New Addition - Shroomigami

achduliebe · Post by **achduliebe** » Mon Aug 13, 2007 11:14 am

Well I tried my hand at shaping first then drilling. I am pretty pleased with the results. Also, the fancy little ridge on the stem is made out of water buffalo horn. Please take a look and let me know what you think.

(Side Note: The chamber was drilled with a silver and demming bit that I had reshaped myself. I had no problems drilling it by hand with this bit. I was afraid it was going to bite hard and fling the wood out of my hand, but it could not have worked better.)

There are more pics at http://www.quinnpipes.com/Pipe13/index.html

Thanks for looking.

kbadkar · Post by **kbadkar** » Mon Aug 13, 2007 12:31 pm

That's a gorgeous pipe! The shape is delicate and organic. The shank is especially appealing. It's hard to differentiate the water buffalo horn from the ebonite. Perhaps there needs to be more contrast, either photographically or in material color. Does it sit unaided? I love sitters for practical reasons.

achduliebe · Post by **achduliebe** » Mon Aug 13, 2007 12:48 pm

Thanks for the comments. I agree that there needs to be more contrast with the horn. Even holding the pipe in your hand it is not very noticeable. That was my first time working with any kind of horn so it was an experience. It is one of those things that I can notch on my belt. (Note to Self: don't put water buffalo horn on the stem....nobody will know it is there unless you tell them)

No, unfortunately this is not a sitter. I could kick myself for not going for that from the start. What happened was I shaped the pipe and gave it the flat bottom and then it occurred to me to make this a sitter. After the stem was added the weight distribution was off and it is too heavy on the stem side. To make it a sitter after the fact would jeopardize the thickness at the bottom of the chamber.

I really wish I would have went into this pipe with the intention of making it a sitter from the start. That would have really put this pipe over the top for me.

ArtGuy · Post by **ArtGuy** » Mon Aug 13, 2007 3:57 pm

Nice job,

It has a nice blend of both the old school Danish freehand look and more contemporary lines. I might suggest shaving a little bit off of the underbelly of the stem and making the bottom curve more like the top line. That would repeat the same sort of sweep you have in the shank (although flipped upside down of course) and add a subtle repetition of that design element. I think that would lend a bit more unity and help with the movement from the stummel to the end of the bit.

But I would simply keep that in mind for the next one rather than working any longer on this pipe. It is a really nice job.

achduliebe · Post by **achduliebe** » Mon Aug 13, 2007 4:17 pm

Hey John,

Thanks for your thoughts. I see what you mean about the underbelly of the stem, I missed that. It is always nice to have someone with a good artistic eye to critique your work. I really appreciate that, I am honing my skills with every pipe. It is great to get this kind of feedback to help evolve my future work.

Thanks John!

ArtGuy · Post by **ArtGuy** » Mon Aug 13, 2007 4:21 pm

I used my meager photoshop skills to try to illustrate what I was talking about. I hope you don't mind.

Before:

After:

ArtGuy · Post by **ArtGuy** » Mon Aug 13, 2007 4:26 pm

achduliebe wrote:Hey John,

Thanks for your thoughts. I see what you mean about the underbelly of the stem, I missed that. It is always nice to have someone with a good artistic eye to critique your work. I really appreciate that, I am honing my skills with every pipe. It is great to get this kind of feedback to help evolve my future work.

Thanks John!

I can see that the stem was a symetrical taper when you carved it. I often have to go in and reshape a stem ever so slightly after I bend it. For that reason I have started bending my stems earlier in the process before I start to finish sand them.

I am glad you don't mind the critique. I think it is a nice pipe but that tiny change would make a big difference.

achduliebe · Post by **achduliebe** » Mon Aug 13, 2007 4:32 pm

John,

That is a huge difference! Wow. I think I will work on that tonight.

You know I think I need to start bending earlier in process also. After I bent this one, all I did was do finish sanding at a high grit.

Thanks again John and no I do not mind getting critiqued, especially from someone who knocks out kick-ass pipes like you do.

