Pipe #11, A Danish Dublin

[clickklick]

This one is a gift to my sister. She had two requirements, it had to be purple and it had to be small. She wants to display it on her mantle, so I figured I'd make it sit.

This thing had nice crisp lines at the stem saddle but buffing a piece this small proved to be quite difficult so I lost some of those lines.

After finishing I notice there is a slight kink in the shank.

Let me have it!

[BrianMadsen]

Fun shaping, and i would probably be a nice pipe to smoke if it were a bit bigger.
You should pay a little more attention to the shank end, and tenon.
The shank end should be colored, buffed and waxed just like the rest of the pipe.
The tenon needs some final sanding at the end, then buff and wax.
But i really think it's fine for your number 11!

[NathanA]

The stem feels a bit heavy to me. Aim for a straight line from the saddle to the back of the button. This appears to go from slightly narrow at the saddle to wider around the middle and back down at the button. This is where file technique and a stem knife/scraper come in handy. The scraper takes a little getting used to but they make a world of difference.

The sharp transition in the saddle is not very pleasing to the eye. Use a round file to give your self some radius at the saddle. The lines will be smoother and it will flow better. To maintain a sharp line from the barrel to the saddle, completely finish the barrel section including polishing then tape off where you want your line with three or four layers of tape. Then file and shape up to the tape and completely finish the rest of the stem, including polishing, before removing the tape.

I am not really sure what you were aiming for as far as the shape goes but with a shape like this I would like to see sharper lines at the top and bottom of the bowl. Right before the sides meet the top and bottom they sort of round over and you have a small curve completing an otherwise straight side, most noticeably at the bottom. If you are going to include a curve it should be one single curve from top to bottom instead of changing along the way. In my worthless opinion, at least.

[clickklick]

Fun shaping, and i would probably be a nice pipe to smoke if it were a bit bigger.
You should pay a little more attention to the shank end, and tenon.
The shank end should be colored, buffed and waxed just like the rest of the pipe.
The tenon needs some final sanding at the end, then buff and wax.
But i really think it's fine for your number 11!

I've never heard of buffing and waxing delrin tenons. I will try and stain the shank end on my next pipe and see how it goes! Thank you!

[clickklick]

The stem feels a bit heavy to me. Aim for a straight line from the saddle to the back of the button. This appears to go from slightly narrow at the saddle to wider around the middle and back down at the button. This is where file technique and a stem knife/scraper come in handy. The scraper takes a little getting used to but they make a world of difference.

The sharp transition in the saddle is not very pleasing to the eye. Use a round file to give your self some radius at the saddle. The lines will be smoother and it will flow better. To maintain a sharp line from the barrel to the saddle, completely finish the barrel section including polishing then tape off where you want your line with three or four layers of tape. Then file and shape up to the tape and completely finish the rest of the stem, including polishing, before removing the tape.

I am not really sure what you were aiming for as far as the shape goes but with a shape like this I would like to see sharper lines at the top and bottom of the bowl. Right before the sides meet the top and bottom they sort of round over and you have a small curve completing an otherwise straight side, most noticeably at the bottom. If you are going to include a curve it should be one single curve from top to bottom instead of changing along the way. In my worthless opinion, at least.

I've never heard of a stem knife/scraper. I've just been using bastard and needle files. I'll look into it. I see what you're saying about the stem.

That tape at the saddle barrel is genius! I will try it on the next one I do!

I see what you are saying about the shape overall. I'm trying to get better symmetry but think I need to keep practicing on the sanding disc and with hand files. It is really tough! My intent was for it to be straight so the curve along the one side sucks. And the part below the shank should follow the lines of the rest of the bowl and it doesn't. I did the same thing with pipe no 2. And Wayne told me not to. So more mental notes. I will start taking into account how the eyes flow with the shape and try and shape thing with that intent in mind.

Thank you for taking the time to help me! Hopefully I can put some of this advice to use on my next couple pipes!

[NathanA]

Absolutely, glad I could help. A stem scraper is sort of a made up tool. I use a triangular needle file that I have ground to semi-sharp edges. Once you find the right angles and pressure you just scrape along the length of the stem and it will show you high and low spots very quickly. Takes some getting used to.

After looking at the pics some more I would say the same thing about the shank bowl transition a I did about the saddle: the transition is too abrupt. It needs a little radius there. This is a tough area because you have to walk the fine line of not taking enough material and having no definition and taking too much and having it look like two disparate parts stuck together.

[clickklick]

Lol I spent so much time on that shank to bowl transition! From previous critiques I assumed sharp defined transitions were always better than rounded ones. But now that you pointed it out, it can be nicer on the eyes to leave a round edge on things as long as it isn't too much.

Another thing to keep in mind. It'll maybe be easier to not try to make that transition so sharp.

I've tried a similar technique with a triangle needle file but it tends to leave indents where the teeth are. I'll have to get another set and grind one down to try.

Thank you! It really does help as I'm trying to improve with every pipe... And I have a lot to improve on!