Billiard.......I hope.

[Tony Warner]

Some may have seen my name around a little some may not. I've been making what I call pipes for about a year and a half now, and have decided it is time to turn my attention to seriously making pipes.

So, after a lengthy conversation, I decided to go about it the way that seems to be the most recommended. Make a Billiard, then make a billion more until I get it right.

This one is the second of my serious attempts. Up to this point my Billiards were Billiard-ish shaped, but not true Billiards. I'm fairly pleased with this one but would like some feedback on where improvements can, or should be made. I am not sure of the exact dimensions, but if memory serves me correctly it is 5 1/2" long, almost 2" tall, and 1 5/16" in diameter.

[sandahlpipe]

Welcome to the forum.

In my understanding of the billiard, the walls of the bowl should have a gradual curve and not be perfectly straight up to the rim. The proper billiard needs a belly. The middle of the front of the bowl should be the furthest point away from the stem.

Other than that, I think you could still get just a little more definition in your bowl/shank transition, but mostly by the bottom of the cheeks.

Not really part of the billiard shaping things, but your slot looks like the edges could be a little rough. I find a smooth funnel both looks better and reduces bitter-tasting condensation. Take a couple extra minutes and wet sand the slot.

Other than that, this is some nice work. Looking forward to seeing your progression.

[Tony Warner]

Thank you Jeremiah.

Good points for sure, and sound advice. I do wet sand the slot up to 600. This particular piece of Cumberland has a lot of striations right on the button and may be making it look a bit rough, but it is actually nice and smooth. I'm definitely not much of a photographer. I will be sure to try to catch the light better next time for sure.

[Ocelot55]

I don't know how many pipes you've made, but by my eye, this looks fine, and is unambiguously a billiard (although it could creep into stack territory ).

The biggest issue I see is a slight lack of definition between the shank/bowl junction on the lower half. This can be tricky.

What Jeremiah said about the straight bowl walls is mostly true, but straight can work on certain compositions. On this one it doesn't work so well. If you shortened the bowl by about 1/4" and defined the shape a little bit, you'd have an awesome little billy. Of course then the stem would be a touch long.

I've played with the image a bit and this is what I came up with:

[Tony Warner]

Ocelot55,

I guess I am on about my 75 or 80th pipe now.

It certainly seems the general opinion may be the walls don't quite have enough curve, so that is certainly the next thing to pay attention to. I definitely see how subtle changes can make a very big picture in the overall.

[Alden]

Yep. VERY subtle changes make all the difference in the world. Whats been said is valid.
I also don't like the bottom view of the pipe. The cheek coming off the back of the bowl should follow around through the bottom of the bowl more, instead of just kind of disappearing around the middle of the shank.
I do like the face on the front of the bowl, he looks like a jolly guy when he's in a good mood ( he doesn't look like he's in a good mood at the moment though).