WHAT IS A CALABASH PIPE

Many pipe makers, name some of their pipes "calabash", because

they resemble, more or less, the shape of a real gourd calabash
pipe. The proper description for these pipes is "calabash
design" or "calabash shaped", because the original calabash is
a completely different kind of pipe.

Above you can see some pictures of old-fashioned English style,

real gourd calabash pipes. The main part of a calabash pipe, is
the hollow, bent top of an african gourd called "calabash".
Into the wide end of the horn-shaped piece of gourd, there is a
detachable bowl, in the shape of an upside-down round hat. A
cork gasket keeps the bowl in place, firmly and airtightly. The
bowl is usually made of meerschaum stone, but sometimes it is
made of porcelain, wood or even burnproof plastic. Some old-
fashioned calabash have a silver cover around the hole of the
bowl. On the narrow end of the gourd, there is a wooden or
plastic cylinder, sometimes covered with a silver band. It's
called a ferrule, and it's the actual shank of the pipe,
because the gourd is more fragile, and it could easily crack by
inserting or removing the tenon of the stem. The stem is
usually an ordinary bent stem, made of vulcanite or lucite. A
calabash pipe smokes more cool, dry and mellow than an ordinary
briar pipe, because the smoke, passing from the empty chamber
inside the gourd, loses most of the heat, moisture and
strength.

WHY & HOW DID I MAKE IT

 At first, I have to say that I don't consider myself as a pipe
maker, not even an amateur, because I don't use to make pipes,
and I have never made a normal wooden pipe. The first pipe I
made, 25 years ago, consisted of two pieces of bamboo, an wider
as a bowl, and a thinner as a stem. Two years later, I made
another pipe, a "churchwarden", using a branch of holly for the
bowl and the shank, and a piece of bamboo for the stem. It's a
primitive pipe, but I still have it, and smoke it from time to
time. My last attempt was about two years ago, when I tried to
make a corn cob pipe, but it ended small and funny, compared to
the cheapest corn cob of the market.
So, why did I decide to make a pipe so complicated, as a gourd
calabash ?
This year, I was I in a strong pipe-making mood again. I was
also very interested in calabash pipes. As it's very difficult,
or impossible, to find a real calabash in Greece, and I don't
use to buy anything via internet, I had to travel to London,
last summer, to aquire an estate one. It's an elegant, antique,
real gourd calabash, made in London, in the year 1921. The pipe
needed a lot of cleaning and restoring, and I did it myself. I
even had to replace the cork gasket. After many hours of work,
the pipe was in a great condition, and I new exactly how a
calabash is made. As it smokes excelent, I wanted to smoke it
frequently, but it's not the best thing to do with an antique
pipe, and it's not very wise, to carry around a fragile
calabash, in a back-pack !
So, I had a crazy idea: Instead of trying to make an ordinary
looking pipe from a piece of briar, I decided to make a
calabash ! Not a calabash-shaped wooden pipe, but a real
african gourd calabash, with a detachable bowl, a silver cup, a
wooden ferrule and a silver band, like they used to make them
100 years ago in England. Finding the materials, especialy the
gourd, was a big problem, but as you'll see in the next pages,
anything can be done, if you want it too much.

As you'll see, I made the calabash pipe using the handle of an

african instrument, a cheap briar pipe, a tin spray can, an old
electric fuse, a piece of cork, and a piece of an old radio
antenna. All the materials were chosen, used and assembled in a
way, that none, maybe not even a calabash specialist, can say
that the pipe is a novelty or a fake. The total cost was only
8,70 euros, just the price of the briar pipe, because the
african instrument, purchased for 12 euros, is still playable
with another handle. All the other materials were existing, or
free. It took about a month to finish it, most of the time was
for thinking, planning, searching and experimenting.
Browse through the next pages, to see exactly how I made it.

THE GOURD
The first thing I needed, in order to make a gourd calabash
pipe, was a calabash gourd, of course. The greek gourds rarely
have a properly bent top, and if they do, it doesn't have the
right shape, and the walls are too thin. So, for a long time,
wherever I was, I kept my eyes open for anything resembling
what I had in mind.

