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It's been awhile since I finished a pipe; shop is all in boxes, new house, and new baby. I obviously admire some of Grant Batson's designs. I'm open to feedback if there are any suggestions as to how I could've improved this design. The bite zone on the stem looks thick in the picture, but that's the angle of the photograph. It has a snakewood ring.

Ok, no comment on craftsmanship, but I would like to start a conversation about design. Looks like you did a darn good job emulating Grant on the bowl. Kudos for that. But that shank belongs on another pipe. There is zero harmony between those two parts. Making a paneled shank would have gone a long way to making the whole pipe complete. Looks like someone broke the shank on their TBF and modified it into a cavalier. This is all my opinion so just take that with a grain of salt.

I personally think you're on to something here. Make a paneled shank that bends asymmetrically next time and I think the result will be killer.

phmann wrote:I'm open to feedback if there are any suggestions as to how I could've improved this design.

The rugged-edge treatment is cool. I think it could be improved, though, by using a variety of rotary tips instead of one. Partly to make it more natural looking (by reducing the repeating pattern), and partly to reduce the abruptness of the texture's fade in & out.

Is it worth messing with something that requires magnification (or damn good eyes) to see? That's up to you.

I don't think I like the base of the cavalier. Unless you build a stand for it, it would be nearly impossible to set down without the tobacco falling out. I know that being able to sit isn't a requirement of a cavalier but I think the base would be better flat than looking like a second stem.


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Thanks guys! Those are very helpful observations. I like those suggestions. A paneled stem would've been cool. That would look very sharp. You could also extend the "edge treatment" up a couple corners of the shank. I have another cavalier that I will be starting; I might try it on the next one...

I honestly wondered the same thing about the carving. I usually use a combination of chisels, but to be honest I was really worried about slipping off the angle and gouging the sanded portion. My fear made me very conservative with tools in the carving process. I've definitely slipped before and paid for it dearly. Maybe I'm doing it wrong, but I always carve AFTER I've done most of the smooth finish work. My thoughts are that this aides in creating contrast between the two textures and colors, and allows me to carve while observing all the finished grain design on the pipe. Sand it smooth, Stain, Buff, Coat with wax, then carve, stain, wipe excess stain around the carving (which is repelled by the wax on the smooth portion), buff, wax, buff.

I definitely took into consideration the fact that it wouldn't work on a traditional pipe stand, but said screw it, it think this will look cool. The customer is way into snakes and reptiles, so I thought he'd appreciate it.

Thanks guys, I appreciate it a lot!