But I was wondering if you guys target a specific weight while carving a pipe? Is the weight of a pipe a concern or issue while carving? I've seen some posts on other forums about the weight of pipes and was just curious what everybody thinks! 
Joel, OK, where's the camera in my shop! How'd you know what I was doing when I asked this question????? I was weighing the pipe to see if I had enough to take off more wood! Actually have done this on a couple recently. One I didn't change and the one I'm working on that I will change! Works well.JSPipes wrote:Though it can be a tool. If you don't think you've finished shaping a pipe but don't know where to go, sometimes putting it on a scale will help. You will find out if it's really heavy for it's size or not. Might give you a little direction.
Joel
John, your pipes always amaze me! Some you make seem to give the illusion of "beefy" pipes. Yet very light weight. How do you do it?ArtGuy wrote:I do not take that into account while making the pipe but I do like it when a pipe ends up around 40gr or so.
AHHH! I can relate to that! :thumb: Sort of the reason I've been weighing some of the larger shapes I've made recently. I'd like to keep them under 2 oz if at all possible. Haven't mastered that science yet!LexKY_Pipe wrote:I find that most of the pipes I make are between 2 and 2.5 oz.
Me too! Well, except for being relatively new to this, I usually strive to get the shape halfway decent! What got me started thinking about weight was a customer wanting a "big" pipe (tobacco chamber 1" diameter and minimum of 1 3/4" deep) similar to some Ardors he likes. And that got me wondering about the weight of larger pipes. Most Ardors I looked at were in the 2.5 to 3 ounce range. I never thought much about weight while carving before that. Darn him for making me think!!!marks wrote: For what it is worth, I, like most here, strive for balance and harmony in the pipes I make, then I typically weigh them when they are completed.
Exactly what I'm doing on the one I'm working now. It just wasn't "right" and couldn't tell what was bothering me. After a quick weigh in I was fairly convinced it had to be thinner and lighter. Good piece of advice from both marks and Joel. Something we can use as a tool during the process! Thanks!And, of course, there is an exception to that rule. I had one pipe that felt very heavy in my hand, and decided to weigh it prior to finishing. Glad I did as it was way too heavy (and I had not even started on a stem). I reworked that pipe and I ended up with a better looking pipe than my original design. Weighing that pipe forced me to look beyond what was to what could be, which upon reflection, is where I probably should have ended up on that pipe in the first place.
It is all a matter of proportion and engineering. I have found that there is a lot of excess wood that can be trimmed without giving up wall thickness and such. That 28 gr pipe I was talking about probably still has close to 3/8" thick walls along the bottom 1/3 of the bowl and under the chamber.bvartist wrote:JSPipes wrote:John, your pipes always amaze me! Some you make seem to give the illusion of "beefy" pipes. Yet very light weight. How do you do it?ArtGuy wrote:I do not take that into account while making the pipe but I do like it when a pipe ends up around 40gr or so.
Very Nice! And "Looks" like it should be heavier than that. Guess I need to head to the workshop and do more sanding! Thanks for the inspiration. The two I've made that are 32 grams "look" small.ArtGuy wrote: It is all a matter of proportion and engineering. I have found that there is a lot of excess wood that can be trimmed without giving up wall thickness and such. That 28 gr pipe I was talking about probably still has close to 3/8" thick walls along the bottom 1/3 of the bowl and under the chamber.
The advise Todd gave a couple years back of looking at a greyhound or racehorse for an idea of how a pipe should look is very sound.
Here is a pic of it: 28 grams soaking wet
I believe a critical approach to making a great pipe is to remove all the unneccessary wood. ALL of it. If there is one thing about a pipe that says newbie, it is clunky. Keep shaping. Keep refining. Become more eloquent. Say more with fewer words, er, ounces. Don't let Crosby's photography fool you...he makes micro pipes. If there was an ant in that photo, the pipe could be hidden behind it! Which is to say, he charges too much for his pipes because they are too small to be expensive!bvartist wrote:Very Nice! And "Looks" like it should be heavier than that. Guess I need to head to the workshop and do more sanding! Thanks for the inspiration. The two I've made that are 32 grams "look" small.ArtGuy wrote: It is all a matter of proportion and engineering. I have found that there is a lot of excess wood that can be trimmed without giving up wall thickness and such. That 28 gr pipe I was talking about probably still has close to 3/8" thick walls along the bottom 1/3 of the bowl and under the chamber.
The advise Todd gave a couple years back of looking at a greyhound or racehorse for an idea of how a pipe should look is very sound.
Here is a pic of it: 28 grams soaking wet
David
Tyler wrote: That said, I do not approach a pipe with weight as the driving factor in design. The shape, balance, style, etc, is the driving factor and the pipe ought to weigh as little as possible when I reach those shape (and etc.) goals.
Great! I caught about half a dozen bass on it this weekend. It was its maiden voyage. I also caught my first fish (a bluegill) with a fly I tied!bvartist wrote: BTW Tyler, hows the fly rod?
Yeah, handling other pipes is the experience I lack! Living in an area that isn't a hot bed of pipe smoking, I don't get the opportunity to see many "good" pipes. A handmade or high end around here is someone doing a "whittled" shank for a missouri meer!Tyler wrote: Discussion is fun and good, and with it comes the occassional epiphany, but not without trial and error and looking at and handling other pipes.
