Premal Chheda’s Buckeye Pipes have undergone several significant changes since their debut in the mid-2000s. This pipe is an example of such, and it’s one of my personal favorites among the shapes recently added to Buckeye’s lineup.
The wood has been used for pipe making for about as long as tree heather briar has, owing to its neutral flavor, high heat resistance, and—interestingly enough—its unique response to sandblasting. Strawberry briar has a tendency toward especially craggy textures when blasted, with many an artisan favoring it precisely because of the densely layered ring grain it harbors.