#1605 - Prince Bill

[T. Suominen]

Yea, sounds a bit too queenish ...

But anyway, this is the last pipe of last year. I just got it finished and present it now for you to comment on.
Thanks.

[DocAitch]

Very nice. No criticism whatsoever.
DocAitch

[Billy Klubb]

the rim really pops in contrast to the rest of the pipe and matches beautifully to the accents. I think that is one beautiful pipe!

[T. Suominen]

Thanks fellows!

I've never been too much of a fan of the prince-shape, so this proved to be a good excercise.
As a shape, I see some beautiful aspects in it now.

[LatakiaLover]

The stem's bend is centered in the wrong spot, which kills the overall flow; and it has the wrong radii where it is bent, which results in several kinks.

Start the bend a bit closer to the shank (don't forget to heat mask the stem/stummel join to avoid softening the tenon), and lessen and lengthen (shift toward the button) the existing bend. Then, put away the heat gun and continue to sculpt the stem after it's bent and has cooled completely.

The amount that the textured portion of the shank is smaller in diameter than the decorative rings also kills the flow. Feathering or compensating for material loss in advance when prepping the texture step would fix that next time.

[PremalChheda]

Read the sticky on pics so we can see the full shape

[T. Suominen]

The stem's bend is centered in the wrong spot, which kills the overall flow; and it has the wrong radii where it is bent, which results in several kinks.

Start the bend a bit closer to the shank (don't forget to heat mask the stem/stummel join to avoid softening the tenon), and lessen and lengthen (shift toward the button) the existing bend. Then, put away the heat gun and continue to sculpt the stem after it's bent and has cooled completely.

Thanks George! Valuable input. I'll certainly keep these in mind the next time when taking on the prince-shape (or other similar long-stemmed one).
In hind sight, I think that a bit less radii on the bend would've worked better, yes.
I purposefully gave it a bit more radii because I was kind of worried that it would look too sleek and fluent... To me, a prince has always looked a kind of.... akward.

No, danish school -type; long beautiful lines close to perfection with golden cut and all, but more like;
english school -type, the bowl -> the shank -> the end,.... sort of thing . (Maybe you can guess which school is closer to my heart )?
Any thoughts on this?

The amount that the textured portion of the shank is smaller in diameter than the decorative rings also kills the flow. Feathering or compensating for material loss in advance when prepping the texture step would fix that next time.

Yeah, this rustication method is difficult to control... The top line is good, but the bottom line not so much...

[Charl]

And that's one of the secrets! Get to "control" the blast/rustication in your favour.