This is my first post. Here are the two most recent pipes I've made. I'm obviously no pro. I know they aren't perfect, but I'm trying to think of the work I'm doing now not as pipe-making, but rather as "practice at making pipes." And with that in mind, they are at least partially successful, as (I hope) I've learned from my mistakes.
I'm not sure that I want to pursue a full-time career in pipemaking, but I do enjoy it and hope to keep doing it, and perhaps someday maybe selling some... if I feel like they become good enough. With that in mind goal in mind, I know that it's hard to grow and increase your talents without some honest feedback from your superiors, so I somewhat hesitantly ask for genuine critique.
I live in an apartment, and do not have the space for power tools, so both pipes were pre-drilled blocks (one from Tim West and one from Kim Kendall of Penguin Briar). Carving was done with a dremel, a rasp, files and sandpaper. The cocobolo extension on the triangular pipe was made by a friend who has a workshop and a lathe. The extension was not part of the original design, but added because there was enormous void that went all the way through the mortise where the extension now sits.
So, without further ado, here they are:
#5 - Triangle
![Image](http://www.danrhyatt.com/pipes/triangle_group.jpg)
And #6 - Tallboy
![Image](http://www.danrhyatt.com/pipes/tallboy_group.jpg)
For the sake of argument, here are my own feelings about my mistakes with the pipes.
#5: I'm fairly satisfied with the way the triangular pipe came out. I did slightly alter the symmetry for the worse in the final sanding, but I don't think it detracts greatly from the overall effect. The main thing I'd like to change is I wish the stem didn't have the pinch in it. But that wish led to disaster with the next pipe.
#6: The tallboy. Generally, I like the overall shape of the pipe, especially the shank and how it meets the bowl. In the original design, the pipe was much shorter, and was flat-topped; however, as I was carving, I decided I liked the look of the pipe with the plateau on, so I left it. This led to the first problem, though. With a 3/4" drilling, the chamber seems too narrow for it's depth of 2". I haven't smoked the pipe yet, so I'm not sure how much of a problem that will be. I was originally thinking it would be a gift, but now I'm considering keeping it... mainly because of that stem, which I think is the pipe's achilles heel. In trying to correct the pinch in the preformed stem that bothered me so much in the triangular pipe, I had to file off too much material, and now it's too thin (from side to side as viewed from the top). Not that it affects the smokability at all, but it just feels weird in your mouth.
Anything I missed?