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So here is number 3. I originally was intending for a squashed tomato but realized quickly that my skills need to grow before attempting that. Instead we have a danish scoop or something similar. This pipe is for me and I was experimenting with stain. There wasn't significant grain patterns so it's a wash anyway.
I engraved my mark before staining so it is not so obtrusive. I tried to drill more better , but I think there is still a slight ridge where the draught hole meets the bowl. I used some black arylic rod stock for the mouth piece that apparently aready had a holde drilled through the center. . . so the slot ended up bigger than I intended. The slot could be polished a bit more, but it is comfortable for me as is. It is paper thin though. I tried to taper the stem so as to not increase in size after the shank. There is a bit of a kink in the shank on the top side which despite sanding every which way, I just could seem to get it out.
Lemme have her!
Acting like a loon in the front yard, close to the road.
Use a tapered drill bit for drilling the stem so you don't have that issue again.
The next two things to work on are:
1. Don't taper the stem on the sides like you did. Keep the sides of the stem the same diameter from the shank face to the button
2. There's quite a bit of extra material on the back side of the bowl. It makes the bowl look more like a knob than a scoop. Remove that material. It's not pipe.
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Fail early, fail often. Your success depends on it.
I just looked at some of my other pipes and the bit never tapers in, sometimes it even gets wider. I've never noticed. Note taken. I bought the rod stock from Tim west and didn't realize a center hole was already drilled so it threw me off a bit. I have a 5\32 tapered bit I normally try to drill within 1\8 inch from the end.
It looked like a good shape while sanding since I am still wary about removing too much wood. But now that you point out the heavy back I have to agree it is a bit bulky. The pipe weighs 54g and shaving that could have gotten me to my goal of 50g.
Thanks for the words of encouragement. I find making pipes to relieve stress. My next one is gonna be a variant on a bent volcano shape as I have a block of wood with grain that just screams to me that it wants to be a volcano.
Acting like a loon in the front yard, close to the road.
I'm really digging the color. What experiment did u do with the stain? The color and grain almost makes the pipe look more like marble than wood. I think it works for this pipe. Were you happy with it or were you hoping for something different?
I was attempting for a high contrast pink. The grain wasn't as defined as I was hoping so I threw on two coats of black after sanding to 220 grit. Then I sanded with 320 grit until the grain that soaked up the black turned an almost blue color. Then I hit it all the way to 600 grit, applied two coats of rose pink stain, a thin coat of shellac, then buffed. I did a very light red trip buff and then a fairly extensive white diamond buff, followed by carnuba.
The effect is enhanced in the sunlight. I'm very happy with how it turned out. Just wish the underlying grain was a bit more defined.
Acting like a loon in the front yard, close to the road.
, but I think there is still a slight ridge where the draught hole meets the bowl. I used some black arylic rod stock for the mouth piece that apparently aready had a holde drilled through the center. . . so the slot ended up bigger than I intended. The slot could be polished a bit more, but it is comfortable for me as is. It is paper thin though. I tried to taper the stem so as to not increase in size after the shank. There is a bit of a kink in the shank on the top side which despite sanding every which way, I just could seem to get it out. 
