Pipe for a Trade...

[JMG]

Cutty...canted billiard...? 5 3/4" long, 2 1/4", 7/8" chamber. Red/black cumberland stem. Critique and advice, as always, very welcome. Wayne, I tried to implement your advice from my last billiard and not start the taper so drastically right after the shank and tried to pay more attention to the sides of the stem. Not sure if it paid off, but I feel like it's better than the last...hopefully. (Made a title change as this is for a trade with another maker and he wants it to be a surprise.)

[sandahlpipe]

Nice work. The lines look clean, and the stem work looks clean. I just have a couple of preference issues.
1. The pipe is bowl-heavy.
2. The straight walls on the top part of the bowl don't work with the forward cant. If you were going for a proper cutty, it should bulge in the middle of the bowl. If you were going for a stacked nosewarmer, the forward cant is too aggressive. It's kinda situated between a couple different ideas.

Other than that, it's a nice pipe. You've come a long ways in a short time!

[wdteipen]

You applied the advice I gave on the last stem perfectly. This is, perhaps, the nicest stem you've made. Very well done. Can you see the difference in appearance of quality?

[JMG]

Thanks for the help, Jeremiah. I definitely cold have slimmed the bowl down for sure.

Wayne, I compared this pipe and the last one today and definitely can tell the difference.

[LatakiaLover]

Stem-wise, heavy, chunky ones are considerably more difficult to make "flow" than slender ones, but you pretty much pulled it off.

The only nits I see are:

In side profile, you extended the shank line a smidge farther "into" the stem than what I'd consider perfect. (Meaning the divergent angle of the wedge portion of the stem should be reduced slightly, not the "round over" made more gradual.) The straightness of the wedge's lines that you DO have are excellent except for a very faint dish/scoop along the bottom, btw. (Easiest to see in the second pic from the top. A short, machined straightedge is the easiest way to catch low spots when working---they do not lie, while safety glasses and etc. can distort things.)

Viewed from the top, there an ever-so-slight "canoe paddle" thing going on, from side bulge. The entire side line should flow evenly with no reversal of direction. (You definitely set yourself a task with this pipe in that sense. For organic, smooth, streamlined shapes to work their magic, there can be no breaks from any angle.)

Other than that, your button looks a bit more square and blocky than is customary on high grades, but is well done. (symmetrical, slot centered, etc.)

Non-stem-wise, I agree with the guys who think the bowl is too tall by about a third; and though I'm a big fan of canted bowls, you might have pushed this one too far. Again, by about a third.

Keep up the good work, JMG. You definitely have the eye and the hand/tool skills to really excel at this.