Billiard - First Rustication Attempt

[Growley]

Hey all,

I just finished my first rusticated pipe. It has a hand carved ebonite stem with a mother of pearl acrylic accent ring. It still seems bassackwards to me to take a perfectly good pipe and beat the tar out of it. Then again, I guess if it were a perfectly good pipe, it would have had better grain. Of course, my hand apparently needed a little rustication too, but that's the breaks.

I was trying to put a rustication on it that still allowed me to see the shape of the pipe really well. I'd love to hear what you think. Do you think this rustication works well?
















Thanks for looking!

Brian.

[Ocelot55]

I love the proportions of that pipe, Brian! It's like a chubby little lovat. I think the shaping is excellent.

That said, I prefer a different style of rustication. IMO, Sas, hit the nail on the head when he said this in a different post:

The key to almost every rusticated finish, the difference between making it good or mediocre, is completely texturing the surface, and not leaving a bunch of flat spots. The "Sea Rock" type of finish only looks good if it's absolutely complete, and the textured area gives no hint about formerly being smooth, and no real hint of what the tooling was - no big scratches or chisel-shaped marks.

What did you do the rustication with? The few pieces that I've rusticated I've used a combo of a dremel and a tool Tyler had on his previous website (basically a bunch of sharpened nails shoved in a pipe).

Good rustication does take a little practice to get down. Looks like you've got a good start on developing your technique.

[HumblePipe]

First off, I love that stem, nice work. The rustication is actually kind of neat looking, it is a bit different than most rustication that I have seen. Nice work!

[Nate]

Pretty sweet Brian! Nice job on the stem as well.

[Alden]

I agree with Ocelot. I frigging love the pipe, but the rustication not so much.
Maybe if it was all stained dark instead of the contrast.
Or, if you had gone over the rustication with a wire wheel to blend the edge of the gouges.
Sweet pipe though.

[JMG]

Nice job, Brian. I like the proportions a lot and you did a great job on the button...very crisp. You might want to check out the rustication tool Tyler had up on his site at one time. It's cheap to make and produces a very nice look.

[mathias65]

I too love this pipe! The rustification, well, granted it's not like most I've seen, but to be honest I think it looks pretty cool. Not sure I'd want all my rusticated pipes to look like that, but I think it works on this pipe. Just my humble opinion of course. Can't help but wonder how you did it though.

Nice stem work, love the ring!

[Growley]

Thanks for all the comments. Actually I used the same tool Tyler has. I apparently just didn't use it with as much skill as he does

Since this was my first attempt I had a hard time knowing how much was enough. There was something I really liked about it having some flat spots for contrast that I just stopped earlier than I guess most rustication methods. I'm not sure I'd rusticate again this way, but I do like how you can find all kids of interesting shapes, faces, figures, creatures and so on in the lines.

I did find a cool little trick though while I was doing this. I wanted to buff this out as normal rather than shellacking it and so on, because I still wanted it to have a smooth feel. I knew that as soon as I did this the cracks and crevasses would fill up with junk. I found a really great way of getting that junk back out very quickly. Sticky Tac! I just squished it on my pipe and when you pull it back off it removes the junk! Pretty cool.

Thanks again.

Brian.

[AaronC]

i think i like the sparse rustication

[Ocelot55]

I thought you used a similar tool as the markings looked the same. What helped me was to work in small overlapping circles. Once I had done the entire surface of the pipe I repeated the process. It took some time but it was worth it.

Of course, if you like the rustication, that is all that matters. That is the great thing about rusticating pipes: there is no right or wrong way to do it. It looks like of those who commented the opinions are split.

The shaping really is top notch.

[wdteipen]

Love it Brian. I like the rustication too. It has an old leathery appearance to it. the stemwork is really well done too. Great job.

[taharris]

I like the rustication too.

I particularly like the contrast between the black craigs and the smooth Briar.

Todd

[JMG]

Great idea about the sticky tack. I've had a couple of times that came close to insanity trying to pick trash and carnuba out of the pits of rusticated pipes. Thanks for the tip.

[jdkearns]

I really like the rustication, I think the contrast works well. Very nice pipe!

[Growley]

I really like the rustication, I think the contrast works well. Very nice pipe!

Thanks, I appreciate it. I should probably note that any pipe I put up for comment is also for sale, unless otherwise noted. Until I get a website put together, I kind of have to wing it a bit as far as sales go. Just let me know if you're interested enough to buy it and we'll work something out.

Also, I notice you're from Plano. I used to live in Houston and had to travel to that area weekly for work. Enjoy the cool because it's not going to last much longer . Farihope is about the same so no reprieve for me either.

Thanks again.

Brian.

[jdkearns]

I really like the rustication, I think the contrast works well. Very nice pipe!

Also, I notice you're from Plano. I used to live in Houston and had to travel to that area weekly for work. Enjoy the cool because it's not going to last much longer . Farihope is about the same so no reprieve for me either.

Thanks again.

Brian.

It was so nice today, and it has been a mild winter... I expect my pool to boil this summer though! If you're ever swinging through again - stop by the garage and show me how to make a pipe!!!

[Charl]

I like this rustification! And the stem is well done too.

[Tommi]

Hi,
looks very good, nice Job.
best wishes
Tommi