you are so funny! What are you, like twelve years old? Does your mother know you’re using her computer?

Allen buddy, thank you so much for taking the time to tap out all those really big letters, that must have been so hard for you. Do have a wonderful Solstice or Christmas or whatever trolls celebrate.

said the clueless tool

Hey Sheepdog9, that’s true, l have used dogwood before. Nice tight grained wood too.

Hey Roble, grow up.

@@StockmanOriginal Hey granny, grow a beard No but seriously, I plan on living like you do and looking like you when I get old. Like some kind of Druid or something. But, I dont want to look like a granny.

You do you

@@RobleViejo worry about your own beard, don't worry about anyone else's, if you need one to feel like you're a man, then you're the one that needs a beard, not anyone else, focus on yourself and #stfu.

Are you stupid?

@@AMSOSOFAT I’m pretty sure it’s happened at least once, after that you start to pay attention!🥴😁

I know, they are working on ours now. Hopefully the young ones will be spared and the seeds already in the ground will provide us with ash again. Thank you so much for watching our channel.