Pipe "Alchemy"

[TreverT]

I stand corrected big T. But as far as bone fides are concerned, are ypu speaking of the season 1 outfit or the season 2?

I have a plethora of tastes and moods. I'll take both.

[jenmom2myboys]

Mmmmm, Gil Gerard in Spandex.

[Nick]

He did have a nice butt.

I mean, you know, for a guy.

[TreverT]

Mmmmm, Gil Gerard in Spandex.

Was he on that show? I didn't notice.

[jenmom2myboys]

"bidi-bidi-bidi", that's my Twiki impersination. lol.

[Nick]

Hawk was much cooler than Buck. Except when he molted. Yuck!

[jenmom2myboys]

Chicks don't dig guys in bird suits.

[Uncle Arthur]

*Tears up his Super Chicken suit*

[themathclub]

to chime in, and not to make enemies, since im the new guy, lol, id like to share my thoughts on this, regarding the natural talent/learned method. i have a natural talent for pipe making, and i do not say this on my own accord, but based on the 2 i have made, and given the comments of others, but i was sculpting before this, so there maybe something to that lol. anyway, given the amount of "knack" that i posses, i understand that pipe crafting is an ancient art, and time honored tradition. i dont want to change the game, so much as i want to learn the rules, so that i can then excell, and have my work stand up on its own, according to traditionalists and new comers alike. its like someone who is good at billiards, or football. if you can sink a ball in a pocket consistently or throw a perfect spiral pass from birth, you are ahead of the crowd and ready to learn not just what to do but how to do it, and do it right. i do like to experement. but im a tad conservative at this time in my pipe making, since im only 2.5 pipes in, lol. in the future i'll have recycled tobacco ash pressed epoxy tenons and beer infused briar, but untill then, i'll just try and learn the basics. thats my take on it anyway, though talking about it makes me want to try something strange. lol

[TRS]

if you can sink a ball in a pocket consistently or throw a perfect spiral pass from birth, you are ahead of the crowd and ready to learn not just what to do but how to do it, and do it right.

But can anyone really do these things 'from birth'? They're all learned skills and abilities, which take practice and guidance.

[themathclub]

lol i ddnt mean literally. i know folks who have never trained at either, and are quite good. but put them next to a pro, and its quite clear they would have a lot to learn. natural talent can only take you so far, thats all im getting at. after a while, one would have to learn from those who are, and i use the term carefully, "better" than they are at a given skill. i think only tremendous arrogance says they have nothing to learn from others, and if someone were to toss out all the years of knowledge that has been built up, and start from nothing, i have a feeling that the techniques that person would come up with after years of work, would be similar to what has already been done. looking at all the beautiful work on thise forum is very humbling, to me as an aspiring pipe maker, and i hope one day to reach a level of skill, where i can produce works half as elegant.

[the rev]

in basketball they say, you cant teach 7ft. You can add all kinds of things to this. My best friend growing up was the fastest kid in the neighborhood by far. He broke every track record up to and including the mile at his jr high school. He was fast. It didn't matter how hard I worked or what technique I used, I would never be as fast as him. But I was a better football player, because I took what little talent I had, and turned it into something efficient. The truth is there are some people that have an eye for things. Some people that may have a better hand eye co-ordination. But in the end, that will only get you so far. And I believe in pipe making, with only average "natural" talents, you can become quite successful by applying yourself, and working hard, learning from the best. But what about those "freaks of nature"? Well maybe they do well too. But what happens when you have all that natural talent 6'6" 40 inch vertical leap, fast as the wind, and you wont leave the court til you shoot 1,000 jump shots? You have Michael Jordon

I will never be Michael Jordon. But if Todd, or Rad, or any of the other pros here will give me advice, I will follow. I will practice. I will work very hard. And maybe, just maybe, I can be Kurt Rambis

rev

[d.huber]

Who's Kurt Rambis?

[d.huber]

BTW, great post, Rev!

[the rev]

do you really not know who Kurt Rambis is?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kurt_Rambis

Magic Johnson was my favorite basketball player ever, but my second favorite was Kurt, dude clawed, fought, barked, whatever it took to win. He never backed down, never stopped fighting, was the ultimate journeyman.

rev

[d.huber]

do you really not know who Kurt Rambis is?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kurt_Rambis

Magic Johnson was my favorite basketball player ever, but my second favorite was Kurt, dude clawed, fought, barked, whatever it took to win. He never backed down, never stopped fighting, was the ultimate journeyman.

rev

Lol! Yeah, I actually didn't know. I don't follow sports at all.

[the rev]

well you are much younger than me too.

Wish I would have started out with pipe making younger. Especially if it would have kept me out of fighting. Though I had lots of fun... man my body is messed up now. Who would have thought getting punched, kicked, elbowed, slammed, choked and twisted into animal shapes would be bad for you?

rev

[d.huber]

well you are much younger than me too.

Wish I would have started out with pipe making younger. Especially if it would have kept me out of fighting. Though I had lots of fun... man my body is messed up now. Who would have thought getting punched, kicked, elbowed, slammed, choked and twisted into animal shapes would be bad for you?

rev

Dude, what kind of Reverend are you?

Edit for YouTube embedding stupidity: http://www.youtube.com/embed/lE-Wonjxsug

[the rev]

I am the kind that leads you to Jesus and then sends you to see him!

I have lived a pretty crazy life, portuguese bullfighter, repo man, cage fighter, missionary yeah, I am not normal

rev

[thejayrob]

Todd,
I have to say your original post is right on. I'm a newbie. I wouldn't even regard myself as a pipe maker yet. I have shaped a total of four predrilled blocks with prefabricated stems. After watching a ton of youtube I did what a lot of newbies do. I thought my pipes were amazing and I plastered them all over the net. I made two more. Those two were amazing too. Im being sarcastic. Then for pipe four, I thought I would try to make a blow fish. I had to throw away the block. Wow I learned a lot. After speaking with a friend of mine he told me how this whole pipe making thing goes. A new pipe maker needs to learn the first basic principles of pipe making. So like I'm on lessons 4-10 and guys like Tyler Beard and Jeff Gracik are on lessons 900-1000. I learned the best pipe makers in the world are able to do what they do and use the materials they do because they don't have to think about things a new pipe maker has to think about. I have been humbled and I have learned to ask more questions and I have no desire to try to reinvent the wheel. I also believe in innovation. But the nature of innovation is that you have to have a level of basic understanding of the area of our innovation. I can not come up with a new and exciting way to bake a cake if I don't know the basic process and ingredients of making a cake. Anyway, these are thoughts from a newbie.