Greatly appreciate it.

Ray Cover · Post by **Ray Cover** » Tue Aug 14, 2007 12:53 am

I like that!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

souljer · Post by **souljer** » Tue Aug 14, 2007 5:33 am

ArtGuy wrote:I can see that the stem was a symetrical taper when you carved it. I often have to go in and reshape a stem ever so slightly after I bend it. For that reason I have started bending my stems earlier in the process before I start to finish sand them.

I am glad you don't mind the critique. I think it is a nice pipe but that tiny change would make a big difference.

I agree with John.

I also am waiting to do my final finish sanding and polish until after I've bent a stem. Gives you more to work with if you need it and you can make a better judgement as to what's needed since you are seeing the lines as they will end up rather than guessing it will be okay.

I would only advise to try to remove material from both the top and bottom so as to not get too close to the draft hole when going for the thinner stem.

That is also a reason -as John advised- to simply leave this alone and apply this idea to the next pipe. Re-working like this can sometimes get sort of out of hand and become total rebuilds rather than just "one last detail and I'm done" type of things.

It is a nice pipe. The only other thing I would consider -only if it's possible- is removing the flat part of the bottom (if it won't sit anyway). Everything about the pipe is curvy except the flat spot, which severs no purpose.

How long is it?

achduliebe · Post by **achduliebe** » Tue Aug 14, 2007 8:35 am

Thanks Ray!

Souljer,

I was going to re-work the stem a bit last night but the pipe sold late yesterday afternoon. So I will definitely keep John's suggestion in mind on the next one.

As for the length of the pipe, it is right at 6.5 inches.

Nick · Post by **Nick** » Tue Aug 14, 2007 9:08 am

Nice bud. It has a real Japanese flair to my eye. Very organic. I'm afraid i can't see the horn either, but kudos for using it.

I feel for you on the stem. Saddle bits or the Danish bits with flat surfaces are hard!

magruder · Post by **magruder** » Tue Aug 14, 2007 1:36 pm

Great looking shape. Very nice flow.
Crosby has good suggestion here - thin the stem.
Actually, I would make another stem, since it is that type of mounting.
The buffalo is well done, but as said above, too subtle. On Cumberland it would have popped
nicely.
All in all, a very nice piece though.
Best,
Steve Moprrisette

achduliebe · Post by **achduliebe** » Tue Aug 14, 2007 2:36 pm

Thanks Nick and Steve for the compliments.

I am very pleased with the outcome but do see many shortcomings in it now. It was definitely a learning experience in many ways. It will be shipped out to it's new owner tomorrow and I am off to the next one.

Thanks guys for your critiques and helping me realize things that I could refine. It is easy for me to get clouded vision when I get close to completing a piece.

Thanks,

hazmat · Post by **hazmat** » Tue Aug 14, 2007 2:41 pm

achduliebe wrote:It is easy for me to get clouded vision when I get close to completing a piece.

Amen to that, brother. Sometimes you just want to see the finished product so badly you miss a tweak here or a nudge there. I try to let things sit for a few days when I'm getting to that point and come back to it again with a critical eye, but it's hard to do.

It's a great pipe, though. I like the shape a bunch. All organic and free-flowing. Good job!

Matt

achduliebe · Post by **achduliebe** » Tue Aug 14, 2007 4:21 pm

Matt, you feel my pain.

Thanks for the kind words brother!

sethile · Post by **sethile** » Wed Aug 15, 2007 8:54 am

Wow Brian, that's a beautiful pipe! Your work has always been an inspiration to me, especially in regards to its originality. I think this one is a leap forward. It does have a kind of Japanese vibe to it, which you have worked in very nicely with the flow of grain and surface of the Plateaux. Bravo, my friend!

John's idea is good, but I'm just not seeing it as a dramatic improvement. It does some cool things to the over all flow, but it was pretty darn good before too!

achduliebe · Post by **achduliebe** » Wed Aug 15, 2007 9:59 am

Scott,

Thanks for the kind words, they are inspirational and much appreciated.