Wood pipes have been around for hundreds of years. The woods chosen by pipe carvers have included maple, hazel, rosewood, walnut, elm, wild pear, boxwood, oak, apple and cherry.

Master carvers choose the species of tree they use for their pipes very carefully, as well as the section of wood that is specifically needed for each pipe. Slower growing trees provide more resistance to climate, with winter offering harder and denser wood. Those trees that grow in rocky, dry soils in higher areas are chosen for their tight grain and strength.

The very first wood pipes to be carved in Europe were actually copied from Native American examples and also from the first generation of European clay pipes. The earliest recorded wood pipe production was found in Germany in the late seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries. The first wood pipes commercially produced were originally made by individual pipe makers or very small shops.

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