Che cos'è una canna di radica?
The briar wood pipe blank is indispensable in pipe making and embodies an elaborate process of fabrication into a smoking pipe. The burls from which these blanks are made are developed on heath shrubs typical to the Mediterranean region and more away in Italy. The burl formation is internal usually to the roots and takes a period of decades to form and swells to the size of a bowling ball. Skilled harvesters will then extract the briar wood burls, and boil and dry them multiple times, which allows the briar wood to develop richer colors.
However, turning these raw briar wood blocks into pipes is no easy task, (I have a deep understanding of this), first the external shape of the briar wood pipe blanks is cut by artisans on a lathe from pre-formed rough blanks. They will drill the tobacco chamber and airway holes along the direction with the fewest cracks. During this process you will see all kinds of briar wood grain, the most common being straight, wavy, or bird's eye, which determine quality and usage. Especially the briar wood blocks with bird's eye grain are often made into high-end pipe blanks.
These quality pipe blanks can be used to make different forms of pipes such as straight, bent, bulldog and even freehand.
When it comes to the manufacture of pipe blanks, it is possible to use many kinds of wood notable, for instance, maple or cherry. There are woods of different qualities which help in the character forming of each Premium pipe blanks. Still, many pipe makers prefer to use briar.
1. La radica ha un'eccellente resistenza al calore, che le permette di sopportare alte temperature senza bruciarsi o bruciare.
2. La radica è relativamente facile da intagliare, il che la rende adatta a pipe artigianali dal design personalizzato. Gli artigiani possono creare varie forme, dimensioni e stili di pipa sulla base dei loro disegni, consentendo così creazioni di pipe personalizzate.
3. La radica possiede anche venature uniche e intricate, che danno origine a pipe dalla texture meravigliosa. Con un'adeguata levigatura e lucidatura, è possibile esaltare questi squisiti motivi.
4. Soprattutto, la radica assorbe bene l'umidità, contribuendo a mantenere una combustione uniforme del tabacco.
