If you have even the slightest thought that you might someday want to earn a living making pipes, keep reading...
Since joining this forum not too long ago, there is one big issue that has been weighing on my mind. I don't know about you guys, but I'm pretty bull headed, stubborn, and hard to dissuade when I get the idea in my head to accomplish something. Even so, I think if this forum existed when I started making pipes, then it would have been a short lived endeavor for me. The level of exacting criticism on here is exhausting! Now, don't get me wrong... I have read nothing but good advice on this forum (aside from a comment or two), and lots of it.
Yep, lots of good advice. So much good advice that a fresh young aspiring pipemaker could quickly learn how to perfect his work to the point where he could hang with the greatest of any Scandinavian names out there, quality wise.
So, now you've got Heeschen selling a billiard for $700, Eltang selling the same one with his stamp on it for $1000, Knudsen selling one for God only knows how many thousands of dollars, and then there's John Smith who just spent a crap-ton of time, money, and energy to finally make a pipe that he thought was good enough to put out there to sell... Same grain, shape, fit, finish, and engineering as the others.
So John Smith takes his pipe to a pipe show, sits down at his table, and watches people walk on by, until someone finally stops, inspects his billiard, considers it for a minute, and then offers him $150 for it. Then he glances over at the next table and sees a guy shelling out $400 for a partially rusticated American estate freehand with an un-modified molded acrylic stem.
Now John Smith is frustrated, upset, and confused... He decides, boldly, to approach the guy who just bought this freehand and ask why he would pay so much money for such an inferior quality pipe. The guy explains to John that there is no other pipe in the world that is the same shape as this one, and even so, he spotted this pipe from two rows over and immediately knew who made it, what to expect from the craftsmanship (good and bad), and about how much to expect to pay for it. He also knew that if he decided that this particular pipe didn't smoke well for him, he could sell it to someone else for what he paid for it, his investment was protected. Oh, and it turns out that this buyer was one of many pipe buyers who prefer acrylic stems with thick buttons. Hey, everybody's different!
Learning to emulate the forms and qualities of high-grade pipes is a worthwhile endeavor as an exercise in learning pipemaking, and one that this forum is an excellent resource for. But in pursuit of that perfect billiard, don't forget to find your own voice in the briar. When you develop your own style to the point that someone can pick out your pipe from across the room, and know that they want it, then your pipes become what is called "marketable"
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You'd be surprised how far that marketability will go when selling pipes. Now, I'm not saying to cut corners in your work. Strive to make the best quality pipe within your means. I'm saying, don't get tunnel vision while exercising your ability to make standard shapes. If you think a line or curve or proportion will look good if you changed it, then change it 'till you think it looks good to you. This is where you start finding your voice in the briar. Make the shape so that it looks good to you, retaining all of the quality in craftsmanship within your means. Alot of folks won't like your changes, and will point out that it is not the proper shape... but there are plenty of pipe buyers out there, and lots of them will love it!
That's what I think, and I could be wrong... but I don't think so.
FWIW, I have never measured the thickness of my stems at or behind the button.