This pipe is designed to resemble the shape of a seed pod growing from the end of a hanging branch. The pod splits open in the middle to reveal a floating seed inside. The pod is made from a black cherry burl that I harvested in northern Ontario. The hinge and clasp is made from solid brass, machined on the lathe, and then hand worked with files and a saw. The clasp also incorporates the use of O1 steel for the spring clip. The clasp is held onto the black cherry sphere by 5 brass machine screws. The bowl is made from an exceptionally red piece of African blackwood, this colouring is quite rare in my experience. The stem is from cannary wood, with a padauk accent and African blackwood mouthpiece.
I really like how this design turned out, there were many challenges to overcome with this piece, mainly the hinge and clasp design. Something I could improve upon would be the gap between the two sphere halves. The cause of this gap was the wood warping after it had been through the final turning. I thought that it was fully stabilized, but sometimes wood acts in mysterious ways... oh well.
The bowl itself is buffed, and finished with carnauba wax for a gloss finish, this is mean't to contrast the matte linseed oil finish on the rest of the pipe. I wanted the "seed" within the pod to look a bit like a jewel, hidden within a rough exterior.
enjoy!
