Attempting to find time. I always seem to check the board here when I'm short on time or brains. I'll try to do this tonight.random wrote:Kurt, I thought you were going to post a new thread about the quality of the less expensive briar you've been getting from Jaume, que pasa?
Group ordering briar
Nice job Jeff. Looks like you got everything right. Never thought to put in the dashes. I have a note out to briargrains about shipping. Hopefully its ther now. Just haven't checked yet. If not I'll work the numbers you have in. Quick question: is the "pp" per piece or per pound?
Thanks for the Tip Todd. Getting the single X quality would definatly make the order more affordable. And from what Kurt said in his other thread, the JH sounds enticing too.
Thanks for the Tip Todd. Getting the single X quality would definatly make the order more affordable. And from what Kurt said in his other thread, the JH sounds enticing too.
Nick,
pp = per piece.
As for Jaume Hom. I don't doubt that Jaume cuts some fine briar. I will admit, however, that after browsing his site and taking a look at some of the packages there were certainly some pretty unacceptable pieces. That's not to say that the majority of his briar did not look pretty good, it did. But, what do you want for $3.60/pp? At least he's forthcoming about the quality of his blocks. It would be quite easy for a supplier to show you the nice blocks and then throw in a bunch of firewood to fill the rest of the order. I just hope that the block or two in each package that looks bad is not representative of a good block:bad block ratio. Perhaps that is why the gods of pipemaking invented rustication, right?
Jeff
pp = per piece.
As for Jaume Hom. I don't doubt that Jaume cuts some fine briar. I will admit, however, that after browsing his site and taking a look at some of the packages there were certainly some pretty unacceptable pieces. That's not to say that the majority of his briar did not look pretty good, it did. But, what do you want for $3.60/pp? At least he's forthcoming about the quality of his blocks. It would be quite easy for a supplier to show you the nice blocks and then throw in a bunch of firewood to fill the rest of the order. I just hope that the block or two in each package that looks bad is not representative of a good block:bad block ratio. Perhaps that is why the gods of pipemaking invented rustication, right?
Jeff
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KurtHuhn
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Jeff, just curious, what would you classify as "unnacceptable"?
FWIW, the $3.60 per piece is for Extra ebauchon - and that $3.60 per piece (actually it's a little higher) goes a *lot* farther than any ebauchon I've *ever* gotten stateside. I mean, when I pay $7-$8 per piece for a block of briar, and have to throw out 25-30% right off the bat, what's a guy to do?
I don't want this to turn into a slamfest on US-based briar sellers, but suffice to say, I will never buy stateside again.
FWIW, the $3.60 per piece is for Extra ebauchon - and that $3.60 per piece (actually it's a little higher) goes a *lot* farther than any ebauchon I've *ever* gotten stateside. I mean, when I pay $7-$8 per piece for a block of briar, and have to throw out 25-30% right off the bat, what's a guy to do?
I don't want this to turn into a slamfest on US-based briar sellers, but suffice to say, I will never buy stateside again.
Unacceptable would be the following photos.
Now, you have to admit that these are some pretty ugly blocks. And these all appear to be from the same package. My concern is that if he is showing off these pieces on his website, what is he shipping out to his buyers? Now, these are clearly not "throw-aways," but neither are they potential smooth pipes. Even at this point in the game (10 pipes in) I deem it necessary to acquire and carve the best briar that I can afford. $3.60 a block is great. But, for $10 more I can have a greater percentage of smooth pipes and a higher selling price per piece.
Kurt, I totally agree with you on the supplier issue. I love dealing with the stateside suppliers, but they just cannot provide the quality of briar necessary to become a higher quality pipemaker. Tim West has been great to me. If I want a piece with crossgrain and birdseye, he does his best to find it. The problem is not with the suppliers, but with the wood to which they have access. While I know that I am far from being a high end pipemaker, I do find it necessary to use the best possible materials so that the products I do turn out are flawed only from my own failures and not from the briar's. I don't want the difference between my early pipes and my pipes when I become more skilled to be with the briar, I want it to be in my personal ability to design and shape a pipe and make the best out of a great piece of wood.
