My latest pipe

[wdteipen]

Here's a picture of my latest pipe. Feel free to tear it apart and critique it. I have some ideas as to what I need to do better but could use you fellas to point out what I'm missing. Thanks.

[NateTheBookie]

Very Nice!

I really like the shape, and especially the texture around the top of the bowl.

But if I had to pick something I didn't like, it seems to be a bit too monochrome to me, It may look different in person (I could see that the clear stem would make the inlay stand out a lot more), but it seems to me that that inlay could be used to really add a darker contrast to the pipe, maybe a different wood?

Overall, a great pipe. how does she smoke?

[pipeyeti]

Question about the stem insert? Did you use a mortis and tenon connection or just epoxy them together? What I mean is how did you connect the wood and acrylic in the stem?

[Zeeborn]

Hi Wayne,
Great pipe I really like that shape and the use of the natural texture of the brier. I think the problem I have with it is that the stem and the inserts all have some kind of modeling to the color of them and they all have a similar color value. There is nothing that is just a soled color to let the eye rest on. It’s kind of like a song with out a beat. I think in this case the pipe could benefit from having an insert that would add some contrast between the stem and the brier, also serve as a break between all the motion that is happening in the grain of the wood and the striation of the stem material.
An other somewhat more nit picky issue I have would be, I think the transition form the top of the stem into the bole should be a slightly tighter radius or at least be more of a fluid contour.
Hope that wasn't too harsh I’m just trying to help.
Cheers,
Nate

[AaronWhitehouse0077]

I'd like to see a top down in close view of the top of the bowl. From the angle it looks a bit like saw teeth, the picture makes me wonder wether I would be at risk of scratching myself. It does have a wavy feeling to it. I agree with the contrast, perhaps a lighter stain on the bowl, or a deeper stain, I'd think a lighter stain would maintain the grain. It is beautiul stem work, and the overall flow of the angles is nice, I like the acorn shape. Overall I'd give it an 8 out of 10 given the one picture.

[Sasquatch]

That looks very nice, Wayne... I would pick that up in a store and give it a really hard look! The only thing that jumps out at me is that the stem looks a bit thick near the bit... I don't tend to like pipes that fatten up so fast, but that's just a personal comfort thing. (And adjusting that on this pipe might in fact detract from the look).

[pennsyscot]

Very nice pipe. I dig the jagged plateau top, the color of the stem, and the color and placement of the insert. I don't like how the delrin tenon shows through the acrylic, I think a turned tenon would be better. I also think that it might look better if the shank ran straight into the bowl. Maybe, a hair less bend. A shot of the top would be nice; I like the way a nicely worked airway looks in translucent acrylic. What is the accent made from? Hope ya don't mind my criticisms. Overall a very attractive pipe.

[wdteipen]

Thanks for the constructive criticism fellas. That's exactly what I was looking for. I agree with everything said and your saying so confirms my thoughts on what could be better. The biggest overall thing is the monochrome color. It looked so much better as natural briar. It really made the stem work pop. I was shooting for a much lighter stain but I'm having difficulty mixing light stains for some reason. I'm having a tough time with translucent acrylics because I can't stand acrylic tenons. They're just too fragile and unsmooth. I really don't like being able to see the Delrin either. I suppose a Delrin sleeve in the mortise with an acrylic tenon is a possible option but it will still be too fragile.

The stem accents are briar taken from the same block and pearl lucite. For some reason the briar in the stem didn't stain the same color as the bowl. The only thing I can think of that would have caused this is glue but I can't say for certain. I used CA glue because I felt it would hold better than epoxy. There is no tenon to hold the inserts together. Anyone know how durable this will be? One thing that I didn't consider when using solid material such as briar in a stem is that it doesn't bend. I was fortunate that I was able to make the bend look somewhat decent but I had to create a slight illusion of a bend in the shank. I probably should have done it more so to improve the fluidity of the flow from bit to bowl.

I'm actually a little disappointed in the plateau top. The knobs aren't as dense as I would have liked and in fact it has some pretty uninteresting blank spots on the rim. Unfortunately, I didn't take too many pictures before I gifted this pipe to a friend so this is the only decent one I have.

[Frank]

It's difficult to judge a pipe from just one photo partially obscured by the pipe stand.

What immediately jumped out and smacked me in the eye is all the craziness going on at the shank/stem junction. It may seem monochrome because the colours are similar, but, including the briar, you have 5 (possibly 6) different colours/materials all at that junction. It's a riot of colour all moving in different directions - both confusing and distracting. If that was your intent, you succeeded, otherwise a whole lot of stuff should go from that junction.

[flix]

Wayne,
The bottom of the stem at the bend is not flowing correctly. It looks like it needs some material removed to match the flow of the top of the stem. I can't think of anything others have mentioned. I do like the look, other than the delrin tenon (distracting)!