How to Make Clay Smoking Pipes
A homemade smoking pipe can be a work of art as well as a way to smoke pipe tobacco. Many pipe collectors and artists do not even smoke at all; rather, they collect or create pipes for display. If you would like to make your own pipe, clay is a viable medium. To create your own clay pipes, you will need to learn how to work with clay to build the necessary components of a working pipe.
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Things You'll Need
- Earthenware clay
- Canvas
- Rolling pin
- Drinking straw
- Clay scoring tool
- Bowl of water
- Sponge
- Fine-grit sandpaper
- Pottery glaze
- Kiln (optional)
Instructions
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Knead your clay over a sheet of canvas to remove air bubbles. To do this, fold and press the clay several times with your hands, and then roll over it with a rolling pin until all the air bubbles are removed.
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2
Rip or cut off a golf ball-sized piece of clay, and work it in your hands to soften it.
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3
Mold the clay around the length of a drinking straw to create a hollow cylinder. Slide the clay cylinder off the straw, and set it aside. This will be the stem of the pipe.
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4
Flatten a piece of clay with a rolling pin, and shape it into a tiny bowl with your hands.
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5
Use the end of the straw to make a circle impression in the side of the bowl. Dig the circle out completely with a scoring tool to create a round hole where the stem will meet the bowl.
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6
Score (make a series of tiny scratches in the clay) one end of the clay stem with your scoring tool. Score the edges around the hole in the bowl as well.
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7
Wet a sponge in a bowl of water and thoroughly wet the scored clay with the sponge.
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8
Press the stem against the hole in the bowl, and pinch with your fingers to fuse the pieces together.
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9
Roll a gumball-sized amount of clay from your canvas into a coil or snake shape. Wrap the coil around the joint between the stem and the bowl on your pipe.
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10
Allow your pipe to dry in the open air for 24 hours.
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11
Sand the areas of the pipe that have imperfections or rough spots with fine-grit sandpaper.
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12
Apply a pottery glaze to decorate and add color and shine to your pipe.
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Use your own kiln to fire the pipe and make it ready for use, or take it to a local pottery store to have it fired.
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References
- Photo Credit pipe image by Anthony CALVO from Fotolia.com
