How Do They Make Clay Pipes?

Clay pipes have been made and used for smoking tobacco and other substances for centuries. The earliest known clay pipes date back to around 1500-1550 in England. Pipe making grew into an important industry in Britain and Europe as tobacco consumption increased. The basic process of clay pipe making has remained largely unchanged over the centuries, although techniques and materials have been refined.

The main steps in creating a clay pipe include selecting and preparing the clay, hand shaping the pipe bowl and stem, decorating or embellishing the pipe with designs, letters or markings, slowly drying the pipe to prevent cracking, and finally firing the pipe in a kiln to harden and strengthen it. Clay pipe makers today still use this traditional multi-step process to produce long-lasting, beautifully crafted pipes.

Table of Contents

Selecting the Clay

The type of clay used is crucial in pipe making, as it determines the final look, feel, and smoking properties of the finished pipe. Pipe makers generally use fine white earthenware clays or finer stoneware clays. These clays have certain properties that make them ideal for pipe making:

Plasticity – The clay must be plastic enough to be easily shaped into a pipe form.
Strength – Pipe clays require high strength to withstand the pressure of use without cracking or breaking.
Vitrification – The clay needs to vitrify (become glasslike) at high temperatures to create a non-porous pipe.
Whiteness – Lighter colored clays create a nice contrast with colored glazes and decorations.

The primary clays used in pipe making come from specific geologic deposits around the world. In Europe, Jurassic clays from England and France have been used for centuries. In Asia, kaolin clays are mined in China and Thailand. In North America, white stoneware clays are sourced from deposits in states like Tennessee, Ohio, and Missouri.

Modern pipe makers may blend different clays to achieve the exact properties needed. But traditionally, the source of the clay plays a key role in the pipe’s quality and value.

Preparing the Clay

After selecting the appropriate clay for pipe making, the next step is to prepare the clay. This is a crucial process as it removes air bubbles and ensures the clay has a uniform consistency before shaping.

The two main techniques for preparing pipe making clay are kneading and wedging. Kneading involves pressing, folding and pushing the clay on a flat surface to create a smooth, lump-free consistency. The clay is continuously pressed and stretched to force out air pockets and evenly distribute moisture.

Wedging also aims to remove air bubbles by cutting and recombining the clay. The clay is cut into several pieces, stacked and pressed together, then sliced and restacked until smooth. The sharp motions force out air better than kneading alone.

Another important preparation step is mixing in grog. Grog refers to granular additives like crushed fire bricks, ground clay shards, sand or tiny pebbles. Grog improves the clay’s structural integrity and prevents cracking or exploding when fired. The grog pieces prop open pathways for air and moisture to escape. Too much grog can make the clay prone to crumbling, so an ideal balance is 10-30% grog mixed in.

After thorough wedging and kneading, and once the grog is uniformly incorporated, the clay is ready for shaping into pipes.

Shaping the Pipes

Once the clay has been properly prepared, it is ready to be shaped into pipes. There are several techniques used to form the clay into the desired pipe shapes.

One common method is to use molds. Molds are forms made of plaster, wood, metal, or other materials that allow the clay to be pressed into the desired shape. Pipe makers will press the prepared clay into two-piece molds to efficiently mass produce basic pipe forms.

Pipe makers also utilize many specialized tools to shape the clay. These can include ribs, wires, and loop tools to refine shapes and textures. A potter’s wheel enables throwing techniques to form symmetrical pipe bowls and stems.

Handbuilding techniques like pinching and coiling are also employed. Pinching involves squeezing the clay between the fingers and thumb to form basic shapes. Coiling involves rolling out ropes of clay and stacking them to build up forms.

The shaping process transforms the raw clay into the form of a smoking pipe ready for decoration and firing. Skilled pipe makers have a range of techniques to craft a variety of shapes and styles.

Applying Decorations

After the basic pipe shape has been formed, artisans often decorate the pipes with intricate designs and patterns. There are several techniques used to adorn clay pipes:

Stamping designs: Clay stamps are carved with relief patterns and images. Stamping is done by pressing the clay stamp into the soft surface of the pipe to imprint the design. Geometric patterns, animals, flowers, portraits and coats of arms are common stamp designs. Stamping usually takes place when the clay is in a semi-soft, leather hard state.

Incising patterns: Incising involves using a sharp tool to carve linear designs directly into the surface of the leather hard clay. Fine lines and intricate patterns can be incised to create decorative effects. Incising allows for detailed artwork requiring great precision and skill.

Coloring with engobes: Engobes are suspensions of clay and water used to coat the pipe surface. Colored engobes can be applied to raw clay pipes to add vibrant hues. Once fired, the engobe becomes permanent, resulting in a colored finish. Multiple layers of contrasting engobes can be used to produce complex multi-colored designs.