Thus, I deem it necessary to get the highest quality materials as possible at this time.
Jeff
Now, you have to admit that these are some pretty ugly blocks. And these all appear to be from the same package. My concern is that if he is showing off these pieces on his website, what is he shipping out to his buyers? Now, these are clearly not "throw-aways," but neither are they potential smooth pipes. Even at this point in the game (10 pipes in) I deem it necessary to acquire and carve the best briar that I can afford. $3.60 a block is great. But, for $10 more I can have a greater percentage of smooth pipes and a higher selling price per piece.
Kurt, I totally agree with you on the supplier issue. I love dealing with the stateside suppliers, but they just cannot provide the quality of briar necessary to become a higher quality pipemaker. Tim West has been great to me. If I want a piece with crossgrain and birdseye, he does his best to find it. The problem is not with the suppliers, but with the wood to which they have access. While I know that I am far from being a high end pipemaker, I do find it necessary to use the best possible materials so that the products I do turn out are flawed only from my own failures and not from the briar's. I don't want the difference between my early pipes and my pipes when I become more skilled to be with the briar, I want it to be in my personal ability to design and shape a pipe and make the best out of a great piece of wood.
Thus, I deem it necessary to get the highest quality materials as possible at this time.
Jeff
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KurtHuhn
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Hmm, I wouldn't qualify those as unacceptable. I'd call them "potentially beautiful". In my opinion, they *could* be smooth pipes. There's no reason they can't be (except for mother nature). Will they be straight-grained high-grade pipes? No, probably not, but there's no reason why they can't be made into wonderful pieces of art.
Maybe I've just been hit with the bad briar stick one to many times, I don't know. But if I order a pile of briar from someone, I surely don't expect to have to toss out 30% of them immediately because they have fissures in them that run from one side to another, or gigantic gouges from a saw that make it all but impossible to use as a pipe, or even a piece of plateaux that has a great hunkin' huge hole in the skin that extends halfway into the wood right at an area where you can't work around it. I don't know.
What I do know is this, Jaume's ebauchon block is the best I have ever seen. Some of these ebauchon pieces have better grain structure than plateaux I've ordered stateside. That, to me, says something. Now, since they're ebauchon, they're not going to have consistent, straight, tight grain. That just ain't gonna happen. Like you said, there's a reason for the low price - these are good for inexpensive pipes. Personally, I don't know that I care to be the next Bo Nordh - in fact I don't. I'd rather be the next Kurt Huhn, if you know what I mean....
I agree that you do want the best briar possible, which is why went to Jaume in the first place, and all the world's not an ebauchon block. That's why, when I'm buying the best plateaux I can afford, I'll be going back to Europe and direct to the cutters. Since Jaume treated me well this time, he gets the business for that order as well.
And I just re-read what I typed, and it sounds like I'm getting defensive - which I assure is not the case. I'm just extremely pleased with Jaume's briar.
Maybe I've just been hit with the bad briar stick one to many times, I don't know. But if I order a pile of briar from someone, I surely don't expect to have to toss out 30% of them immediately because they have fissures in them that run from one side to another, or gigantic gouges from a saw that make it all but impossible to use as a pipe, or even a piece of plateaux that has a great hunkin' huge hole in the skin that extends halfway into the wood right at an area where you can't work around it. I don't know.
What I do know is this, Jaume's ebauchon block is the best I have ever seen. Some of these ebauchon pieces have better grain structure than plateaux I've ordered stateside. That, to me, says something. Now, since they're ebauchon, they're not going to have consistent, straight, tight grain. That just ain't gonna happen. Like you said, there's a reason for the low price - these are good for inexpensive pipes. Personally, I don't know that I care to be the next Bo Nordh - in fact I don't. I'd rather be the next Kurt Huhn, if you know what I mean....
I agree that you do want the best briar possible, which is why went to Jaume in the first place, and all the world's not an ebauchon block. That's why, when I'm buying the best plateaux I can afford, I'll be going back to Europe and direct to the cutters. Since Jaume treated me well this time, he gets the business for that order as well.
