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Pipe No4
Any advice or pointers would be greatly appreciated guy's, Not happy with the stem, I did intend on cutting a wide Danish saddle but I wanted to try cutting this shape to see if I could & I just spotted I need to tidy up the button on the top, this was right out of my comfort zone to do but was a good learning curve
In my personal opinion, the straight shank doesn't fit well with the curves of the bowl and the extra heavy barrel on the stem is off-putting. The bowl shape is nice from the profile view, symmetry is good, but something about the front view seems off. I think it is that the curves are compound rather than consistent from start to finish, which I don't personally care for, but that could just be opinion.
Shank/bowl transition is pretty good although on the fourth pic down on the right side I can't tell if the shank is pinched where it meets the bowl or if there is a bulge in the middle of the shank. There is also a bit of a hawkbill curve to the top of the shank. Looks like it is mostly due to the barrel of the stem curving downwards.
Finish looks good.
The stem isn't bad but a few things to work on would be 1) making sure the taper of the stem is located in the center of the barrel. There is more real estate on top than there is on the bottom. There are some designs where this would work but not this one so much. 2) There does seem to be a bit of a gap between stem and shank. 3) The bend needs to be consistent from barrel to button, this one takes a turn around the middle. 4) You also have a little pinch on the sides of the stem right behind the button where you either filed or sanded off too much material. If you run your fingernail along the side of the stem all the way off the button you should never feel a dip or have it catch.
A very decent pipe for number four. Study lots of pipes and make another.
The most glaring thing to me is the shank/stem transition. The stem is dwarfed by the girth of the saddle, especially since you made it fishtail. It looks like you've got a bit of a pinch right by the saddle on the top and bottom of the stem. Make a consistent taper from button to saddle. The curve on the shank works fine from what I can tell, but the top of the saddle breaks the line from the top of the shank, so it looks off. The fit between stem and shank could be improved, but for number 4, it's not bad.
You're on the right track here. Keep up the good work.
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Fail early, fail often. Your success depends on it.
Thank you guy's for taking the time to comment, in my heart I knew the stem was the issue, but it is great to know why it wasn't working & also that I could see it for myself in part
I will cut a new stem & go with a wide non fishtail saddle, which I did intend from the start
Once again many thanks for the honest & solid advice it is much appreciated
I realize this was posted months ago and other people have given their opinions already, but that birdseye is the kind of thing I dream about at night.