After a lot of search for the proper gourd, I found this

instrument, in an exotic-gifts shop. It's an african shaker,
like a cabasa, a gourd with sea-shells attached with strings.
It was heavilly painted brown, and the top wasn't as curved as
I wanted it to be, but it catched my eye at once, and I bought
it for 12 euros. I wasn't sure it's a calabash gourd, but it
sure was an african gourd in the right shape.

After drawing a circular line, I cut off the top of the gourd,
using a small iron cutting saw. I scratched the dried remains
of flesh and seeds from the inside walls of the gourd, and I
trimmed both ends, using a file. I sanded all the inside walls
of the gourd with a coarse sand paper, using the paper as a
roll in the narrow part. The walls are thick enough, and the
outer surface is harder than any wood I know.
I did some more trimming on the edges, using a blade cutter and
grit paper, in order to make the top flat and even. I also
removed most of the paint, using the same tools. I didn't use
any chemicals, because the smell remains for a long time.

I polished the surface of the gourd and removed some paint

remains, using fine grit papers and steel wool.

I drilled a hole in the narrow end, using 1 to 6mm drill bits,

carefully not to pass through the opposite wall. I made sure I
 had an air passage, by blowing through the hole.

I curved a groove for the cork gasket, using the cutter and the
grit paper. The groove is the only way to keep the gasket in
place. It mustn't be too deep, because the wall becomes too
thin, and the gourd may crack while inserting the bowl, or
smoking.

THE CORK GASKET

The cork gasket is an important part of the pipe, because it
holds the bowl firmly in place, and also keeps the chamber
inside the gourd airtight. Making a cork gasket is a tricky
process, but fortunately I had some experience from the
restoring of an antique English calabash, when I destroyed the
first two gaskets, because they were too loose. The gasket must
be thick enough, to let the bowl enter very hardly for the
first time (see page 7,"The Final Stage"), because later, by
smoking the pipe, it becomes thinner, and less elastic.
 I was given this flat piece of cork by a friend. It is 5mm
thick, and consists of very small pieces of cork compressed.
It's a fragile material, and it can break or chip easily while
you cut it or bend it. I found out that the best way to keep it
elastic, is to keep it wet. It must be dry only when you sand
it or glue it. After I draw two parallel lines 5mm apart on the
surface of the cork, I cut a strip about 12cm long with a
scissors. I shaped its sides flat and I thinned it a little
bit, with grit paper. Then I wet it, and started to bend it.
 Keeping the cork strip wet all the time, I worked it by
pressing with my fingers and bending it slowly, and carefully
not to break it. I kept weting and bending, untill the ends
met. Finally, I placed it in the inside of a spray-can cup, and
kept it in place with two pieces of cork, in order to form an
almost perfect circle. I let it dry for 24 hours before
removing it.
 I had to place the cork in the groove and remove it several
times, in order to check if it fits right. I achieved the right
diameter of the gasket, by cutting thin slices of cork from
both ends, untill the ends met. I used a multi-purpose elastic
glue for cork, rubber, leather etc, durable up to 125C degrees,
to glue the gasket in place. I let it dry for 24 hours by an
open window, because the glue has a strong smell, and can stay
in the gourd for a long time. After the glue dried, I cut the
exceeding top of the gasket with a cutter, and sanded it, in
order to be even with the top of the gourd. I also rounded a
little bit the edges of the gasket, with a fine grit paper.

THE STEM & THE FERRULE

The next thing I needed was a bent stem. I also needed a wooden
ferrule. All calabash pipes have a ferrule, to prevent the
gourd from cracking by the pressure of the tenon of the stem.
Instead of trying to make, or to find the proper stem for my
calabash, I searched to find a cheap pipe, with a stem close to
what I had in mind. I also intended to use the shank of the
pipe as a ferrule, as it was already drilled properly.
 I found this unsmoked basket pipe, and I bought it for 8,70
euros. It's a medium size, partly bent, greek "Pipex" pipe,
with a nice grain, and no fills at all. It was hard for me to
destroy it, but fortunatelly, all the parts of the pipe were
used in the calabash.

After I cut the shank off the bowl, I used it to make a ferrule
for my calabash. I shaped it as a slightly tapered cylinder,
with rounded edges on the wide side, using files and grit
papers.
 The stem needed some more bending. After I inserted a pipe
cleaner, I bent the stem to the desired angle, by shaking it
over the flame of an alcohol lamp. When the angle was right, I
cooled it with water. I rounded the edges near the tenon, a
little more, with a file, and polished all the stem with fine
grit paper, steel wool and toothpaste.

