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As I've said elsewhere, my current method of trying to learn to be a decent pipe maker has been to make pipes in pairs for the foreseeable future - a billiard and a 'fun' one. I've got a little list of buddies who've expressed interest in buying them, but I've told them that I'm just planning on giving them away until I'm 'good', since I'm really still so new and learning a ton with each one and will be making them anyway (as this has become my primary hobby these days). They get their pick, and I keep the other for quality control (plus I'm at a weird place where I'm okayish enough and also a cheap enough bastard that my most of my nicest pipes at this point are probably my own). I was planning on starting to just ask for enough to cover materials and shipping, but wasn't planning on even doing that quite yet.
Anyway, sent this one up to a buddy of mine in DC, and he twisted my arm until I gave him my paypal info, and he very graciously sent me some cash. Very unexpected, and very much appreciated.



I still see about 1000 things wrong with it (which is why I didn't post it in the gallery for critique) and I'm still not planning on selling in earnest until I feel like I'm offering something that's good enough, but I really was pretty flattered by this and wanted to share.
Big thanks to y'all for helping put me on the right path.

I think that's a perfectly sellable pipe as far as what I see in these pictures. Is it perfect? Of course not but it's better than a ton of pipes out there being sold and is a pretty solid pipe. If I made that pipe and the internals are sound, I wouldn't think twice about selling it. Congrats.

I agree, nice pipe.
DocAitch

I'll join the group in saying it's a pipe certainly worth selling, the question is just "for how much"

I appreciate that very much guys. The main things that jump out at me are things that irritate me because I know I can do them better (and have one other pipes) - I can do good work on specific things sometimes, but doing it consistently and putting it all together on one pipe is still escaping me - stuff like the tenon being a little ugly, the fit not being as perfect as I'd like, the shaping leaving quite a bit to be desired - especially around that shank/bowl transition. It did not turn out as I'd planned shape wise, partially because I learned a valuable lesson about checking the blind side while using the disc more frequently and partially because I'm just not that good at making pipes yet... jeez maybe I will do a gallery post for this and its billiard brother (which is turning out to be a good smoker at least) after all.

All that being said, the bit is by far the most comfortable I've ever done (3.8mm bite zone, 7mm button, 16mm wide seems to be a sweet spot for me so far), and my button and slot work are getting more consistent, though my crease still doesn't quite "shine like mad." The drilling is good. There's no gap between the shank and stem as long as you put a little ass behind putting the stem in. Even with the exceptionally dull grain, at $50 I think it's probably a nicer pipe than most at that price point. He's very happy with it, and I'm happy enough knowing that a friend of mine will hopefully spend a good many hours over the rest of his life enjoying something that I made with my hands and is 100% mine. That the cash will cover the shipping and materials for another pair of pipes is icing.

My pipes are 1000 times worse than that And i am giving them for free and people are loving it. I am not aiming to be a seller but i will be honest, if i can make a pipe like you did i would sell it. First, it took you time and money to get it done. With that you will be able to get more supplies, make more and get bette. Secound, have you seen the crap people are selling?

I have been asked to sell mine but they are very bad. ( as much as i can not even post a pic here of so shame I am). But after buying and seen so many crap from big names out there that I would say as all above, get paid and make more pipes.

Also i would buy that pipe.

( I own pipes with defects that before this forum i could not see and that i paid over prices, i think many do. Why not st least buy it at good price made with passion?)





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I sold worse pipes when I was starting out. Just enough to buy more supplies is all it takes. For most people, it takes a few hundred hours at least to get good enough to make decent pipes. Eating the time and materials isn't an option for most people. Avoid selling anything with defects in the engineering, and take your time to do as good of work as you can at the time and you'll be able to stay at it long enough to make nice pipes.

danilo wrote:My pipes are 1000 times worse than that And i am giving them for free and people are loving it. I am not aiming to be a seller but i will be honest, if i can make a pipe like you did i would sell it. First, it took you time and money to get it done. With that you will be able to get more supplies, make more and get bette. Secound, have you seen the crap people are selling?

I have been asked to sell mine but they are very bad. ( as much as i can not even post a pic here of so shame I am). But after buying and seen so many crap from big names out there that I would say as all above, get paid and make more pipes.

Also i would buy that pipe.

( I own pipes with defects that before this forum i could not see and that i paid over prices, i think many do. Why not st least buy it at good price made with passion?)

Thank you so much for your kind words. I think you should post some to the gallery - I can't overstate how much this great folks on this forum have helped me.

sandahlpipe wrote:I sold worse pipes when I was starting out. Just enough to buy more supplies is all it takes. For most people, it takes a few hundred hours at least to get good enough to make decent pipes. Eating the time and materials isn't an option for most people. Avoid selling anything with defects in the engineering, and take your time to do as good of work as you can at the time and you'll be able to stay at it long enough to make nice pipes.

This is exactly my thought. It's a long road, but I mostly look at this as a hobby that I enjoy and that relaxes me. If that's also getting subsidized, that's even better. At some point when these get better, I'll start ramping up into using nicer briar and ebonite, but for now I'm pretty much happy making pipes with $15 of materials and too many hours of labor

I dont post as I can still see my mistakes. witing till i can make one with no machine marks at least

I just sandblast everything now. Much easier!

Sasquatch wrote:I just sandblast everything now. Much easier!

I was sending 100% by hand and i am lazy.
just got my “diy” drill sanddisk running so for now I will only be in need of better eyes.
The crap is i cant buy those and I cant afford a sandblaster.





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Shape with a 36 grit wheel and go straight to staining. Market it as your "proprietary rustication technique."

don't forget to stick some gemstones to it and dedicate it to some global disaster like the nuclear disaster in Fukushima!

And thus was demonstrated the PMF version of Godwin's Law:
As the number of posts in a thread approaches infinity, the likelihood of someone dropping a MMism is 100%.
This includes, but is not limited to:

• Referencing bedazzling a pipe,
• Selling a bedazzled pipe for an inexplicable five figures,
• Selling a non-bedazzled pipe for an inexplicable four figures because it took you 80+ hours to carve,
• Declaring that this batch of ebonite is surely defective and not what everyone else is using despite all information to the contrary (as it's far too stinky),
• Thousand-word treatises on epoxy and how everyone else is using it wrong, and
• Clumsily and inexplicably naming pipes after unrelated disasters, etc.

I never saw it as our version of Godwin's law, but you're absolutely correct!

Hope this helps.

Massis

Massis wrote:Hope this helps.