Tobacco pipe of red deer antler

I found an antler a few years ago in remote woodland that butted on to the sea on the west coast of Scotland. It had been salt washed and sun bleached until it was white. Beautiful.

I used some of it for buttons, brooches and fastenings, but by far the most useful was a tobacco pipe.

Here's a photo of the pipe along with my baccy pouch,my wooden bowl and spoon and the corner of my horn tankard.



It was drilled out with an old dinner knife which I heated and put a twist into so it worked like an auger but without the pointy bit at the end. The mouthpiece was hand carved to fit.

The underside of the pipe is sealed with some superglue which sealed the core and enabled a better draw from the tobacco. It smokes like a dream (smelled a bit at first, but once a layer of carbon built up it was fine).

Eric

Very handsome!

Nice use of the natural shape of the antler...I've never heard of a pipe being made from antler. :thumbsup:

Antler actually works very well. However, with repeated heatings form smoking it, it does tend to become brittle. I found this out to my cost with the first one I made when I tapped it out on a rock and it split right down the front and a big chunk broke off. I usually tap it out on my upturned heel and it's OK with that, but I forgot for a moment and used a rock. I'll not make that mistake again.

There is historical evidence for Voyageurs smoking antler pipes when their clays broke too small to smoke.

Eric

Great pipe- I guess I need to take up smoking ! A work of art!

Very nice!

well, I guess we know what I will be making next!

When I first read the title, I thought "Must taste like yer smokin the har o' the beast". Cut & sanded enough antler to be sceptical. Your comment that it "smelled" at first but settled down w/ the carbon buildup is interesting. Now I'll have to rumage through my box of horns to see if I can find something to fit. Most are Mule deer, wonder if it would smoke different than Red deer?

nice pictures

Fergetful Jones said:

When I first read the title, I thought "Must taste like yer smokin the har o' the beast". Cut & sanded enough antler to be sceptical. Your comment that it "smelled" at first but settled down w/ the carbon buildup is interesting. Now I'll have to rumage through my box of horns to see if I can find something to fit. Most are Mule deer, wonder if it would smoke different than Red deer?

Click to expand...

I thought exactly the same myself when I made the first one, but I went on the evidence I found from documentation on Voyageurs. I've chopped, drilled and sanded antler in one form or another for nigh on forty year, and I did wonder if smokin' in it would be a constant reminder of a trip to the dentist. But it was OK. A mild smell of singeing antler for the first two smokes, no bad taste though. Mind you, I was breaking it in with Latakia unmixed with anything else so I probably wouldn't have tasted anything else anyway.

Sealing the bottom is important as well otherwise you're just sucking air through the porous core fibres. I use superglue, apply it to the bottom, blow it into the fibres with a plastic drinking straw so it penetrates and let it set up. It goes as hard as resin. I was concerned about burn through, but it's never burned through yet. When I drilled out the smaller tine to fit the mouthpiece, I aimed the drill to exit into the bowl about a quarter inch up from the base, so I have a little reservour a quarter inch deep at the bottom of the bowl that never gets burned. It boils and bubbles the juices that accumulate there, but that also stops it from burning through. After a while that reservour fills with carbon and after that it just smokes like a regular pipe. Just remember that antler goes brittle when repeatedly heated so when knocking it to empty the ash, use the heel of your shoe or something soft. Tapping it on a rock is not good. I darn near cried when my first one shattered.

Eric

One gent told me he takes and rubs a layer of honey into the bowl of the pipe made from antler. I guess it glazes over the horn when you fire it up not sure if he does it more then 1 time or not

Actually, the honey is a pure form of sugar, and it burns up leaving behind a very pure carbon layer. Its the carbon that will absorb the nicotine, and other acids that give the smoke its harsh bitter taste. Most new pipes have to be coated and burned several times to build up enough of a layer of carbon to get the job done. Moreso with something as solid as most antlers are.

Never tried honey, but I did use a little beeswax to seal it better (on the inside). It melted right in and tasted wonderful.

I wonder if you had a really small piece of burl shaped like a bowel would work if ya stuck it in there.I have seen antler pipes made like peace pipes,but that there is a dandy :thumbsup:

Here's my suicide pipe http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y283/gunclickrick/CowboyPipe.jpg

Oh, now that's nice. Russian roulette and lung cancer at the same time. :hmm:

Eric