A Study in Grain

[baweaverpipes]

Every so often, maybe once every decade, a pipe maker comes across a piece of briar that is beyond exceptional.
I was blessed and present here some photos:

[Abi Natur]

It is indeed a beautiful Volcano with a perfect grain and finish!
Congrats on this harmony in a pipe

Abi

[TRS]

Wow

[KurtHuhn]

Very nice, Bruce!

It's very satisfying to find a block like that, and then manage to coax out the pipe that does it justice. Excellent work!

[Tyler]

Awesome.

GREAT job. It's one thing to find the block. It's another to pull it off. WELL DONE.

[Sasquatch]

Wow, that's a wonderful piece, Bruce.

I'm gonna dare a criticism here - in the last two pictures especially, the line along the top of the shank where the stem begins, ie the curve between them, doesn't look exactly right to my eye. It's close, and a tiny bit of material removal would perfect it, but it looks to me like the stem "angles in" to the shank just a hair on top.

Aesthetics question for someone more advanced than me in every regard - how do you choose what angle to cut the "horizontal" planes on the stem at. I'm not suggesting that these are not done "right" or anything, but my natural tendency would be I guess to cut them at the same angle as the top of the bowl. So how do you choose that angle, or more interestingly, perhaps, what is the effect aesthetically of changing that angle?

This kind of thing is one of the reasons I haven't ventured into nonstandard shapes - I feel completely at sea when it comes to this kind of tweaking, and certain guys seem to offer an almost "objective" approach to these sorts of questions, as though there's a right and a wrong of size/angle - one right way to build each pipe. And while that may be so (or not) I myself lack the confidence of that kind of analysis.

[CastAxe]

If it wasnt already sold i totally would have bought it, i came into some money

[baweaverpipes]

Sas,
Flow, as to where your eyes take you, is of paramount importance.

I'm gonna dare a criticism here - in the last two pictures especially, the line along the top of the shank where the stem begins, ie the curve between them, doesn't look exactly right to my eye. It's close, and a tiny bit of material removal would perfect it, but it looks to me like the stem "angles in" to the shank just a hair on top.

If you follow the lines, one's eyes flow to an infinite point. Ideally you don't want your eyes to abruptly stop, or to follow predetermined, or identical lines, when there is a specific symmetry. If there had been additional material removed, the flow would have not taken you to an imaginary point. This somewhat mimics the flow at the heel. What you are suggesting is to have had the shank the same dimension from the curve to the top. This would not have the flow, this isn't a straight pipe. There is a LOT going on, lots of curves that play upon one another, with each taking you on a different visual journey. At least that's what I was shooting for.

how do you choose what angle to cut the "horizontal" planes on the stem at. I'm not suggesting that these are not done "right" or anything, but my natural tendency would be I guess to cut them at the same angle as the top of the bowl. So how do you choose that angle, or more interestingly, perhaps, what is the effect aesthetically of changing that angle?

Originally these were at identical angles, but it chopped the flow and was static. I chose to offset to give the illusion of additional flow.
Sas, symmetry involves causing the viewers eyes to flow to a point away from an object. If there is an area that stops the eye abruptly, the flow of symmetry has been obliterated.
Now Sas, since you have been so cruel and dismissive, I believe I'm going to refund the money, rusticate the pipe, fire up a bowl with a torch lighter and, of course, smoke a cherry blend of tobacco. Following that, I'm going to give up being a teetotaller, buy a bottle of wild turkey, get smashed and quit pipe making. But, before I do that, I have commissions that will carry me far into the New Year, so I guess I'll just bastardize another block of briar!

[wdteipen]

Wow! That's an amazing piece of briar there, Bruce. And nice job giving it a beautiful form. I'd love to see the birdseye on the bottom. You have any pictures of that?

[Sasquatch]

LOL well I wouldn't give up on pipemaking just yet Bruce, I think with a bit more practice you'll probably be able to sell some of your better pieces pretty soon.

I see the echo of the curve on the bottom, and certainly when that echo is missing, I notice it it in my own stuff now - things don't "look right" and that curve certainly does - I just thought that there was a small hint of an "elbow" at the stem/shank. It might just be the pictures and it might just be me. I was looking really, really hard for something, anything to stand out at me, not in order to have something to criticize on your pipe (making up for my small penis) but because it is very good indeed, and it's both a type of pipe that I am afraid of making (poorly) and one that I don't feel especially capable of criticizing - I am selfishly trying to learn things here by talking about the design of a pipe that is better than I can currently make.

So for example, when you say that if the angle of the planar portion of the stem makes the thing "abrupt" if they are parallel to the bowl, I can see that - a sideways saddle, as it were, and I can also imagine that they would have an elongating effect the more you angled them, but that it wouldn't serve any real purpose on this pipe (it would unbalance it). But these are things that I wrestle with - "how much is too much", and I appreciate your description of the artist's intent here, that's actually very helpful.

PS I wanna see the bottom too

[baweaverpipes]

PS I wanna see the bottom too

[Sasquatch]

See? It's all weird and pitty - I knew you were hiding something!!

[Nate]

Very beautiful pipe Bruce. I find I like very few volcano pipes, and this one certainly is one I like. Well done sir.

[sethile]

Wow, Bruce, congratulations! That is a beautiful piece my friend!

[flix]

Bruce,
You took a once in a lifetime grain and just about fully exploited it! Very beautiful work, despite Sasquatch and his "short-comings" butting in...

[Mike Messer]

Oh, ho-hum, perfect pipes like this are dime-a-dozen.

But now, I'm gonna get sirus, and dare to criticize, "The Master Carver." Bruce, you missed on the bottom, and went right off the block. It has bark on it, for god's sake! And what's all that little speckly stuff on the tip? Is that dust or what? That tip material is really static chaged. It grabs dust right out of the air. P.I.T.A. I use an artist's very soft, long bristle, watercolor brush to sweep it off when taking pictures, and then edit out any remaining specks in a photo editor.

P.S. I've got a box of Prince Albert, Cherry, I bought at the Piggly Wiggly, if you can't find any.

[ND Pipes]

WOW !!!!... so nice... like it very very much

[billiard]

Fantastic!

(that's all I can come up with to say )

[bandkbrooks]

Bruce your lines of symetry and flow always amaze me. One of the most important things I learned when watching you work is the use of the human hand for looking at flow of shape and design.

This is a gorgeous pipe & work of art.

[Mike Messer]

Of course, my first post was joking, but now, no joke.
The pipe design, workmanship, orientation in the wood, finish details, of course, are all relevant, but "A Study in Grain," excellent grain like this would not be complete without more details about the piece of wood. The cutter, grade, size, cost, where it was grown, and most important, how you managed to get the cutter to sell it to you.
Unless that falls into the trade secret category.