No. 4 please critique

[pennsyscot]

This is my fourth attempt at pipe making. I'm a little disapointed with the
finish. I had intened it to be a little darker, to match more closely with the
acrylic stem. The pipe does have some sand specs as visible in the pics.
The stem is hand cut with a turned tenon. It has a delrin mortise sleeve.
I was considering trying to sell this one, maybe on Ebay. Anyone here
have any success with selling pipes on Ebay? I don't intend to become a
professional pipe maker, but it would be cool if something I made actually
sold. I would appreciate your honest opinion of the pipe's value. I was
thinkin about $60. Is this too high? As always, I appreciate your honest
opinion, even if it's strongly negative.
overall length: 7.4", diameter of bowl: 1.7", height: 2.14"
shank diameter: .48", thickness of stem behind button: .149"
tabacco chamber: .75x1.9"

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[Charl]

Nice stain, nice shape. But the shank's got a couple of wobbles, hey?

[pennsyscot]

Charl, you're very right about the shank. It shows against the white paper. I didn't notice. I shaped the shank in the lathe, but I removed material smoothing the shank to bowl junction and stem to shank junction. The shank is bulged in the middle. Oh well, back to the drawing board.

[Källman]

I like it. The stem could have different coloring tho. Maybe dark green or just plain black. It draws too much attention from me.

Making a long shank like that completley straight must be hard. Especially if its your fourth pipe! Its a great piece of work. The stain brings out alot of personality.

[pennsyscot]

No. 4 Revised

I went to work on the shank with file, sandpaper, and straightedge. I
think I have it good and straight.
I agree with Kallman's commentary about the distracting stem. Remaking
the stem will require more labor than I care to invest in this pipe. I
refinished it, to try to make the pipe a better match to the stem.
fortunatly this pipe is made from the scrap from my third.
So, at least I didn't waste a hole block. I think it will smoke nicely though.
let me know if you think it's any better. thanks, Scot

[RadDavis]

That looks much better than the first pics. Long Shanks are tough to get nice and straight.

The only thing that jumps out at me is where the shank joins the bowl. The shank takes quite an upward leap there. If you were to cut that area down so that the top of the shank went straight into the bowl, it would look much better.

For your fourth pipe, that's not bad at all.

Rad

[Källman]

Looks better, but i agree with rad. It would look better if you shaved off some of the top top of the shank there.

Making scrap pipes must be a great thing to learn. Bet it saves alot of money.

[wdteipen]

A very nice fourth pipe. Your revision is definitely better. I still see some very slight bulges in a couple spots. Very nice job on the bit. Especially the slot. I'm impressed. It's taken me a good many stems to get mine looking even half that nice.

[pennsyscot]

No. 4 2nd revision

Rad, You're right, that ramp in front of the bowl just wasn't right.
I created a sharper juction between shank and bowl, maybe too sharp.
I refinished the entire pipe in an effort to create a finish that better
compliments the stem. There is a small flat area on the bottom of the bowl.
This flat spot is not aesthecally pleasing, but makes the pipe stand.
I uncovered a lot of sand specs while reshaping the pipe. I don't think I
can do much more with this one. Whatta ya'll think, a little better?

[KurtHuhn]

That's a 100x better. I'm not keen on the stem material though, but as a well-shaped pipe, it's definitely a keeper.

[RadDavis]

That's a whole heckuva lot better!

Rad

[Charl]

That's much better! It is very difficult to do long shanks and I think you got it. The shank/bowl transition is maybe just a wee bit too sharp for me, but I'm just a beginner, so take it with a pinch (bag !) of salt.

[Alan L]

I love it, I gotta say. I even like the stem material, but then that's probably because I like to use wild-colored acrylics myself... I'd smoke it!

Thanks for posting all the revision pics, that really helps other noobs like myself see how those little changes can make such huge differences.

[wdteipen]

That does look much better. That's a pretty sharp pipe.

[Tsunami]

Very nice indeed!!! Nice job!