My third attempt at a freehand.

[Gershom]

I will bend the stem before I consider it done. What issues do you see with it? Where can I improve?

Thanks for the critiques in advance!

[wdteipen]

Nice job following the grain. There's only two things that I see that could be better. The angle of the stem/mortise angles downward and doesn't flow with the shank. It looks like you drilled the mortise on the same plane as your airway. The mortise is rarely the same angle as the airway on bent pipes. The other thing is that your edges around the rim and shank could be a tad more crisp. It looks like they buffed round just a touch.

[Sasquatch]

I agree with Wayne, but don't tell him.

[Hudson]

Lookin' good; a major step in the right direction. Love the rim and the grain and the way it's creased. That overhead is your money shot. I think I would have tried to make the chin a little less aggressive but you may be running out of wood.

What they said about the angle of the stem and the angle of the shank. I did the same thing but still have to keep reminding myself to leave the stem in place. I'm always removing it to protect it or get it out of the way but I regret it if I make any design decisions without it in place. I'm trying to document the phases on each pipe at this point and find I'm learning a lot by studying the photographs at each stopping point. Capturing the detail and shifting the scale seems to make some errors in direction painfully obvious.

Good work!

[wdteipen]

I agree with Wayne, but don't tell him.

Too late! I've already written it down in my diary.