And I just re-read what I typed, and it sounds like I'm getting defensive - which I assure is not the case. I'm just extremely pleased with Jaume's briar.
Kurt,
I hear you, buddy. I know what you mean. I didn't feel lectured at or that you were being defensive, just that you were making your case. I appreciate it.
I guess what we've identified here is that we prefer different things in briar. I am looking for something specific (i.e. straight grain, tight birdseye) and take for granted that if I order briar that it will not have fissures or holes or visible flaws. I do know that briar is a product of nature and is therefore exempt from the standards of perfection that can be applied to a manufactured good. But there are tolerances that each of us choose to work within. Some cutters are happy to sell anything that they cut, regardless of grain patterns or flaws. Others are more selective and treat the wood properly. Still others are interested in selling only the finest pieces that nature produces. Each of us must choose whom they would prefer to buy from (This is not to say that Romeo has never produced a bad block, or another less selective cutter a good one.) I, for one, choose the aforementioned standards of straight, tight grains.
Clearly, there can be cases where the cutter had no idea from the grain that there would be a fissure on the inside of the block, but probability would categorize those cases as rarities. With the tight tolerances I have chosen for the blocks I wish to work with it is evident that I am not interested in making $50 or $60 pipes. The previous statement was stated and meant with all due respect to those pipemakers who choose to make and sell handcrafted pipes for those prices. The greatest demand for pipes is around that price range.
Although I do not presume to have the potential to reach the pinnacle of pipemaking like Sixten, Jess, Bo, Tom, etc, nor do I claim to aim that high, but I do want to explore that territory and see what kind of potential I do possess. Maybe I'll be able to sell in the $300-$400 price range. That would be great. Maybe I'll sell in the $150-300 price range. Maybe much higher. The fact remains that I am at the early stages of this craft and I'll take whatever help from the briar that I can get.
Thanks for reading, I hope this was coherent and didn't sound like a diatribe of any sort.
Jeff
I hear you, buddy. I know what you mean. I didn't feel lectured at or that you were being defensive, just that you were making your case. I appreciate it.
I guess what we've identified here is that we prefer different things in briar. I am looking for something specific (i.e. straight grain, tight birdseye) and take for granted that if I order briar that it will not have fissures or holes or visible flaws. I do know that briar is a product of nature and is therefore exempt from the standards of perfection that can be applied to a manufactured good. But there are tolerances that each of us choose to work within. Some cutters are happy to sell anything that they cut, regardless of grain patterns or flaws. Others are more selective and treat the wood properly. Still others are interested in selling only the finest pieces that nature produces. Each of us must choose whom they would prefer to buy from (This is not to say that Romeo has never produced a bad block, or another less selective cutter a good one.) I, for one, choose the aforementioned standards of straight, tight grains.
Clearly, there can be cases where the cutter had no idea from the grain that there would be a fissure on the inside of the block, but probability would categorize those cases as rarities. With the tight tolerances I have chosen for the blocks I wish to work with it is evident that I am not interested in making $50 or $60 pipes. The previous statement was stated and meant with all due respect to those pipemakers who choose to make and sell handcrafted pipes for those prices. The greatest demand for pipes is around that price range.
Although I do not presume to have the potential to reach the pinnacle of pipemaking like Sixten, Jess, Bo, Tom, etc, nor do I claim to aim that high, but I do want to explore that territory and see what kind of potential I do possess. Maybe I'll be able to sell in the $300-$400 price range. That would be great. Maybe I'll sell in the $150-300 price range. Maybe much higher. The fact remains that I am at the early stages of this craft and I'll take whatever help from the briar that I can get.
Thanks for reading, I hope this was coherent and didn't sound like a diatribe of any sort.
Jeff
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KurtHuhn
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*wipes sweat from brow*jeff wrote:I hear you, buddy. I know what you mean. I didn't feel lectured at or that you were being defensive, just that you were making your case. I appreciate it.
