Freehand (#7)

[HMalant]

So pipe #7. It's a reverse calabash. And it's currently in a WIP state because I'm still waiting on my other fiebings colors to get here (Yellow/orange)

Again I know freehands are hard to critique, but if there's any advice you can give on the shaping/lines/etc. let me know.

Things open for change: general shaping, and should I give the stem a bend?

Now I'll just post the pics and let them speak for themselves:















Thanks,
Steve

[JMG]

Absolutely, bend the stem. Also, I think it would have looked better to have the narrow area much shorter...maybe half that size. With the draft hole sitting so low in the bowl this may end up being a bit of a wet smoke. If you were to drill it out the chamber just a touch more I think it would remedy that problem.

I'm not in love with the shape, but maybe it's just personal. I'm sure some of the real makers here can offer much better advice. I'm wondering if you had made the bowl shorter if that would had accentuated it's roundness and if that would have been better looking. It's just that from the sides it looks so bulbous that I think it would have been better if it looked that way from all angels. As it is, the front few is more oblong.

Cool concept. I'd love to see a pic of the mortise.

[sandahlpipe]

The stem doesn't work for me. I think it needs to be a more gradual taper from one end to the other. The abrupt change is jarring.

As JMG said, definitely bend that stem. Also, go ahead and finish the pipe before you post pictures. The way we can see many things is if there's a light reflection on the stem. I can't say whether those things are issues if it's not finished.

[mightysmurf8201]

+1 on everything said so far. When you're attempting something round, it needs to be round. When curves don't curve the way they should, things end up looking lumpy. The problem with doing a lot of freehands early on is that the parameters that you work towards are less clear and it makes it more difficult for beginners to be able to come to that moment and say "There. I have achieved my goal." or "Still needs some work". Obviously every freehand comes to a finishing point, but that point can be ambiguous, and unless you are practicing the exact same freehand shape over and over, it's going to take much longer to progress in your skills. Unless of course you are apprenticing for a Danish master. Then you will be making awesome freehands in no time! I'm not trying to discourage you at all from making freehands. Just the opposite in fact. Make awesome freehands, I know you can because I see a certain creativity in you. But one of the best ways to get there is to make a few pipes with clear parameters first. It really does do wonders for training your hands on how to shape the pipe you see in your mind, or on paper.

[andrew]

It's an interesting shape. You did a lot of things right, but there are a lot of shaping issues as well. You have what are called "facets" spread throughout the stummel. They are flat spots, or an unexplained change in curviture. The open area between the two "lumps" is a good example. That area should have curves that relate to the rest of the pipe, otherwise they look foreign and displeasing to the eye.
For what it's worth, I would never start someone out on a shape like this. It's fun, but your learning curve will be much faster if you start with classics (billiards, bulldogs, rhodesians, etc).

andrew

[cmueller]

It looks like a Sam Cui pipe. http://scandpipes.com/product.asp?product=3021

Hard shape to pull off. Good luck

[HMalant]

I've edited the first pic with finished pics of the pipe. I'm trying to work out the issue I have with the facets, and I think the next pipe will have remedied this problem. And I bent the stem, and drilled the chamber deeper upon request. As far as the style of stem, I actually really like the abrupt-ness of it. A lot of Pipe makers I see have stems with a little bit of personal flair, and I'm just trying to figure out a stem style with my own personal flair. Thanks for all the advice you've all given me, and my next pipe should reflect it. (The next pipe will actually be pipe #6, I just got around to taking pictures of it)

Thanks,
Steve

[sandahlpipe]

Steve,

I have found that people have not been as interested in my 'innovations.' While my own personal flare will come into play at some point, for starting out, the best thing is to show that you know how to make 'normal' pipes first with normal stems. Ultimately, you will need to decide where you want to go with pipe making, but there are literally hundreds of pipe makers starting out with 'creative' shapes that never catch on. If your goal is to sell pipes, you will want to learn how to make normal ones first and innovate after you understand the basics.

Take this from someone who spent the first year making 'creative' pipes. Now I am just trying to make a proper billiard with a normal stem.


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[JMG]

So the other stuff has been addressed. One last thing since you put up a pic of the tenon. I'm don't think this would be considered a reverse calabash as there isn't really a smoke chamber in the shank, just more so a typical mortise. This doesn't detract from the work you've done though. Keep it up.

[W.Pastuch]

This is one of the reasons why starting with the basic stuff is easier- both for the maker and for the theoretical buyer.

The engineering of this pipe sucks (sorry for the bluntness, but if you're making a reverse calabash shape with a fancy moutpiece, you need to take it).
First of all this shape only makes sense as a reverse calabash (which imho doesn't make much sense itself in 85% of cases). A standard drilling would be surprizing for anyone looking at this pipe and would inevitably beg the questions- why isn't it a reverse calabash? Also without the expansion chamber the amount of wood in the shank will make quite heavy.
The tenon is way to short. A standard length for a well made tenon would be around 15mm, depending on the diameter.
The airhole is way high in the mortise, it looks like it won't take a pipecleaner and may be a cause of wet smoke/gurgling.
You need to put a bevel on the rim, now it looks unfinished and will char very easily.
The thing that bugs me the most in this pipe, aesthetically, is that your block was just too narrow for this shape. You took an ebauchon cut and made a shape with a profile that is wider than the front view, making the sides flat instead of rounded. It would have been interesting to make the whole shape smaller, to fit the width of the block - you would get a tiny cute pipe with visually pleasing curves.
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