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I finished this pipe today. The top view was supposed to be more of a circle, but I obviously didn't pull that off. It also took a ride on the buffing wheel . Overall, I am happy with it. I would love to hear your comments and critiques

Thanks,
Kiel

Beautiful pipe, like the stem and stain a lot.

nice work.my favorite of yours yet.

also... call me.

Thanks guys. I have been spending more time making the stem (probably still not enough). I wish I had left the button a little taller so the pipe could hang more comfortably. I used the red swirl Japanese ebonite and I really like the pattern!

I have also started to add a coat of shellac during the finishing process. The cut also has some stain added to it and I think it gives the pipe a warmer glow; but who knows, it is also possible that my overall finishing abilities are getting better. Which ever it is, I also think that stain turned out better than the pipes I have done in the past.

Thanks
Kiel

Nice grain.

Overall, it's a fine pipe. I would really focus on making consistent, flowing lines. Note the abrupt angle on top of the shank near the bowl. Your button could be a bit taller as well.

Well done. I like the shank shape, especially.

e Markle wrote:Overall, it's a fine pipe. I would really focus on making consistent, flowing lines. Note the abrupt angle on top of the shank near the bowl. Your button could be a bit taller as well.

Thanks for the feedback! Every time I would go to adjust the shape of the bowl I felt like I was just gouging into the shank. I recently picked up some smaller thinner tools that can hopefully help me out in these places. I feel that making a line anything other than wobbly is really difficult, definitely an area I need to focus on and take more time to do.

The button height has bothered me since I brought it down. I have some dimensions written down in the workshop. I kept sanding and checking the height. If I had left it little bit taller, I would have been really happy with its comfort in the mouth.

Thanks,
Kiel

Literaryworkshop wrote:Well done. I like the shank shape, especially.

mightysmurf8201 wrote:Nice grain.

Thanks!

I like the dramatic stain. The shank is a bit wonky. The reverse taper doesn't work. Looks like you took too much off the top of the shank near the bowl. Your stem saddle on the bottom doesn't follow the same line as the bottom line of the shank. Looks like you need to spend a bit more time sanding at the higher grits and don't rush the finish. The stem finish almost looks matte. All that being said, it's a fine pipe and I'd definitely smoke it.

wdteipen wrote:I like the dramatic stain. The shank is a bit wonky. The reverse taper doesn't work. Looks like you took too much off the top of the shank near the bowl. Your stem saddle on the bottom doesn't follow the same line as the bottom line of the shank. Looks like you need to spend a bit more time sanding at the higher grits and don't rush the finish. The stem finish almost looks matte. All that being said, it's a fine pipe and I'd definitely smoke it.

Good stuff. What grit do you normally sand up to? Sometimes I feel that while buffing scratches start to appear. I am probably not going high enough or spending adequate time in the higher grits, but my buffing set up is really REALLY crappy and probably a little dangerous too. I am not going to go into detail about it you can just trust me that it is far from ideal.

I sand up to 800 grit then 1200 grit on my stems before buffing.

wdteipen wrote:I sand up to 800 grit then 1200 grit on my stems before buffing.

Thanks!

wdteipen wrote:Looks like you took too much off the top of the shank near the bowl.

I'd argue that you could make the pipe look a bit better if you took more of the top of the shank near the bowl:

Before:


After:


My 2 cents.

Taking more off the shank makes the bowl stick out more. Not something I look for in an organic shape. You could pull that off easier with a less plump bowl.

Ratimus wrote:

wdteipen wrote:Looks like you took too much off the top of the shank near the bowl.

I'd argue that you could make the pipe look a bit better if you took more of the top of the shank near the bowl:

Before:


After:


My 2 cents.

I'm not a fan of sharp transitions most of the time because my eyes keep getting drawn to that transition instead of moving seamlessly across the piece. Sharp transitions tend to separate parts of a pipe instead of meld them together into one cohesive composition. Either way, a reverse tapered shank doesn't usually work if it's subtle. It needs to be obvious that that was the maker's intent rather than a mistake in taking off too much material. Here, it looks like a mistake.

Here's a better option:

Before:

After:


The saddle would need to be cleaned up to match the smaller diameter of the end of the shank but you get the idea.

The reverse taper was a mistake. I dug in too far when I was trying to round the bowl out. I think if I could do it over again, I would try to make the shank a little taller/fatter. Everyones feedback on this pipe has been very helpful. It will all be remembered when I start making me next one! Thanks