red Apple

[Massis]

I'm not sure what to call this shape, but I think it comes closest to an apple?

Anyways, it's the 4th pipe I've completely finished. The stem is a hand cut acrylic. For the first time, I have the feeling the sanding and polishing has resulted in a finish about as good as I can get it. (in previous pipes, it never seemed to catch the shine I was after).

I made this one over the last few months, after starting it early April to celebrate the birth of our son. This will be one of my special event pipes, and I hope to hand it down to my son in 20 years orso (even though my wife'll never let him smoke probably )

For the record: be honest at all times (except for Sasquatch, you can lie) , be brutal if you must

The only thing I'm not sure on is the stem which is now straight. I considered slightly bending it near the end, but the chamber is already tilted forward...
















Greetings,

Massis

[Jos]

Hi Massis,

nice shape, though some will criticize the bowl bending below the line of the shank ... it's clearly not exactly classic.
Also, I appreciate your decision to make a straight stem - if bent, the bowl would be canted too far forward, and ashes would pour over your pants...
Very nice slot on the stem.

Now for the criticism:
Your contrast staining is somewhat irregular, you should've spent more time on the sanding or buffing in between the stainings.
Also, you need to spend more time on the medium sanding stages: watch your last photograph, there's still scratches that need to be removed.

Nevertheless, overall I like it !

Jens

[Massis]

Hi Jos,

First of all thanks for the comments. It wasn't until you pointed it out that I actually noticed the scratches. Once you see them, they're massive. Don't know how I missed those... (probably from all the briar dust on my glasses )

About staining: I'm still working on that one, but being red-green colourblind (Daltonism) doesn't really help in finding colour differences on a pipe which has a green basecoat and an orange one above that

Finally concering the shape: would you have advised to lift the bowl up so the shank meets it all the way at the bottom? Or just cant the entire bowl back a bit so the chamber is upright and the bottom gets leveled out with the shank?

[Jos]

Hi Massis,

Finally concering the shape: would you have advised to lift the bowl up so the shank meets it all the way at the bottom? Or just cant the entire bowl back a bit so the chamber is upright and the bottom gets leveled out with the shank?

let me visualize that for you:


#1, bowl lifted up

#2, bowl upright - a little stiff and formal, isn't it ...
#3, my suggestion, in between:

bowl lifted up & with reduced cant
... plus, I'd suggest to make the shank a tad longer.

Jens

[Massis]

Thanks, that does look better.

A longer shank wasn't an option as the blok wasn't any bigger
The shape of the stummel is also dictated slightly by the fact that I completely changed the design of the stummel halfway through. It was going to be a crazy freehand pipe at first, but I decided that I'm going to try and stick more to normal shaped pipes for now, until I get good at them.