PITH 2015

[impish1]

Here is my offering...

[img]https://www.flickr.com/photos/135495614 ... ublic//img]

[img]https://www.flickr.com/photos/135495614 ... ublic//img]

[img]https://www.flickr.com/photos/135495614 ... ublic//img]

[PremalChheda]

Impish,

Not bad my friend. You did some things correctly and you are on the right track.

[impish1]

Thank you sir!

[PremalChheda]

A little out of proportion in places, but it came out ok. Enjoy!

[Oakbear]

Ok, just a couple finishing touches to do tomorrow night but here's my offering.



6" long (tall)

I was lucky enough to receive this pipe from Jason, so as per his request here is my 'warts and all' review!
I am being picky, as this is a lovely pipe, and my own skills are limited, but thought it best to spot anything i could as my end of the deal! It's had 3 smokes so far.

Firstly and most importantly it smokes beautifully, and the engineering is spot on. FWIW it passes a cleaner effortlessly.
Nice crisp slot and button, with bang on 4mm behind it. The stem thickens a little quickly from the button for my taste, making it less comfortable to clench than it could be. Only a fraction, but enough to make a difference. I would have liked the 4mm to extend maybe 10mm or so before thickening significantly.
The finish on the stem is great, and i love the offset bead around the stem. There are still some tool marks visible in the indent matching the bamboo on close inspection. The bend is nice (Danish style under-bent which looks pretty), but it still balances well as I smoke.
The band at the top of the shank is well finished and fits perfectly. At the other end of the bamboo the fit is again good, although a bit of stain is on the bamboo there.
On the back of the shank a bead replaces a lost bamboo nodule. There was a bit of glue visible around it, but a few minutes with a soft brush cleared that up.
The line from bamboo to stummel isn't a smooth curve or a ridge echoing the bamboo extension, but a bit in between. I think maybe matching the curve of the bamboo in one line from extension to bowl may have looked a bit smoother. To be fair it is only 1-2mm or so off that though, and the bowl shank join is really nice. Again under the shank i think a slight adjustment to a smooth s curve would have been an improvement.
The stummel shape i love (kind of a dublin/ballerina?!). The lines curve perfectly without bumps, and the lines are sharp. The finish is great, although on a couple of the sharp lines the stain is lighter from buffing the hard edges. (we've all been there!).
The plateau is finished very sharply and is nice and clean. I like the line of stain at the top of the chamber, and the chamber is the smoothest i have tried (what grit is it sanded to?!).
It sits surprisingly well, and i wouldn't worry about resting it on a flat surface mid smoke or for storage.

My thanks to Jason. I may be a noob maker, but have a decent collection myself, and this certainly stands up with some well respected carvers IMHO.

[Jthompson1995]

Thanks for the kind words and critique. Most of those I was aware of when I finished but I appreciate your honest opinion. I hope you enjoy the pipe for many years.

[seamonster]

cool to see this critique, and great looking pipe! has everyone posted theirs? did I miss a few?

Sent from my Nexus 6 using Tapatalk

[mightysmurf8201]

Has everyone received their pipes and had a chance to write a critique?

[N.Burnsworth]

Yes I received my pipe and gave critique. As far as the pipe I made, it should arrive to recipient early next week. I am terribly sorry for the delay but felt it was necessary to make a new, quality pipe that would best represent my work as well as provide a solid example.
The first pictures are of the first pipe I started. Was unsure of the shape from the beginning, especially was skeptical of using a straight piece of bamboo with the shape I had. Things got real ugly after I blasted it and blew out what I thought was just a small spot of sunken plateau. It opened up and was more like a canyon. I especially was not going to complete the pipe for him after this revelation. So I had to inform him of the situation and start a new one. Due to starting a new job and working very long hours 7 days a week for the last three weeks now, it to an hour or two each late night to complete it. But it's done! I did not get a good stamping on it and ended up scratching the bottom a little bit. This block was very hard and I tried to stamp it PITH with very small single letter stamps and broke one and scratched the smooth bottom
But aside from that I'm happy, and our buddy Seamonster is going to be happy!
Sorry about the crappy pics, I'm hoping to snap a few good ones outside in the morning before I ship it out.









And the new and improved
I know what I could've done differently, and what I could have done better. For only being my 3rd completed bamboo shank pipe, I'm pleased.

[scotties22]

I haven't sent my review yet. I have been smoking the pipe and making notes. I plan on sending it later today.