I was actually afraid I had come off a little strong there. Sometimes I get meyself into trouble being as bull-headed as am.
Gotcha - that's a big difference in what I purchased this particular batch of briar for. This batch is (or was until I saw how nice it was) destined for mostly rusticated pipes, and smooth pipes with irregular grain. Inexpensive pieces that anybody can afford. The expensive stuff will come later when I find the elusive "high grade plateaux".jeff wrote:I guess what we've identified here is that we prefer different things in briar. I am looking for something specific (i.e. straight grain, tight birdseye) and take for granted that if I order briar that it will not have fissures or holes or visible flaws.
Not at all, sir! This is exactly the type of discourse I come here to read. It really is nice to view the world through other folks' eyes once in a while. Keeps one from getting too comfortable in one's own skin, if you know what I mean.jeff wrote:Thanks for reading, I hope this was coherent and didn't sound like a diatribe of any sort.
Random,I hope there is not a school of thought percolating around cher, saying that unless you spend $50-60 per block on briar you are doomed to make $50-60 pipes.
You think any one of the top makers could not turn out a $500 pipe with what amounts by their standards to a crap block? If you think that then I would say you need to rethink.
I would never assume that this would be the case. It is indeed important to understand that a $50 block does not necessarily lead to a $500 pipe. That would be a ludicrous assertion. Neither do I believe that top maker "could not turn out a $500 pipe" with cheap briar. I simply assert that a top notch maker would never use cheap briar to start with [see below]. Equally important is the misuse of language in the above quote. I would never consider anyone selling in the $50-$60 level to be "doomed" to that market. Indeed, many choose to go there and are quite content selling for those prices. There is a tremendous demand for pipes around that price range, indeed I would suppose that the bulk of the market is below $200. While it is difficult for a maker who has established a reputation for making pipes in that price range to climb upwards, I don't assume that every one of them has ambitions to do that.
Now this is where I do agree with Todd. While I don't deny that a great pipecarver would be able to turn out an expensive pipe with junk briar, I do believe with certainty that a high-grade pipemaker would never use junk briar to start with. That is not to say that they exclusively use straight grained briar. A browse through many pipe collections would disprove this. However, what I think is important here is that if you are planning on being a high end artisan or producer in any field, why would you use low quality components? If someone went to buy a $10,000 McIntosh or Lexicon hifi separates? Probably not. They are paying for top dollar components. Even at the mid-range, people are paying for craftsmanship as well as quality components. I think that anyone who trys to sell "high end" pipes with low quality components will be sorely disappointed when their pipes gather dust on the shelves (material or electronic).
Jeff
Sorry Random, you are right here. Unfortunately, I did use the word junk, though I'd like to reneg on it. I did not mean to bifurcate the categories into a "top quality" and "junk" dichotomy. Regretably, that is what happened. However, I would assert that to a high end carver that this dichotomy may indeed be in effect.Well, we're off in left field a little bit when we talk about "junk" briar. I don't think I'm using "junk" briar when I use what Tinsky has been selling me, but it's not top-grade briar; I don't think I'd be using "junk" briar if I was using the briar from Jaume that Kurt has been talking about. I seem to hear an unspoken opinion that there are only two categories of briar, the very best, and "junk". Between the new Rolls and a broken down 72 Pinto there are many choices, it isn't a matter of the best or nothing.
Now, while admittedly, I cannot turn out pieces of the quality of the masters, nor am I consistent at this point. However, it remains important to me to use the highest quality briar that I can afford. On this point I still believe that my analogy of high quality components for a high quality product is more useful than your driving or shooting examples. To put it bluntly, I would never hire a neophyte driver to be an indy racer or limo driver, nor would I recruit a new shooter for my sharpshooter team. The fact is, Random, that you are a professional pipemaker. You are selling your products. And while you are correct in your assertion that the carving should be of utmost importance to the buyer, it *must* follow that they are buying both the materials and your creative and mechanical skill. The materials cannot be removed from the equation, otherwise you are shortselling your customers. Now, if you are selling in the $200 price range and are scrapping 50% of your blocks, it is not cost effective for you to invest $100 total in briar for a $200 pipe. But if you are selling higher, it would only make sense to step up the briar quality.