I always liked the silver bands on the pipes. I also wanted to

add a metalic band, in order to reinforce the shank of the
gourd, but I didn't want to cover the nice briar ferrule. So, I
decided to add a narrow band, just on the joint of the ferrule
and the gourd. A bronze, chrome-plated cup of an old electric
fuse, was what I needed. I opened an wide hole on the one side,
and made the other side a little wider. I sanded most of the
chrome-plating, having in mind to silver-plate it (see page 7,
"The Final Stage").
 I needed a durable tube, about 7mm in diameter, to join the
ferrule and the gourd. I found a piece of an old radio antenna,
a bronze chrome-plated tube, in the right diameter. I inserted
the tube deep into the gourd, and I made sure that all parts
were in line. Then I removed the ferulle, and I cut the tube
right on the point were the tenon stops inside the ferulle. I
placed the ferulle again, with the stem attached, to check if
the stem is leaning left or right. Finally, I glued the tube,
the band and the ferulle in place, using acrylic glue. After
the glue dried, I checked the mortise, the tube and the gourd
for obstacles. The air flow was perfect, and any pipe cleaner,
a little bent, could easily pass through the mortise, to the
top of the gourd.

THE BOWL AND THE CUP

The most important part of every pipe is the bowl; it must be
durable to the heat of the burning tobacco and odourless.
Finding a suitable bowl for my calabash was a big problem. An
option was to order a meerchaum bowl via Internet, from a US
maker, but the cost was too hi, including the price, the
posting and the customs charges. Another option was to find a
man who works with a lathe, to make a bowl of olive or oak wood
for me. But I didn't find one. So, I decided to make my own
bowl. Being familiar with the briar, as any pipe smoker does, I
decided to make a briar one. The bowl of a calabash doesn't
always have to be meerschaum, and after all, my 84 years old,
antique English calabash, has a bowl made of plastic material !
The remained briar bowl, of the pipe I had already used for the
ferrule and the stem, seemed right to start with. The size was
right, the grain was fine, there were no fills at all, and the
shank was already cut off.

I gave the bowl the desired shape, using a couple of files and
grit papers. The bowl must be completely inserted into the
gourd, without touching the walls. I filled the existing hole
with a piece of briar and a drop of acrylic glue, and I drilled
a new hole right in the centre of the bottom.Then I did some
reaming inside the bowl, with a sharpened cake reamer, to
increase the width and the depth of the chamber. Having already
in mind to attach a cup to the bowl, and to reinforce the top
of the bowl after the reaming, I decided to use a rim. I cut a
strip of tin with a scissors, opened eight holes with a 1mm
drill bit, and I mounted it round the top of the bowl, using
small bronze nails. I bent the ends of the nails into the wood,
and made them flat with a file.

I always liked the silver cups on the old-fashioned calabash,

but I also like the rounded, mushroom-like tops of the
meerchaum bowls. So, I started to search for a metallic cup, in
this shape. The bottom of the above spray can, had the perfect
shape and dimensions. I cut the tin bottom with a dented
kitchen knife, and I removed the remains of the walls with a
file and grit paper.

I made a hole in the middle of the tin cup, equal to the hole
of the bowl, about 22mm in diameter, using a drill and a couple
of files. I didn't like the sharp edges of the hole, so I
started searching for something to cover them. I was lucky to
find the bronze ring on the right, almost in the exact diameter
of the hole. It is a ring used to reinforce holes on fabric
covers of vehicles.

With a little trimming, the ring fitted nicely into the hole of
the cap. I soldered it there, by first applying soldering
material on both surfaces, and then heating them together with
a butane gas soldering iron. I removed the exceeding soldering
material, and polished the cup and the ring, using fine steel
wool.
I turned the cup and the bowl upside-down, I placed the bowl on
the centre of the cup and I pushed it, till the rim touched the
cup and the edge of the ring was into the bowl. Then I made
sure the bowl was upright and firmly in place.

