Expect differences in materials for the bowl and the stem depending on region; i.e. a Cherokee pipe will look different from a Sioux one. The pipes are alternatively called calumets or ceremonial pipes, so a web search on, for instance, "Making Sioux Calumet" might find you the info you're looking for. I've seen references to pipe bowls made out of river clay, fire hardened then attached to a rivercane stem, and also soft pipestone being carved into a bowl and a more substantial wooden stem attached. On the other end of the level of effort spectrum, you can buy a pipe 'kit' from vendors like Crazy Crow or the Eagle Spirit Store.
Amazon sells a 300 page book "Pipes and Smoking Customs of the American Aborigines" put together by the Smithsonian. I expect that would be the most authoritative source you're apt to find.
Here's a health to the King and a lasting Peace. May Faction end and Wealth increase....Old Loyalist Ballad
Soapstone was used in areas distant from Catlinite, and is easier to work with, especially if you are new to working stone. Both soapstone, and Catlinite can be worked using woodworking tools. Query Sandy Cline for tutorials on working with soapstone. If you go with Catlinite, try to get freshly dug material....it hardens out of the ground. A query on Native American stone pipes will bring up at least one tutorial on pipe making. Woody
Posts: 36 | Location: Wet side of Warshington | Registered: 30 April 2013
Originally posted by freeze_1: How do I find the tutorial section ?
http://www.soapstonesculpture.com/ carving tutorials are listed in the side menu - be CAREFUL breathing soapstone dust - it is not good to breath. BTW - soapstone can also harden after being dug...