One further point. Random, you are selling your pipes made with what you consider to be a superior material for the stems, Ultem. Why would you use the highest quality material (in your opinion) for half of the pipe and short-change them on the rest? How can you use this product as a selling point, but still go to Tinsky for briar? Admittedly, his briar is adequate, but not the best there is. If you use the best for the stems, why not the stummel?
Well, I've written enough and earned a beer.
Jeff
Well I just heard back from Mimmo at Romeo briar. Ouch!! $1850 including shipping for 50 medium sized blocks. He's the best though. Often the old addage is true: you get what you pay for. I have a further inquiry in to him, so I'll post details as I get them. Anyway, here's the chart:
Small Sized Blocks
Per Block Sub TTL Shipping TTL Sm
BG Tas__$12.00________$600.00_____$70.00__________$670.00
BG Crit___$5.00________$250.00_____$70.00__________$320.00
JH XX____$7.89________$394.50_____$44.60__________$439.10
JH X_____$2.96________$148.00_____$44.60__________$192.60
Romeo XX_______________$0.00______________________$0.00
Romeo X________________$0.00______________________$0.00
Medium Sized Blocks
Per Block SubTTl Shipping TTL Med
BG Tas____$18.00______$900.00_____$70.00_________$970.00
BG Crit ____$7.00______$350.00_____$70.00__________$420.00
JH XX_____$14.80______$740.00_____$44.60__________$784.60
JH X_______$5.55______$277.50_____$44.60__________$322.10
Romeo XX_$35.00_____$1,750.00____$100.00________$1,850.00
Romeo X________________$0.00______________________$0.00
Blocks
50
Small Sized Blocks
Per Block Sub TTL Shipping TTL Sm
BG Tas__$12.00________$600.00_____$70.00__________$670.00
BG Crit___$5.00________$250.00_____$70.00__________$320.00
JH XX____$7.89________$394.50_____$44.60__________$439.10
JH X_____$2.96________$148.00_____$44.60__________$192.60
Romeo XX_______________$0.00______________________$0.00
Romeo X________________$0.00______________________$0.00
Medium Sized Blocks
Per Block SubTTl Shipping TTL Med
BG Tas____$18.00______$900.00_____$70.00_________$970.00
BG Crit ____$7.00______$350.00_____$70.00__________$420.00
JH XX_____$14.80______$740.00_____$44.60__________$784.60
JH X_______$5.55______$277.50_____$44.60__________$322.10
Romeo XX_$35.00_____$1,750.00____$100.00________$1,850.00
Romeo X________________$0.00______________________$0.00
Blocks
50
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ToddJohnson
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I haven't really been following this thread very much, but I read through it this evening. There seems to be a whole lot of conjecture about what makes a "high grade" pipe and what a "high grade" maker would or would not make such a pipe from. I'd like to respond to some of that conjecture, mostly in the direction of an anonymity.
First, no, you need not spend $35-50/block on briar to produce "nice" pipes. Your chances increase exponentially by using such briar, but it is by no means a necessity.
Second, if you're a no-talent hack, Bo Nordh's top shelf briar will not help you produce even a decent pipe. Similarly, if I were provided with a Stratavarius I still could not play a violin concerto. If however, I were the concertmaster of a major metropolitan orchestra I would probably try to procure that Stratavarius in hopes that it would complement, amplify, or otherwise show off the skills I had already mastered.
To assume that good briar is some sort of crutch for pipemakers who have not *really* attained a high skill level is both stupid and arrogant. The reason high-end carvers use excellent briar is because no matter how skillful you are it's impossible to get straight tight grain from a crappy block of briar. It is possible for a hack to destroy an excellent block of briar, but that's not really the point.