I soldered the rim on the cup using the butane gas soldering
iron and some soldering wire. The thick soldering included the
heads of the nails, so the construction proved to be very
solid. I also soldered the bent ends of the nails, inside the
bowl, to the bronze ring.
I cleaned the surfaces around the soldering with steel wool and
ear-tips soaked in pure alcohol, and I trimmed the edge of the
ring inside the bowl with a file, to make it more even to the
walls of the bowl. The small, less than 0,5mm step, will be
covered by the cake, anyway. Finally, I polished the cup a
little more with steel wool. I left some "criss-cross"
artifacts, existing from manufacture on the surface of the cup,
because I think they add a touch of "handmade" and "antique"
look. The briar bowl with the metal cup was ready !

THE FINAL STAGE

All the parts of the pipe were ready, but some more work was
necessary, before starting assembling them. First, I had to
silver-plate the cup of the bowl, and the bronze band.
 The same friend who gave me the piece of cork for the gasket
(thanks Alex!), also gave me a liquid named "Silverlife", used
in silver-plating metalic surfaces. It's not a paint, it really
adds a thin coat of pure silver that bonds with the metal. I
applied the liquid with a cloth, I rubbed it for a minute, and
then I wiped the excess material. The result was impressive! I
repeated the process three times on the surface of the cup and
the band, so the silver layer became thicker and more durable.
I polished both the silver cup and the band with a cloth
buffing wheel, attached on my drill. Then, I used the same
buffing wheel to polish the gourd and the briar ferrule. Since
I don't have a special polishing wax, I used an ordinary brown
drawing wax-crayon. I applied a thick coat of wax on all
surfaces by drawing, I melted it over an alcohol lamp, and
started buffing immediately. The result wasn't the glass-like
surface of a new pipe, but the antique look of my calabash
doesn't need it. Next, I polished the stem with the buffing
wheel, and I applied a coat of graphite on the tenon and the
mortise by drawing with an ordinary 2=B pencil, as a dry
lubricant. I did the same on the inside surface of the cork
gasket, because it was the time to insert the bowl in place.
Inserting the bowl in the gasket for the first time is a risky
process. The gasket is still too thick, as it has to be (see
"the cork gasket"), so the bowl inserts very hardly, and the
extreme pressure can easily crack the gourd. First, I wet the
cork with an ear-tip, to make it more flexible, carefully not
 to wet the gourd. Then I applied a drop of olive oil on the
outer surface of the bowl. While holding tight the top of the
gourd with one hand, I inserted slowly and carefully the bowl
in place, by pressing and twisting it. When the bowl was all
the way into the gourd, and the cup was sitting properly on the
top, I checked around the gourd for cracks, and I left the pipe
for 24 hours.

Next day, the gasket was dry, and formed in the shape of the
bowl, so every next time, removing and reinserting the bowl,
was easier. Placing the stem, was not a problem, as the mortise
of the ferrule was in the exact diameter of the tenon, and both
were already lubricated with the pencil graphite.
The first real gourd calabash pipe made in Greece, was
assembled, and ready to smoke !

BREAKING IN & TESTING

Before the first smoke, I had to prepare the bowl for the
breaking-in process. I applied on the inside walls of the bowl
a mix of honey and carbon dust, from the reaming of another
pipe. This helps the cake to start building faster, protects
the wood from the heat of the first smokes, and also makes the
taste of the first smokes less sour.
As the walls of the bowl are thinner than those of an average
pipe, I broke-in the pipe carefully, by filling the 1/3 of the
 bowl for the first few smokes, and then the 2/3, always taking
care not to overheat it, and leaving the bowl and the gourd to
dry for a day or two, before the next smoke. Finally, on
Christmas evening, I filled the bowl all the way to the top, to
enjoy the first long and careless smoke.

How did the pipe smoke? Just great! The pipe smokes very cool
and dry, and mellows the taste of the tobacco, as any gourd
calabash does. Most of the heat and the moisture of the burning
tobacco, stay into the gourd, before the smoke enters the stem.
I also found out that the silver cup acts as a heat sink for
the briar bowl. The draw is perfect, and the tobacco can be
smoked nicely, all the way to the bottom of the bowl.
Was it, finally, worth my while? Yes, I think it certainly
was !
Athens, Greece, December 2004

Source: calabash.html
www.geocities.com/pipetabor/