Egg.

[Gershom]

Please send any comments my way... I still need to set up a proper photo box...






I even worked on the button a bit...



Thanks guys

[Gershom]

Dude, 64 of you guys saw this, and no one responded???

[uniquebriar]

The egg hmm it does not look like an egg to me but the stem to shank seems to be right on. On the rustication part the lines go only in circles try going downward like rain streaks you will get better results. Keep doing what you like to do in this addictive hobby.

[Gershom]

Shoulda called it a "cracked" egg. It was an egg, but the top was cut off. I wanted the top of the bowl to be shaped as such. Does that disqualify it as an egg? B/C IMHO, it is shaped like an egg, especially if you continued the shape up.

What do you think?

[Sasquatch]

It isn't really shaped like anything, I think that's the problem.

Even an egg in its most Danish forms has really sharp delineation between bowl and shank - the shape can flow but the shank shouldn't get wider right at the bowl.

The bowl dipping below the line of the shank isn't really "wrong" but it doesn't work at all on this pipe - you have a rigid straight stem, a rigid straight shank, and this melted bowl shape kind of hanging off. Again, you can do this any number of ways, as an acorn, a hawkbill, or an egg, but it has to have some flow and some continuity with the rest of the design of the pipe.

The shank looks pinched about 2/3 of the way from the stem to the bowl. So this isn't quite a straight shank, it has a slight reverse taper, but not enough to compliment the saggy bowl. Neither fish nor fowl.

So what you've got there is a pipe, and it's exactly what we all start off making - a mishmash of ideas and shapes, colors, textures..... shazam! It takes a lot of practice and a lot of thinking to start tying the aesthetic ideas together and making cohesive, beautiful pipes. So, go do another!

[pipeguy]

Yeah! What he said

[wdteipen]

I didn't comment because you didn't sand your tobacco chamber.

[uniquebriar]

Whats with the pipe makers adding dye to the baccy chamber i never have this problem i dont even sand my baccy chamber because i never mistakenly dye the whole pipe.
I carefully dye the pipe with a pipe cleaner.

[WCannoy]

Whats with the pipe makers adding dye to the baccy chamber i never have this problem i dont even sand my baccy chamber because i never mistakenly dye the whole pipe.
I carefully dye the pipe with a pipe cleaner.

I stain carefully with a brush... I get stain in the chamber more often than not... I sand it out.

[Gershom]

I didn't comment because you didn't sand your tobacco chamber.

I did after I took the photo. I just wanted it messy for your sake.

[Gershom]

It isn't really shaped like anything, I think that's the problem.

Even an egg in its most Danish forms has really sharp delineation between bowl and shank - the shape can flow but the shank shouldn't get wider right at the bowl.

The bowl dipping below the line of the shank isn't really "wrong" but it doesn't work at all on this pipe - you have a rigid straight stem, a rigid straight shank, and this melted bowl shape kind of hanging off. Again, you can do this any number of ways, as an acorn, a hawkbill, or an egg, but it has to have some flow and some continuity with the rest of the design of the pipe.

The shank looks pinched about 2/3 of the way from the stem to the bowl. So this isn't quite a straight shank, it has a slight reverse taper, but not enough to compliment the saggy bowl. Neither fish nor fowl.

So what you've got there is a pipe, and it's exactly what we all start off making - a mishmash of ideas and shapes, colors, textures..... shazam! It takes a lot of practice and a lot of thinking to start tying the aesthetic ideas together and making cohesive, beautiful pipes. So, go do another!

Is there an article that covers the flow of pipes? I am having trouble seeing and understanding the flow of the shape on pipes. I want to get that down so I understand it better. That will open up my abilities quite a bit.

What about the button? Any advice on that? It is a pre-formed stem, but I tried to enhance it a bit...

Thanks Sas!

[Gershom]

Whats with the pipe makers adding dye to the baccy chamber i never have this problem i dont even sand my baccy chamber because i never mistakenly dye the whole pipe.
I carefully dye the pipe with a pipe cleaner.

If I get enough in the bowl, I get quite the high while smoking. I just keep forgetting small amounts of the day, and my left hand shakes uncontrollably...

[WCannoy]

Is there an article that covers the flow of pipes?

Look at lots of pipes. After you've done that, look at more pipes. Not just any pipes, but high-grade artisan pipes that sell.
Start here: http://www.smokingpipes.com/pipes/new/

What about the button? Any advice on that? It is a pre-formed stem, but I tried to enhance it a bit...

I've recently received a clear acrylic rod that I ordered just for the purpose of making a video about stem and button work. I'll try to get to that soon!

[Gershom]

Is there an article that covers the flow of pipes?

