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David Field announced that he would be closing R.D. Field, a pipe import and distribution company that he ran with his wife, Jan, and business partner Marty Pulvers, the former owner of the premium tobacco shop, Sherlock’s Haven, in San Francisco.
EDITOR'S NOTE: After discussing this article with David Field, we learned that there will be a sequel which will discuss in detail, the identification of Dunhill pipes. This will include an analysis of the nomenclature which enables the knowledgeable collector to know Dunhills.
- What Is Morta?
- Where Does Morta Come from?
- Differences Between Morta and Briar
- Morta as A Pipe-Making Material
- Morta Tobacco Pipes
- Morta Pipe Care
Also called "bog oak," morta is semi-petrified wood found in bogs across Europe. Petrification is the process of transforming a once-living organism into a mineral while retaining its visual properties and structure, but unlike fossilization — an impression of the organism in mud, earth, or stone — petrification is formed from a lack of oxygen, pre...
Much of the world's morta supply is confined to Europe, but it spans the entire continent: France, Ireland, Great Britain, Ukraine, and Russia among the most prominent morta-rich countries. Old-growth, hardwood trees necessary for morta aren't found on other continents; those tree types either never existed in those locales or were cut down during ...
Morta Grain
"Like any wood that grows above ground, morta is formed from linear-grained wood," says Steve. "Briar, by contrast, grows underground and only has ring grain. It doesn't have the vertical grain characteristics that an above-ground wood has. With linear-grained wood, you have to be extremely careful in how it's dried because of the tension that the wood has and having a more consistent grain structure." Such a grain structure is prone to cracking if not cured slowly, and it's also what gives m...
Morta Color
There's a variation of hues among morta, depending on how old it is, but all examples follow a gray scale of tones. "For morta to become fully black," says Steve, "it takes about 5,000 years. If it was submerged for, say, three or four thousand years, it's going to be more of a grayish color, and for one or two thousand years, it's going to be more of a golden-gray color." While morta can be stained a darker shade of gray or black, it doesn't afford the color diversity of briar — reds, browns...
Morta Smoking Flavor
Many pipe smokers have remarked on the different flavors highlighted by morta pipes compared to those fashioned from briar. Unlike more neutral materials, like clay and meerschaum, wood imparts its own natural essences to the tobacco smoke, albeit subtly so. Max Rimensi, the artisan carver behind Il Ducapipes, is prolific in working with morta pipes, and he smokes one in particular: "I use my morta pipe specifically for smoking Latakia blends, such as Pirate Kake or similar. I find it softens...
Alongside its different aesthetics and smoking properties, morta also requires different crafting techniques than briar, mostly regarding cutting and drilling. "Since it has an open-pore grain structure," says Steve, "morta has more furring when you cut it." Furring refers to the slender, hair-like fragments that hang off the bottom edge of a cut, ...
The earliest record I could find of a morta tobacco pipe is from Peterson's 1906 catalog, courtesy of Mark Irwin's Peterson Pipe Notes blog and his book with Gary Malmberg, The Peterson Pipe Book. Though little is known about these Peterson bog-oak pipes, their images are designated as the 8B and 15B shape, each carved with stunning detail across t...
A common theme throughout this guide has been morta's linear, open-pore grain structure. It's to thank for its distinctive aesthetic and also a cause of some of its crafting idiosyncrasies, and it also requires slightly different maintenance than a briar pipe. "Heat and moisture are transferred differently in a morta pipe because of its open grain,...
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- Cleaning Pipes with a Sewer Jetter. Dig a hole at the end of your leach system pipes to expose them. Check the blueprints of your property so you can locate where the leach field’s pipes end.
- Removing Tree Roots. Locate and uncover the distribution box for your leach field. The distribution box for your septic system is usually located past the main tank and connects to all of the leach field pipes.
- Preventing Clogs. Use less water to keep your system running smoothly. Avoid running water when you don’t need to since it can cause your septic system to overflow.
Jun 9, 2022 · The first Masters of Pipes, David Shain and Sykes Wilford, were recognized in 2017. David was the cover story for Pipes and tobaccos magazine in the Fall issue that year, in which the award was announced and his accomplishments enumerated, including his work in leading drives to collect pipes and tobaccos, refurbishing the pipes, and sending ...
May 30, 2018 · 1. Poland, 1923-39. In the small border town of Cieszyn at the very south of Poland by the Czech border, Richard was born in 1923. His father, Marek, was a 30-year-old businessman with a specialty ...
Drain Field Products. Drainfields are installed using a variety of construction techniques. Weather they are constructed using chambers, pipe and stone, type A or type B area beds or Shallow Buried trenches their function is the same.
