11-12 quarter bent egg

[Ocelot55]

Well I wanted to make a pipe to commemorate my grandfather's life. This is what I came up with. As you can see there is a heavy Heeschen influence (that might be an understatement). The stem is cumberland with a pauduak ring. I made this pipe in my parents' garage over the weekend, before and after the funeral. I didn't have much in the way of tools. It shows. There is a small gap in the stem shank junction. I had to square the paduak with sandpaper because I had no forstner bit or drill press. Unfortunately there is a pit on the front of the bowl that goes all the way into the chamber. I never planned on selling this pipe, so that isn't as big a problem as it could have been. I smoked my first bowl out of it tonight. Long smoke, very dry and cool. As usual any critique is appreciated.









The pocket watch is a 1902 Elgin first owned by my great-great-great grandmother. She, coincidentally, was a pipe smoker as well. I found it in grandpa's nightstand. I wound it up and it started right up. It's only lost two minutes in 48 hours. Pretty incredible. The zippo is one my grandfather used to carry. I plan on making a display with all these items soon. Granddad meant a lot to me and this is a great way I can honor and cherish his memory. Thanks for looking.

[uniquebriar]

Sorry about your grandpa passing i am sure every time you smoke this beautiful pipe you will remember him in honor. As for the pipe it looks very nice to me and i like the pauduak ring a very nice touch added. As for the gap between the shank and stem im sure you can fix that in the long run. As always enjoy any smoke in good health.
Regards Pedro.

[d.huber]

Jessie, so sorry to hear about your grandfather's passing. I lost my grandfather last year and had no idea how much he meant to me until he was gone. Stay focused on the wonderful things about his life and all the great memories you have of him.

In reference to the pipe, I think this is a great memorial. It's also a really nice pipe. The lines flow, the colors compliment each other well, and you did a nice job staining. I must applaud you on a job well done! I think if you removed a bit more material in these two spots, this pipe would elevate from really nice to great.



To reference the inspiration directly, have a look at this image. I've highlighted the same area on the back of the bowl. I hope this communicates what I'm getting at.



You should be proud of that pipe. Keep up the good work!

[Ocelot55]

I agree with you completely about the stem thickness, David, but the shank was left thicker intentionally. The one thing I don't like about Heeschen's shaping is how thin the shank gets at the bowl shank junction. I never thought this until I saw one in person at the GKC show. The shank on a typical Heeschen tapers in toward the bowl and winds up pencil thin. With how heavy his bowls were I was really concerned about durability and strength. In hindsight I probably should have gone for a bit more definition, but not too much more.

Thanks for the comments and well wishes.