The other point I think is worth noting was raised by Jeff. The overall quality of your pipes, i.e. what contributes to smokability, flavor, etc. is a much greater function of the briar quality than the supposed properties of stem material. To market pipes based on the superiority of their stem material to all other stem materials and then turn around and just get whatever briar is readily available is backwards.
Using crappy briar doesn't hone your skills. If you're working on shape then create a certain shape regardless of surface flaws and don't deviate from the planned shape. Rusticate it when you're finished. This is a great exercise for any new pipemaker and *this* will hone your skills. Once you can create a decent shape consistently then you can start to deviate from that form during the shaping process in order to yield a smooth that is clean. That can also help to hone your skills. The problem with trying to get around a flaw and modify a shape in a block of poor quality briar is that you'll only find more pits. What you end up with is a minniscule dwarf pipe at the end. That can be really frustrating and *that* is why I suggest buying higher quality briar.
One final note, and this concerns the reverse snobbery propogated by tose who are simply incapable of producing those things they decry. Smokers/collectors don't buy things because they are shiny. If someone makes a pipe that looks like crap, has unintentional lines, is lumpy and amateurish, but is smooth and shiny, it's not going to sell. Shine may "draw the eye" but only if its attached to a shape worth looking at. Something without shape or shine can hardly justify its own existence in a commercial endeavor.
If such a pipe is made for the personal satisfaction that comes from making it and nothing more, so be it. Bravo! If however one wants to use such a pipe to say that the conventional wisdom, aesthetic, etc. is wrong and that what's really fantastic are rough lumpy pipes they're doomed to fail. Just because a person can't sing for crap doesn't mean they should put out one CD and then tell everyone that having poor pitch and singing off-key is where it's really at. All those with powerful angelic voices are just people who don't know *how* to sing off key, they just know how to get rave critical reviews which we all know is for sell-outs who have no artistic vision, right?
I'm not trying to be an elitest here or say I've mastered my craft, far from it. Most high-grade carvers have been making pipes for longer than I've been alive and I'm sure that 30 years from now I'll still be learning. I love conversing with most of you, answering questions, picking up tips here and there, and seeing how your work progresses, but that's because most of you don't try to redefine anything and everything so that the definition of a "high grade" suits your current skill level. Instead you try to increase and hone your skills through the dialogue that takes place on this board. For that you are to be applauded and encouraged. So, in conclusion, don't try to redefine what a "high grade" pipe is, just get better briar, try to sharpen your skills, and inch ever closer to producing them consistently. That's what we're all really doing here I think.
Best,
Todd
P.S. I know this was a bit rambling, but it's probably better than being too direct and succinct on this occasion. Thanks for plodding through this whole thing if you managed to make it this far.
First, no, you need not spend $35-50/block on briar to produce "nice" pipes. Your chances increase exponentially by using such briar, but it is by no means a necessity.
Second, if you're a no-talent hack, Bo Nordh's top shelf briar will not help you produce even a decent pipe. Similarly, if I were provided with a Stratavarius I still could not play a violin concerto. If however, I were the concertmaster of a major metropolitan orchestra I would probably try to procure that Stratavarius in hopes that it would complement, amplify, or otherwise show off the skills I had already mastered.
To assume that good briar is some sort of crutch for pipemakers who have not *really* attained a high skill level is both stupid and arrogant. The reason high-end carvers use excellent briar is because no matter how skillful you are it's impossible to get straight tight grain from a crappy block of briar. It is possible for a hack to destroy an excellent block of briar, but that's not really the point.
The other point I think is worth noting was raised by Jeff. The overall quality of your pipes, i.e. what contributes to smokability, flavor, etc. is a much greater function of the briar quality than the supposed properties of stem material. To market pipes based on the superiority of their stem material to all other stem materials and then turn around and just get whatever briar is readily available is backwards.
