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Here is attempt #2 for me...

It was a pre-bored kit. All I did was shape and finish. No stem work. During the critique of my first pipe I was suggested to try a traditional shape, remove more meat from the stem/shank junction (and remove more meat in general) and sand with stem connected to the shank. With this pipe I tried to work on all those things. Thoughts and critiques are welcome. I am working on pipe #3 now. It is another pre-bored kit, but I am trying to manipulate the stem for try #3.

Thanks for your help!

That's a great looking 2nd pipe! Nice work. You've avoided some of the common mistakes in your shaping by having a good shank bowl transition, no bowl bulge below the shank and fairly symmetrical shapes.

For critique, I'd say, on a billiard, you want your bowl to have a very slight cant forward. Yours actually tilts backwards a bit. Just a few degrees forward makes the pipe look like it flows better.

Your shank pinches a bit near the bowl. That's probably because as you're sanding your bowl near the shank trying to remove the right amount of meat, you're also sanding on the shank more than you realize.

Keep up the good work.

Brian.

Thanks, Growley!

Your encouragement and critique are very helpful!