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Hey you all,

I've been working on a zulu for the past two days and I'm at a point where I think I can begin sanding up in grits. However, as this is a gift for a friend, I really hope to get the shape right. It's not sitting quite flat at the moment so I know I need to even out the bottom of the pipe. It's also a touch lumpy around the bowl, but those are all minor fine-tuning I know I must do. I'm primarily looking for suggestions on the bowl/shank junction or anything else major. If it means anything, I've been looking at Dunhill Zulus as my reference.









Thanks!
Best,
Alex

go study Rad's Zulu

D'oh! How could I have forgotten! Thanks!

I would take more meat off the bowl/shank transition at the top. A Zulu doesn't need defined sides, that's kinda what makes it a Zulu, but you could take material off the top line like you would a normal Dublin shape.

Thanks for the advice! I will keep that in mind for the next zulu I make. I'm on the final staining/sanding/shellacing step already :/.

I DID remove and smooth out the top of the bowl/shank transition some, but doing a side-by-side comparison of then and now, I probably could have removed even more material. I have to finish this pipe before the night is over, so I'm unable to strip it back down.

Best,
Alex