Look at lots of pipes. After you've done that, look at more pipes. Not just any pipes, but high-grade artisan pipes that sell.
Start here: http://www.smokingpipes.com/pipes/new/

What about the button? Any advice on that? It is a pre-formed stem, but I tried to enhance it a bit...

I've recently received a clear acrylic rod that I ordered just for the purpose of making a video about stem and button work. I'll try to get to that soon!

I am currently signed up to see the emails from smokingpipes.com but I get very bored with the mass amounts of common shaped pipes. Maybe that is my problem. How do you get over that feeling that "This is just another regular pipe?" I do enjoy looking at the abstract pipes, and find them to be very interesting. Is that bad? Common to Newbies? Sorta like enjoying aromatics until you get deeper into smoking, then learning the basic flavors of natural tobaccos?

Thanks guys.

[Sasquatch]

The idea of "flow" is on one hand dead simple - you don't want to see any random angle changes, you don't want a hundred different raduis curves, you want to see a continuous idea presented in the pipe.

This pipe isn't graceful, especially, but it's harmonious in idea - a tall, firmly carved bowl, slight curves. We see a shank echoing this idea - thick, firm, slightly curved, tapered in reverse to offer a visual center (the fat shank end opposes the sheer mass of the bowl). The stem then carries on in simplicity to finish the pipe with an overall very clean aesthetic but still quite heavy and masculine.

http://www.smokingpipes.com/pipes/new/j ... _id=116205


Here is one with much softer curves, one long flowing line creates the entire bottom of the pipe. The stem is short just to keep the shape balanced (especially so because the bowl is shorter). All curves softer, all shaping more relaxed. This pipe has more flow from bowl through shank, it's a less aggressive shape.

http://www.smokingpipes.com/pipes/new/j ... _id=116222


There's not a single straight line on either of these pipes, by the way.


Paradoxically, I'm absolutely convinced that the way to understanding shaping is to make 30 straight billiards. That shape is highly critique-able and it teaches absolutely every combination of curve and line. Make a dozen billiards and then draw up a danish egg, and you'll make a much better pipe, absolutely guaranteed.

[WCannoy]

I am currently signed up to see the emails from smokingpipes.com but I get very bored with the mass amounts of common shaped pipes. Maybe that is my problem. How do you get over that feeling that "This is just another regular pipe?" I do enjoy looking at the abstract pipes, and find them to be very interesting. Is that bad? Common to Newbies? Sorta like enjoying aromatics until you get deeper into smoking, then learning the basic flavors of natural tobaccos?

Thanks guys.

It is common, but not exclusive, for new pipiers to be attracted to the more outlandish shapes. For many, it takes a long time to reach maturity (in pipe years) before one can truly appreciate a nice billiard. I was the same way, and I despised billiards well into my early 30's. Now, I regard a well cut billiard as one of the most beautiful pipe shapes.

The mechanism of "flow" in a pipe can be learned, but rarely can be taught, and it can help you to learn by studying even the most abstract examples on smokingpipes. You don't have to drudge through all of the standard shapes. Use their "pipe locator", search by shape, set the price range for a few hundie... Want to make a bent egg? Search for bent eggs... Want to make a billiard? Search for billiards... Want some abstract shapes to study? Search for freehands.

Also, have you ever been to a pipe show? Do you have a local shop that might carry some high-grade artisan pipes? Have you held a Hedegaard, Linder, or Former billiard in your hands? If not, then it is perfectly understandable to have no appreciation for standard shapes.

I don't know how to describe the method of determining proper "flow" in a shape. Seems to me, it's a sort of "I know it when I see it" kind of thing. If anyone else can put it into words, I would be quite interested in hearing it!

[Gershom]

Two really helpful replies. Thanks guys.

[AlfaDog]

Until my "pipe eye" gets a little more training, I've been doing a good bit of this - I go to this website: http://www.alpascia.com/groupIndex.asp?list=14095..1 and pick out a pipe shape I want to imitate. The site has measurements and great pictures. I magnify a pipe image as far as it will go. I think it takes 3 clicks. Then I print the side view and measure it. I then enlarge or decrease the picture size until the length of the pipe in the picture matches the length given in the measurements. Say the measurements give an overall length of 5-1/2". I want the pipe in the picture to measure 5-1/2". Then I cut the picture out and glue it to my stummel, white side out. After the glue dries, I can lay out my chamber, air hole, mortise hole on the white paper and transfer centerlines across the stummel to line up the drill. When on the lathe, I use a straight edge to line up the air hole line with a long drill, with the tip of the drill on the line I laid out across the end of the shank and the top of the bowl. I also have another picture for reference while turning and use the measurements and calipers to tell me when the bowl is the right diameter. I haven't nailed it yet, but it sure makes it easier to get close. Here's a picture of a Rhodesian after it came off the lathe, you can see enough of the paper to tell what I'm talking about.