Leave The Stem Straight Or Bend It A Little ?

WBill · Post by **WBill** » Sun Apr 10, 2005 12:15 am

As this is the first pipe I have ever made, I have a few questions. Do you think it would look better with the stem left straight or should I bend it a little?

http://www.bgimg.com/

Thanks Bill

bscofield · Post by **bscofield** » Sun Apr 10, 2005 11:12 am

Well... I wanna say bend it because of the style, but I somehow feel that the lines on the side of the bowl facing the shank will conflict with a bend... not sure tho.

Is this cherry wood? Did you hand cut that stem? Tell us about the pipe!

marks · Post by **marks** » Sun Apr 10, 2005 11:44 am

Your choice on the bend. If it were mine, I would bend it ever so slightly, just to get the end of the stem parallel with the top of the bowl. But, that is your choice.

By the way, that is a nice looking pipe. As Ben said, tell us more...

WBill · Post by **WBill** » Sun Apr 10, 2005 12:08 pm

The bowl is made out of a block of cherrywood I bought on ebay, the extension is made from a mahogany pen blank and the stem is a pre-formed ebinite that I did a lot of shaping and desigh work on.

I like poker and elephant foot shaped pipes and I guess you could call this a combination of the two.

I did most of the shaping on a belt sander but spent a lot of time with the old sandpaper held in the hand.

I really enjoyed making this first pipe and after I have used all of the cherrywood I just might buy some briar.

Bill

WBill · Post by **WBill** » Sun Apr 10, 2005 4:59 pm

I think I will call the pipe "ELPOK", what do you think ?

Bill

LexKY_Pipe · Post by **LexKY_Pipe** » Mon Apr 11, 2005 11:43 am

Bill

Great work on a first pipe. I like the stem as is.

Nick · Post by **Nick** » Mon Apr 11, 2005 1:56 pm

Elpokerfoot!

I'd go for Elephant Poker, but that has too many connotations clean and otherwise.

Heheehhe

jthpipes · Post by **jthpipes** » Mon Apr 11, 2005 2:30 pm

marks wrote:Your choice on the bend. If it were mine, I would bend it ever so slightly, just to get the end of the stem parallel with the top of the bowl. But, that is your choice.

By the way, that is a nice looking pipe. As Ben said, tell us more...

I'm in agreement with marks on the bend. and also the fact that its a nice looking pipe.

souljer · Post by **souljer** » Tue Apr 12, 2005 5:52 pm

Hi,

Nice looking pipe. I'm still working on my first few, but in the mean time, let's talk about yours!

I like the "modern" feel I get from it. It's simple and elegant without being too minimal. That clean, simple groove in the stem helps that feeling. That's nice. It kind of reminds me of a modern version of the big MacArthur Corn Cob pipe. A tall, straight bowl with a long straight stem.

As for bending the stem, it depends on what you're bending it for; design or functionality.

Functionality would be if it almost stands by itself like an Elephant / Poker (heh, heh). If it's almost a sitter, bending the stem may lower the center of gravity and allow it to sit. If there's no way it will stand then there is no real functional reason to bend it except for the weight. It might be more comfortable to hold in ones mouth with a bent stem.

Design wise, it's more about personal preference. Some people might like the stem straight, some may not. I think bending the stem would be a detraction from the lines already there and how they interact. It would be the only thing bent or curving like that.

You could always live with it a while like this and bend it later if you still want to. Then if you don't like it, bend it back. You'll learn more if you do both and see what you like about each version. Or make another bit and have a bent and a straight version.

As for the name; that's tricky. If you don't like Elephant Poker (heh, heh), then maybe something like Pokerphant or Pokerfoot?

I think it's a great looking pipe what ever you call it.