And finally I got some time, and finished these two. These two will be gifts for my friends in Beijing, whom I will visit next week.
Hope they will like them.

#009 Chubby Billard





#010 Chubby Blowfish/Crossgrain







thanks for sharing your point of view.Ocelot55 wrote:Ok, overall very good, but there are a few things I noticed that might be addressed. On the chubby billiard I think a little more material could come off the bowl/shank junction. Also, there are so many pits in the briar I probably would have rusticated it or stained it darker.
On the blowfish: Wow, you really nailed the shaping on this one. Absolutely beautiful curves and flow. However, why did you stain this one so dark? Was there a flaw in the briar? A pipe that well shaped needs to show off some grain! I would sand it down and give it a nice contrast stain. Other than that, I think this pipe is my favorite of yours yet.
Thanks Brain. I like the second one too.Growley wrote:I really like the second. To me it almost looks like it's from a different carver, meaning I feel like you stepped up your abilities with that one. I would still suggest getting away from the Black and Yellow stain (if that's what you're using). At least, not if both are alcohol based. I've heard alcohol based black and water based yellow work well, but I've never tried it. I've also heard the darkest brown you can find will give you a nice effect without turning the yellow green.
Nice work on the second pipe's stem too.
Brian.