9-12 lovat

[Ocelot55]

Well, gentlemen, here is my latest. A cute little lovat, about group 2 in size. I must preface this by saying I really didn't have the right block for a lovat. The shank is a little short. But a lovat is what I wanted and that's what I shot for. I'd really like some comments about the bowl shape. I'm thinking it might be a wee bit too voluptuous. This was also my first ebonite mouthpiece carved by hand so critique on the stem is welcome.

[bregolad]

It looks pretty good. I'd give it a second look if it were on your table at a show.

Warning: constructive criticism to follow. I'm saying these things to you because it looks like you have a firm grasp on the fundamentals of shaping, and need that extra push to make it "right". Making these small but frustrating adjustments is what will make you better quickly.

I think the issue that you're sensing with the bowl is that the curves do not quite match. The back of the bowl has a noticeably flatter profile than the front. If you correct this by bringing in the back to make the shank/bowl joint more pronounced, it should more closely mirror the front of the bowl. Your eye will flow better along the pipe, and you won't look at it wondering what it is that bothers you about the shape.

The stem is fine. The saddle is perhaps to sharp, and definitely unsymmetrical, and the bitjust needs a little refinement. I'm sure the internals are correct, and practice practice practice those stems. They take so much work to get right.

[JMG]

I think your forward cant on the bowl is spot on. Your stem is a little too chubby. I think you could remove some more material and clean up the lines. Also, it looks like the top of the saddle is a little longer than the bottom by just a touch. Lastly, I think you could get a little better finish on it.

All that said, I think you produced a nice looking pipe...total result is not bad at all. Nice job.

[Growley]

Ocelot,

Great looking pipe. My first ebonite stem was laughable. Yours is fixable and close. I would agree with all that's been said already and maybe add one more thing about the bowl.

It could just be that because of the pictures I'm not able to see the back side (towards the stem) of your bowl correctly (which is why I take pictures of it upside down too ) , but, it seems like the back side bottom of your bowl, where it intersects with the shank, takes more of a straight line towards the bottom of your bowl. I notice this most on your second picture where the reflection is. I could be seeing it wrong though.

Overall a nice pipe in my opinion. Are you taking it to the show?

Brian.

[Ocelot55]

Thanks for the comments guys. You all had some valuable input. The stem is probably the worst aspect of this pipe. It was made out of some of that vulcanite rod that Tim West sells for pretty cheap. I don't remember the diameter exactly, but it is very thin stuff. I didn't have much room to play with. I'll be taking this pipe, along with bulldog 8-12 to Kansas City today. Hopefully I can get some good critique at the show tomorrow.

[Hudson]

It is cute and appears to be entirely smokable. I'm not normally drawn to straight pipes but I find this one quite appealing.

[uniquebriar]

Very nice pipe i like it but i think the shank needs to be a bit thinner with a silver button cap and a different finish to it.

[d.huber]

How much time did you spend on this one? It looks like you're making some serious progress there pal. Nice pipe.

[Ocelot55]

This particular pipe took me about 10-12 hours. I got a lot of good critique on this one from Premal Chheda and Scott Thile. Very nice fellows.

[PhilipMarc]

This is very well shaped. I think you did a good job with the definition between the shank and the bowl, and the bowl is canted forward nicely. I do think it could have been canted a degree or two less (EDIT: a degree at max), but it still looks very well balanced. Not a huge fan of the finish in terms of color and contrast, but overall I really like the pipe. I think that's a pipe I would actually consider buying were I in the market.

I haven't been on the forum in a while, and the last of your pipes I remember seeing wasn't nearly this good. You've gotten a lot better in a fairly short amount of time! That's awesome man.

[Ocelot55]

The reaction to this little pipe has been very surprising. I'm glad you guys can see improvement.

@ UberHuber: This one took probably about 10-12 hours to make. I used to be able to bust out a pipe in three hours, but now that I know better I remember that all those were complete crap.

@ PhilipMarc:The finish actually hides quite a few flaws on the front of the bowl. Its a shame because the flanks of this pipe had some very lovely birdseye. I've found that red is a good colour for hiding flaws. (To tell the truth, I should have rusticated this one)