Briar Burl

Briar Burl
PHOTO
DESCRIPTION	Small, round burls from the Heath Tree found primarily in the Mediterranean area. Due to the very slow growth, briar burls are usually not suitable for pipe making for at least 40 years.
BOTANICAL NAME	Erica Arborea
OTHER NAMES	Heath, White Heath
MECHANICAL PROPERTIES	An extremely hard wood, sometimes prone to cracks and occlusions.
WORKING PROPERTIES	This is a very hard wood to work with hand or power tools, with severe blunting effect on cutters. Can be polished to an excellent finish.
DURABILITY	Very durable. Highly resistant to termites. Extremely resistant to preservative treatment.
SEASONING	Briar burls are protected from drying out until the small amount of sap in them can be boiled out. In storage, they are often saturated with water to prevent drying until the boiling process can begin.
USES	Primarily used in making tobacco pipes. Can be used as decorative inlay.
COMMENTS	Older, larger burls are becoming more difficult to obtain due to over harvesting.

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