Uneven Natural Edged Bowl

[Grammaton]

I've just started on my third pipe. Someone saw my first pipe (hard maple) and offered me a piece of briar. It had some of the bark still on it. I'm still figuring out how to see the right shape in a block of briar (instead of pipes I see boxes and bowls).

I started out with the idea of a bent Dublin-ish shape and I had intended to face off the top of the chamber but once I started turning the outside of the bowl it looked interesting. The grain is really pretty (kind of a sunburst pattern) and centered on the front of the bowl symmetrically (at least what I can see so far), so I decided to ask for opinions here.

If this was a bowl, box, or a hollow vessel (which is what I normally turn) I would leave the natural edge as it is, but I'm after a smoker with this pipe, not a paperweight.

What I want to know is: Will the uneven top of the chamber affect the smoking properties?
I'm not sure I can get to an even bowl height gracefully while keeping the natural edge.
The height difference from low to high is about a quarter inch.
Should I go ahead and face off the top, or leave the natural edge?

[RadDavis]

It won't affect smoking, and it'll look cool.

You should get the bark off though, cause it'll stay pretty crumbly. You can do that with a wire brush and something to pick at the stubborn parts with. Just get all the brown off.

Rad

[Sasquatch]

Rad is right. (You must have asked an "easy one", David!)


Seriously - As Rad says, leaving the rough top, the "plateaux" is a perfectly acceptable thing to do and there's absolutely no effect on the smoking qualities of the pipe. This is strictly a thing where traditional English shapes do not incorporate the plateaux and traditional Danish shapes do pretty often. I love big flared-top plateaux pipes.

Glad to see you here man.

PS That's looking pretty awesome for pipe #3. I think I hate you.

[Grammaton]

Rad, I was going to wait until I was farther along to remove the bark. I figured it would protect the surface while I work on the rest of the pipe.

Sas, it's not done yet. And besides, it's your fault I'm doing this.

Thanks, to both of you.