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My first and second pipes:

When I started, I didn't know you were supposed to modify the stem blank, so I spent several hours making a mortise that fit the stem blank as is. I bought the briar and stem blank off eBay.



And one of my most recent ones.

This is fun! I'll take part.
A years worth of pipemaking has taken me this far. My first and 37th pipe. At least they've gotten lighter over the year...

OK, then.

It's not quite what the thread starter had in mind, but as long as you've made at least two pipes it technically counts, right?

They were done over 30 years apart, the first the result of a challenge by a tobacco shop owner who gave me a block of wood in 1979 (I made it in my kitchen with improvised tools), and the second was made a couple years ago on a lark. (They are the only two I've ever done. I'm most definitely not a pipe maker, just a repairman. I just wanted to see if I could make a "real" pipe in addition to a simple 1970's-era table sitter.)

LatakiaLover wrote:OK, then.

It's not quite what the thread starter had in mind, but as long as you've made at least two pipes it technically counts, right?

They were done 30 years apart, the first the result of a challenge by a tobacco shop owner who gave me a block of wood in 1979 (I made it in my kitchen with improvised tools), and the second was made a couple years ago on a lark. (They are the only two I've ever done. I'm most definitely not a pipe maker, just a repairman. I just wanted to see if I could make a "real" pipe in addition to a simple 1970's-era table sitter.)

Sorry, George. You're not in the running for most improved.

(It's because neither of those are bad)

I don't know...the grain in that first one is fucking HORRIBLE!!

d.huber wrote:Is there a most improved award at the end of this thread? I'm taking notes.

Yes, but you can't win it because your first pipe was your best.

sandahlpipe wrote:

d.huber wrote:Is there a most improved award at the end of this thread? I'm taking notes.

Yes, but you can't win it because your first pipe was your best.

Indisputable! Why do you think I posted my 4th pipe for comparison?

Very cool thread! I want in.

My first pipe, just over a year ago:



Pipe #12, a couple of weeks ago:

Alright here is number one, it is the standard bulbous freehand:



Number Ten:


Still a long way to go to catch up with you guys! Jesse that dublin is sweet, is that one under your line or listed under smokers haven?

#1 vs. #10. Not as dramatic an improvement as some of you, but an improvement nevertheless. I'm hoping for a lot more progress over the next 10.

Yeah.... Thanks for making me dredge up THAT ancient history!

One of my earliest pipes- February 2012



One I just finished up

(whisper to the board)...

That Fiddlestix guy entered his eighth ever pipe in last year's billiard contest and it survived deep into the elimination process.

In short, he reminded Adam, Greg, and me of this kid:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fMZtxv3bFNM

Be afraid. Be very afraid.

Mark and Micah make me sick! (And Huber too.) They've accomplished in a very short time what took me 6 years. Screw you guys; I'm going home.

And George quit acting so coy. Both of those pipes are really good and especially as #1 and #2. Quite possibly the best first two pipes I've ever seen.

wdteipen wrote:And George quit acting so coy. Both of those pipes are really good and especially as #1 and #2. Quite possibly the best first two pipes I've ever seen.

Coy? Not at all. Just stating facts. I thought the time gap between #1 and #2 made an oblique play on the theme of the thread, and that I'd made only two pipes made it more more definition-stretching still.

A bit like that thread last week where I related ACTUALLY having being asked by a reporter about my neighbor's famous-model daughter after someone here used the phrase "being interviewed about your neighbor's daughter" to describe an event that's extremely unlikely.

I guess I just have an odd sense of humor.

As for how the pipes turned out, thanks, but it isn't quite what it seems. I'd done years of gunsmithing, model-making, & etc. before attempting #1 (it's how the challenge came about, in fact); and I'd repaired pipes and made stems for years before attempting #2.

Nice thread, my turn..
Made this first pipe from May and finish June 2013, the bowl was from "dragon eyes fruit" wood.



And this is a few of my pipes i have finished last month.

You know what?

We have some of the most talented & skilled pipe makers in the world that participate on this forum.

Pretty fuking awesome!

Ryan, let's see some more baby dik diks!

PremalChheda wrote:
Ryan, let's see some more baby dik diks!

Before anyone panics:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dik-dik

Here's some pretty early ones, probably under 1/2 dozen at the time.




Now I've branched way out.

PremalChheda wrote:You know what?

We have some of the most talented & skilled pipe makers in the world that participate on this forum.

Pretty fuking awesome!

Ryan, let's see some more baby dik diks!

Micah ate them all ! A whole bag full.