Drying the Pipes

After pipes are shaped, they must be dried very slowly and carefully before firing. This is one of the most crucial steps in pipe making. If pipes dry too quickly, cracks and fissures will develop through the body of the pipe. These cracks mean the pipe will break during firing or be unusable.

To prevent cracking, pipe makers use special drying rooms with precise temperature and humidity controls. The climate is kept warm, but not excessively hot, and the air contains just the right amount of moisture. Typically, the drying rooms are kept at around 70-80°F with 50-70% relative humidity. Over the course of several days, moisture slowly evaporates from the clay body of the pipes.

Workers carefully monitor the drying pipes, looking for any cracks starting to form. The pipes are periodically turned or rotated to ensure even, gradual drying throughout. With slow, meticulous drying, quality pipes emerge crack-free and ready for the final firing.

Firing the Pipes

Firing the clay pipes is a critical step in the pipe making process. It involves heating the dried, unfired clay pipes (also called greenware) to very high temperatures in order to harden and strengthen them. Modern pipe makers use electric or gas-fueled kilns to fire their wares.

Firing typically takes place in two stages – bisque firing and glaze firing:

Bisque Firing

The first firing, known as bisque firing, heats the pipes to approximately 1600-2000°F. This causes the clay to vitrify, which permanently hardens it into a ceramic material. Bisque firing prepares the porous clay for the application of decorative glazes.

Glaze Firing

After bisque firing, colored glazes made from minerals, metals and other ingredients are applied to the pipes to create various decorative effects. The glazed pipes are fired again in the kiln, this time to approximately 2200°F. This melts the glazes into a smooth, glassy coating on the clay surface. Glaze firing can take 12-24 hours to complete.

Proper firing transforms soft clay into a hard, durable material that won’t absorb moisture or deteriorate over time. Mastering the firing process is essential for pipe makers seeking to produce high quality, long lasting wares.

Testing the Pipes

Once the clay pipes have been fired in the kiln and allowed to cool, they undergo a thorough testing process to ensure quality and function. The testing involves the following elements:

Checking for cracks and flaws

Each pipe is closely inspected by eye to check for any cracks, chips, or other flaws that may have occurred during shaping, decoration, drying, or firing. Any pipes with visible flaws are discarded. The surface is checked for smoothness, as cracks or roughness can affect airflow and lead to tearing of cigarette paper.

Testing draw and airflow

To confirm proper airflow, testers will draw air through the stem and bowl. The draw should feel smooth and unobstructed throughout the entire pipe. Testers also blow air through the pipe to ensure it passes freely from the mouthpiece to the bowl. If any pipes have restricted air flow, they are rejected. The draw testing ensures a consistent, high quality smoking experience.

Popular Styles and Designs

Clay pipes have been made for centuries and come in a diverse array of shapes and styles. Here are some of the most notable regional and period designs:

English Pipes

English pipes from the 16th to 19th century often feature tall slender stems and small bowls. Decoration on earlier pipes included floral motifs and coats of arms. Later English pipes had simpler shapes with minimal decoration.

Dutch Pipes

Intricately decorated Dutch pipes from the 17th century are known for their unique figural bowls shaped like animals, people, or objects. Stems featured ornate floral motifs.

Ottoman Pipes

Elegant Ottoman Turkish pipes developed a distinctive regional style. Long stems were often gilded or enamelled, while bowls had intricate cut floral or geometric designs.

Moroccan Pipes

Traditional Moroccan pipes have short stems and very small bowls. They are famous for their elaborate color glazes in yellow, green and lustrous brown.

American Folk Art Pipes

Rustic handmade pipes were popular American folk art in the 18th and 19th centuries. They had simple forms with geometric or floral rolled decorations on the stems.

Modern Styles

Today clay pipes are made purely for decorative purposes, not smoking. Contemporary artists make creative abstract and sculptural pipes in a range of glazes and decorative techniques.

Modern Clay Pipe Making

The process of making clay pipes has evolved significantly from its origins as an artisanal craft to include more modern, mass production techniques. However, there is still a place for both approaches in the current pipe making landscape.

Many clay pipe manufacturers today utilize machinery and assembly lines to increase efficiency and output. Molds and extruders are commonly used to quickly shape standard pipe forms, which are then dried and fired en masse in large, computer-controlled kilns. This allows companies to produce pipes on a much larger scale to meet global demand.

At the same time, some artisan pipe makers continue to handcraft pipes using traditional tools and techniques. These pipes showcase more personalized shapes, designs, and decorations. Small-batch production also allows meticulous quality control at each step. While artisanal pipes are more labor intensive and costly, many smoking pipe collectors value the craftsmanship and uniqueness.

So whether created start-to-finish by an artist or produced efficiently through modern manufacturing, the essential steps of pipe making remain grounded in the age-old process of forming durable, functional clay pipes.