[scotties22]

Nick, that blowout is a FEATURE!!!! You should stain the pipe a really light color and then stain that part black. You know, bruh....REALLY make it stand out!! Dude, I'd give ya like $65 for it.

Sorry, think I was beamed up for a minute there That one got bad...really bad. I've never had that happen while blasting. That's probably because I still shoot the glass bead at the pipe through a straw, a-la spit ball style.

I like the replacement

[Jthompson1995]

I haven't sent my review yet either (but you knew that). I've had a serious cold this week so couldn't get to smoke it enough to give a full review. Hopefully will get some time this weekend to make up for lost time.

[N.Burnsworth]

Nick, that blowout is a FEATURE!!!! You should stain the pipe a really light color and then stain that part black. You know, bruh....REALLY make it stand out!! Dude, I'd give ya like $65 for it.

Sorry, think I was beamed up for a minute there That one got bad...really bad. I've never had that happen while blasting. That's probably because I still shoot the glass bead at the pipe through a straw, a-la spit ball style.

I like the replacement

Yeah brah! It's extra craggy! LOL
Thanks Scottie, I like the new one as well. The previous one will get a bamboo shank to stummel tenon strength test and see what I can salvage of it. If anything I'm 1/4 of the way done with a straight bamboo shank pipe

[finster]

Pipe and review both received, many thanks Seamonster and notow1. I have offered a brief review to Seamonster and will give a more complete critique when I've gotten a few more smokes in his pipe, but he did a great job. All of the offerings look really nice, talented pipemakers here. Sorry I can't seem to get pictures up, I just saw a recent post about an imageing service that's kind to the technologically inept and I hope that will solve my problems. If notow1 wants to bother posting pictures of my offering he is welcome to do so, but hopefully I'll have things straightened out on my end soon. Thanks to everyone, this was a fun and challenging experience and I can't wait for the next one!

[notow1]

mightysmurf8201, I think it is time to say thanks for running this year's PITH trade. It is hard to believe anyone could do as well as Scotties but You did, Norm.

[notow1]

Pipe and review both received, many thanks Seamonster and notow1. I have offered a brief review to Seamonster and will give a more complete critique when I've gotten a few more smokes in his pipe, but he did a great job. All of the offerings look really nice, talented pipemakers here. Sorry I can't seem to get pictures up, I just saw a recent post about an imageing service that's kind to the technologically inept and I hope that will solve my problems. If notow1 wants to bother posting pictures of my offering he is welcome to do so, but hopefully I'll have things straightened out on my end soon. Thanks to everyone, this was a fun and challenging experience and I can't wait for the next one!

I would but You don't want Me posting pictures, My attempts are just barely tolerated here for good reason, Norm.

[scotties22]

Pipe and review both received, many thanks Seamonster and notow1. I have offered a brief review to Seamonster and will give a more complete critique when I've gotten a few more smokes in his pipe, but he did a great job. All of the offerings look really nice, talented pipemakers here. Sorry I can't seem to get pictures up, I just saw a recent post about an imageing service that's kind to the technologically inept and I hope that will solve my problems. If notow1 wants to bother posting pictures of my offering he is welcome to do so, but hopefully I'll have things straightened out on my end soon. Thanks to everyone, this was a fun and challenging experience and I can't wait for the next one!

I would but You don't want Me posting pictures, My attempts are just barely tolerated here for good reason, Norm.

Norm, your pictures are fine.....as long as I wear my 3D glasses when I look at them!!

[mightysmurf8201]

mightysmurf8201, I think it is time to say thanks for running this year's PITH trade. It is hard to believe anyone could do as well as Scotties but You did, Norm.

You're too kind. I'm just happy to have been able to contribute to the group in some way. The way I see it, the PITH is a valuable part of this forum and it's worth the effort that goes into it. Thank you everyone for participating and thanks to those who helped me not crash and burn!

[seamonster]

I have to say, the PITH was the most challenging and rewarding phase of my pipe making learning so far! thank you to everyone who helped and encouraged... when do we do out again??

Sent from my Nexus 6 using Tapatalk

[Oakbear]

Todd has my pipe and will send critique when he can as he's a little busy, so all good.

I also want to add my thanks to Emmanuel for getting this going and organising it. First time i have been brave enough to consider it and it has been a very useful experience. Looking forward to 2016!