Unfinished Oval Shank Canadian

[bandkbrooks]

Still needs a final touch up and waxing but I'm not completely happy. Any thoughts please.

[taharris]

I think you pretty much nailed the shape of the bowl. However, the pipe comes off as a little bit stubby, which is probably what you don't like about it.

If you taper the shank slightly as you move towards the bit it will, I think, make the pipe look more elegant.

Nice job.

Todd

[bandkbrooks]

Cool. Thank you. I'm still unsure about the rustication.

[Growley]

To me, I would say the partial rustication on the stem gives it the illusion that the stem is shorter than it is, more like a standard billiard. On a Canadian you obviously want the stem to look long.

The other thing I'd add in (personal preference here) the rustication on the front of the bowl is a little too precise for my tastes, meaning the lines are a little hard. There's something about it that reminds me of a goatee. Maybe if you took it all the way up it would look cool? Not sure, just something about it doesn't hit me quite right.

Great shaping, and nice stain.

I agree with Todd. If you made the taper more subtle and further up the shank it might help. It kind of drops off right near the stem there.

Most of my thoughts are preference, so take them with a grain of salt.

Brian.

[Ocelot55]

Nice looking pipe. I think the proportions are very good. I'm not a fan of the partial rustication either. Most pipes with the occasional pit look better completely rusticated, or not at all, or at least IMHO. Still it would have been a shame to cover up all that awesome flame grain.

[d.huber]

I really like this one and I'm going to propose something radical. What if you sanded it down smooth all over again, then stained and rusticated the whole thing in a way that allowed the grain to be seen? I've got a pipe by Thomas James that he rusticated, but the grain still shows through. Not quite as dramatically as if it were smooth, of course, but it is still beautiful and the grain doesn't get lost. Plus smooth rim?

[bandkbrooks]

The other thing I'd add in (personal preference here) the rustication on the front of the bowl is a little too precise for my tastes, meaning the lines are a little hard. There's something about it that reminds me of a goatee. Maybe if you took it all the way up it would look cool? Not sure, just something about it doesn't hit me quite right.

Yep! I was thinking this too.

@ UberHuberMan

I'd love to see the pipe you are talking about. Sounds very interesting.


Thanks guys!

Brandon

[wdteipen]

I agree with what's been said so far. The sudden taper in the shank and stem doesn't work and the grain isn't good enough to not just rusticate the entire pipe.

[bandkbrooks]

Wayne,

I kind of like the grain on the side though. It's sort of tiger stripe ish. I was thinking of rusticating the front of the bowl along the curve of the grain as well as the top and bottom of the shank and back of the bowl. Your thoughts?