Using crappy briar doesn't hone your skills. If you're working on shape then create a certain shape regardless of surface flaws and don't deviate from the planned shape. Rusticate it when you're finished. This is a great exercise for any new pipemaker and *this* will hone your skills. Once you can create a decent shape consistently then you can start to deviate from that form during the shaping process in order to yield a smooth that is clean. That can also help to hone your skills. The problem with trying to get around a flaw and modify a shape in a block of poor quality briar is that you'll only find more pits. What you end up with is a minniscule dwarf pipe at the end. That can be really frustrating and *that* is why I suggest buying higher quality briar.
One final note, and this concerns the reverse snobbery propogated by tose who are simply incapable of producing those things they decry. Smokers/collectors don't buy things because they are shiny. If someone makes a pipe that looks like crap, has unintentional lines, is lumpy and amateurish, but is smooth and shiny, it's not going to sell. Shine may "draw the eye" but only if its attached to a shape worth looking at. Something without shape or shine can hardly justify its own existence in a commercial endeavor.
If such a pipe is made for the personal satisfaction that comes from making it and nothing more, so be it. Bravo! If however one wants to use such a pipe to say that the conventional wisdom, aesthetic, etc. is wrong and that what's really fantastic are rough lumpy pipes they're doomed to fail. Just because a person can't sing for crap doesn't mean they should put out one CD and then tell everyone that having poor pitch and singing off-key is where it's really at. All those with powerful angelic voices are just people who don't know *how* to sing off key, they just know how to get rave critical reviews which we all know is for sell-outs who have no artistic vision, right?
I'm not trying to be an elitest here or say I've mastered my craft, far from it. Most high-grade carvers have been making pipes for longer than I've been alive and I'm sure that 30 years from now I'll still be learning. I love conversing with most of you, answering questions, picking up tips here and there, and seeing how your work progresses, but that's because most of you don't try to redefine anything and everything so that the definition of a "high grade" suits your current skill level. Instead you try to increase and hone your skills through the dialogue that takes place on this board. For that you are to be applauded and encouraged. So, in conclusion, don't try to redefine what a "high grade" pipe is, just get better briar, try to sharpen your skills, and inch ever closer to producing them consistently. That's what we're all really doing here I think.
Best,
Todd
P.S. I know this was a bit rambling, but it's probably better than being too direct and succinct on this occasion. Thanks for plodding through this whole thing if you managed to make it this far.
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KurtHuhn
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- Location: United States/Rhode Island
Well, I read the whole thing.ToddJohnson wrote:P.S. I know this was a bit rambling, but it's probably better than being too direct and succinct on this occasion. Thanks for plodding through this whole thing if you managed to make it this far.
Actually, I found it interesting. There are parallels there to my life as a geek. Just over a decade ago I started getting paid to admin datacenters and networks, and I had some airly odd ideaas about how to do stuff. This one grizzled old admin came over to me one day after I had just had one of my ideas shot to hell by management and he told me that I had some great ideas, but since I haven't been around long enough and didn't have the knowledge and respect, and didn't really know how to finesse the implementation or understand the finer points of sysadmining, I wasn't likely going to get my proposals past even the preliminary stages. He told me to stick with it, learn, ask questions, and observe. Over the next 18 months, I gained knowledge, respect, and experience. Eventually, as my skills and understanding of the craft grew, I started getting my ideas implemented. These days, I'm that grizzled old admin (except now they put people like me in charge of the whole shebang instead of CFOs or something) guiding the PFYs on how to how to maintain and care for huge datacenters. I also get to implement my whacky ideas, since I'm the boss.
Where am I going with that? Well, I guess, the reason I joined this board was to learn from the guys like Todd. Though, "grizzled" and "old" may not necessarily apply here.
It's also why I spend hours watching the "Eltang cam" and looking at the work of other respected makers. The engineering aspect of pipes I can do - that's mostly a matter of physics and is easy to grok. However, the aesthetics, that's a different story. I know what looks good to me, but I want to know what looks good to John Q. Public. I'm doing fairly well, I'd say, for an artisan maker. However, I'd like my pipes to appeal to a far broader audience, and I think that's most of why I'm here - to learn what the established makers do to reach that audience. The tricks of the trade, as it were.Okay, I *know* that was rambling. But hopefully iy made a little sense.