What's up with Mimmo's ebauchons?

[Sasquatch]

I mean, does this look right?

[Sasquatch]

And this one's just as bad.

[baweaverpipes]

Not to be a dismissive prick, but practicing on your contrast staining technique might be of help.
Both pipes have wonderful potential.

[Sasquatch]

Actually Bruce you're dead right - these pipes could go further. I'm really pleased with Mimmo's wood but I found it much softer and MUCH more receptive to stain than what I've worked with in the past. I got a very mediocre finish on these in terms of contrast. I sanded to 400 and stained and they soaked it up like crazy. So if I'm gonna get contrast action, I need to buff more aggressively or stain maybe at a stage where not quite so much is gonna get absorbed that deeply, or maybe I need to re-sand after staining.

[KurtHuhn]

It sounds counter productive, but staining earlier, and sanding between coats, has always given excellent results for me. It works especially well on softer briar that really drinks up stain. When contrast staining, I almost never apply stain after 500 grit.

[Sasquatch]

Well now I know how this wood is gonna behave I will modify my approach somewhat - the first run of stain on these revealed that I had beat the shit out of them and they needed all kinds of help - contrast staining took a back seat to just getting them to not look like Wallensteins.

[ToddJohnson]

This is one of the biggest reasons that I am such a strong proponent of single source briar procurement for professional pipemakers. After a decade, I know exactly how to achieve the results I'm after and I know all the variables. It doesn't have to be Mimmo, but if you want consistency, order briar from the same source each year.

TJ

[Sasquatch]

Word.

[e Markle]

Not to be a dismissive prick...

Don't mischaracterize yourself Bruce; you're not dismissive.

[RadDavis]

Not to be a dismissive prick...

Don't mischaracterize yourself Bruce; you're not dismissive.

Bruce misunderestimates himself.

Rad

[e Markle]

Bruce misunderestimates himself.
Rad

Uh oh, did I mis-accurately Dubya-ficationize that word?

[m.c.]

I mean, does this look right?

It doesn't quite look wrong. This finish is seen on many pipes.

Deeper contrast is beautiful on straight/flame grain and dense bird eyes, but it would appear messy and fragmented on a block with this grain pattern, so I think it's ok for this pipe to stay this way.

[Sasquatch]

For the record, and so I don't get a confused and apologetic note from Mimmo, I'm completely happy with the wood, and perfectly happy with the finish. I made no attempt to contrast stain these pipes, preferring a more subdued look on what amount to basically English tradition pipes.

These blocks were both super nice, both pipes look like this on both sides, and you couldn't get better ebauchons if you tried.

I was surprised at how soft the material was and how differently it stained than some of the harder woods I've had. But people are always asking about briar vendors, so I thought I'd show off what you get if you order a little bit of wood from Mimmo as a, well, as a nobody. And what you get is very nice.