Staining

Staining is the surface finish in which a briar body is colored. It's one of the few stages of pipe making that isn't governed by measurement: unlike wall thickness or the diameter of the smoke channel, it isn't controlled by numbers — what determines the result is the maker's eye and habits. Because of this, workshops settle over time into their own mixes, number of coats, and drying methods; a maker's color can become one of the ways they're recognized in the community.

Its Place in the Process

Coloring is left until after sanding is complete. If a stained surface is worked further with a belt sander or hand sanding, most of the color comes off; the order therefore isn't reversed. In the sequence outlined in the how a pipe is made entry, staining is the link right before buffing and waxing.

Types of Dye

The material most used in workshops is alcohol-soluble aniline dye. It comes as a powder, is diluted with denatured alcohol, and its intensity is set directly by the maker. Color options are plentiful; because new colors can be obtained by mixing two shades, there's no need to stick to a ready-made palette.

Besides this, chemical dyes that work through an oxidation reaction, leather dyes, and plant-based dyes are also used. With chemical dyes, the color isn't what comes straight out of the bottle: solutions applied one over another react on the wood's surface, and the tone forms as it dries.

Application and the Effect of Buffing

Dye is applied to the body with a cloth, a fine brush, or a pipe cleaner. In alcohol-based mixes, drying is already fast; some workshops choose to briefly flame the surface and let the alcohol burn off. If the tone isn't dark enough, the same dye is repeated; if the color's direction needs changing, another shade is added on top.

The most deceptive part of this stage is that the color visibly lightens during buffing. The darkness on the wet surface isn't the final result; the maker has to anticipate ahead of time how the buffed body will look. Increasing the number of coats, letting a stained body sit for a while, or applying heat are all ways of helping the color set more firmly into the wood, but how effective each of these is varies from workshop to workshop.

Contrast Staining

Contrast staining is a variant developed to bring out the grain pattern. The body is first stained a dark tone, then the surface is sanded again. Because the grain texture absorbs more dye than the rest of the wood, the dark color stays in the grain while the harder tissue in between is opened back up. When the pipe is then stained again in a lighter tone, the pattern becomes distinct through the contrast between the two colors.

The best-known example of the method is the "Golden Contrast" look associated with Danish maker Tom Eltang. According to records, this color depends on applying a chemical dye that darkens the body through oxidation, and then opening the darkened surface back up with sandpaper. Eltang is reported to have stopped using this mix, which he'd relied on for years, after developing an allergy to one of its ingredients.

Not every pipe is stained. Makers who prefer a natural finish skip coloring altogether. On sandblasted and rusticated bodies, meanwhile, stain serves a different purpose than it does on a smooth surface: the difference in tone between the recesses and high points makes the depth of the texture visible.