What would you make?

[d.huber]

I wondered what jj thought he might be seeing, too, so copied the pics and enlarged them to full screen size AND put on my bestest, most goodest glasses, and applied My Little Spy Eye to the problem.

What did I find? Nothin'. Nada. Zip. Zero. Nothing that could be classified as less than effectively perfect, in fact.

The mystery deepens...

Uh... I mean... maybe I'm wrong, doesn't this look like a flaw to you guys?

[wisemanpipes]

as per the OP,

Id make bamboo shanks or horn extensions on pipes with ease.
billiards and lovats would be created perfectly and fast, with excellent contrast blasts

evan

[wisemanpipes]

I wondered what jj thought he might be seeing, too, so copied the pics and enlarged them to full screen size AND put on my bestest, most goodest glasses, and applied My Little Spy Eye to the problem.

What did I find? Nothin'. Nada. Zip. Zero. Nothing that could be classified as less than effectively perfect, in fact.

The mystery deepens...

Uh... I mean... maybe I'm wrong, doesn't this look like a flaw to you guys?

ALEX FLOROVS BRIAR HAS FLAWS!!! NOOOOOOO

[d.huber]

ALEX FLOROVS BRIAR HAS FLAWS!!! NOOOOOOO

I mean probably just this little one on this one piece of briar.

[LatakiaLover]

Uh... I mean... maybe I'm wrong, doesn't this look like a flaw to you guys?

Could be, but it takes having a pipe in hand to tell for sure, and even then you can't always be sure.

Then there's the old "what constitutes a flaw" thing to deal with.

Given Alex's rep and perfection-seeking personality, I think it's reasonable to disregard a maybe-speck for the duration of the discussion.

[wisemanpipes]

ALEX FLOROVS BRIAR HAS FLAWS!!! NOOOOOOO

I mean probably just this little one on this one piece of briar.

ahah I don't feel so bad now good to know everyones on equal ground

[d.huber]

Uh... I mean... maybe I'm wrong, doesn't this look like a flaw to you guys?

Could be, but it takes having a pipe in hand to tell for sure, and even then you can't always be sure.

Then there's the old "what constitutes a flaw" thing to deal with.

Given Alex's rep and perfection-seeking personality, I think it's reasonable to disregard a maybe-speck for the duration of the discussion.

I'm content with that. I am wondering if we'll find out if this is the thing that was originally spied though.

[jjpipes]

I have received responses from makers I highly respect Thank you

Disclaimer: I’ve been on this forum for over three years now; I make ugly pipes, I’m working on that, I have also been working on training my eye, as to what makes a great pipe. I don’t think I could make a pipe this excellent if I made two a week for the time I have left as a pipe maker. So no criticism intended. Sas you are right the pipe is ------- spectacular (expletive deleted). David and Evan I didn’t even see that dark speck. George you gave me the right word: “effectively perfect”. to become better a carver I need to know what is “effectively perfect” as opposed to just silly criticism, so this falls into the latter category.

Here it is; as you look at the top view (the pic I posted) the left side as you would smoke the pipe you have a perfect curve down the shank, stem and button. On the right side the curve starts slightly steeper then ether straitens out or rises (about a third way down the shank), giving a slight bulge appearance at the stem shank connection it returns to mirror the left side about half way down the stem. Picky yes, I’m just trying to find the line between silly and “effectively perfect”.
You have been a big help

Thanks Steve

[Sasquatch]

Wait... just a sec.

Hold everything.


A pipe can be great if it's not perfect?


The last five years of my life are swirling like a big turd that won't go down.

[LatakiaLover]

...as you look at the top view (the pic I posted) the left side as you would smoke the pipe you have a perfect curve down the shank, stem and button. On the right side the curve starts slightly steeper then ether straitens out or rises (about a third way down the shank), giving a slight bulge appearance at the stem shank connection it returns to mirror the left side about half way down the stem. Picky yes, I’m just trying to find the line between silly and “effectively perfect”.

I saw that, too, but thought it might be connected to the stem's curvature. Good photos taken with good, non-distorting lenses are reliable indicators of shape/outline on a plane, but things get twitchy fast when curvature and depth of field enter the picture (no pun intended).

Since line breaks are really easy to spot---and in cases like this are easy to fix---I decided to give Alex's aforementioned reputation and "perfection seeking personality" the benefit of the doubt.

[LatakiaLover]

Wait... just a sec.

Hold everything.


A pipe can be great if it's not perfect?

Would Von Karajan's 1962 recording of Beethoven's Ninth still be great if there was a single wrong note played by a clarinetist somewhere in it? Yes. Two? Yes. Ten thousand? No. Where the line is drawn is the issue.

The last five years of my life are swirling like a big turd that won't go down.

Blame that on your Liberal Arts degree.

[mredmond]

That's exactly right, George. At least I think it is. The underlying principle that allows people to love and connect with handmade items is that they can sense (see, feel, hear, etc) that the item is handmade. What allows us to see that are slight imperfections. Those of us that love the sound of vinyl, love it because of the slight audio distortion produced by the media. Those that love nature do because it's beautifully imperfect. Creativity and beauty, to some degree, exist in the space between perfection and our inability to ever actually achieve perfection.

This is by no means a justification for shoddy workmanship, but our nature as imperfect beings is integral to our ability to create beauty. Or something.

[Joe Hinkle Pipes]

I have received responses from makers I highly respect Thank you
Here it is; as you look at the top view (the pic I posted) the left side as you would smoke the pipe you have a perfect curve down the shank, stem and button. On the right side the curve starts slightly steeper then ether straitens out or rises (about a third way down the shank), giving a slight bulge appearance at the stem shank connection it returns to mirror the left side about half way down the stem. Picky yes, I’m just trying to find the line between silly and “effectively perfect”.
You have been a big help

Thanks Steve

It must be a camera/photo edit trick. You don't finish a pipe and stem, especially a stem funnel polished to that degree and leave a asymetrical shank taper and say to yourself "eh, that's good enough."

[WCannoy]

Did I English too hard?

I totally used this line today... Thanks!