Most of my pipes are made from Italian briar, and I don't fill the pits, if any, ever. I think the pits and flaws are a natural part of the wood and should be left alone. If the wood is too damaged to work with, it becomes scrap, expensive scrap. You can identify my pipes by my stamp, and a red (my birth stone color) dot on the stem, which also indicates which way the stem should face, up.
My bigger pipes are sometimes made from black cherry wood, since big pieces of briar are harder to get, and can be quite expensive, black cherry works great, in most cases even better than briar. Cherry wood is less denser than briar, so bigger pipes are really light. Smaller ones are feather weight. Cherry wood also has some great looking straight grains, and is easier to work with, and is more forgiving than briar. However since cherry wood is less dense, it needs a bit more care when you are breaking it in. You need to smoke it cool, until you have a nice layer of cake (carbon) formed in the bowl. Recently it has become harder for me to obtain cherry wood, so soon I will be discontinuing my cherry wood pipes. Unless I can secure a good supplier.
My bigger pipes are sometimes made from black cherry wood, since big pieces of briar are harder to get, and can be quite expensive, black cherry works great, in most cases even better than briar. Cherry wood is less denser than briar, so bigger pipes are really light. Smaller ones are feather weight. Cherry wood also has some great looking straight grains, and is easier to work with, and is more forgiving than briar. However since cherry wood is less dense, it needs a bit more care when you are breaking it in. You need to smoke it cool, until you have a nice layer of cake (carbon) formed in the bowl. Recently it has become harder for me to obtain cherry wood, so soon I will be discontinuing my cherry wood pipes. Unless I can secure a good supplier.
