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I've done a search and I'm still unsure of when doing a blast, if you don't want to have a smooth line at say the shank/stem transition (because of a pit that showed up on the edge of the mortise ) or just because you don't want a smooth area at that junction, like Scottie's author pipe. Would you blast then shape the stem to match, it didn't turn out well for the one I blasted after shaping it all together before blasting and i may have already answered my own question, but would like some input on this.

At present, I like to leave that taped strip. It looks like a shank adornment from across the room.
I think that George Dibos and Sasquatch like blending the blast so as not to leave that sharp border, but they will probably chime in.
DocAitch

A masking stripe of unblasted wood looks spectacularly horrible without exception, imo, when compared with what the pipe would look like if the blasting was properly "blended" to the end of the shank.

Nothing will budge my take on this issue a nanometer, and I have a stockpile of 1000 gigaton nukes that I'll use in a heartbeat to defend it. Better the Earth cease to exist than masking stripes become accepted as being even just barely somewhat a little bit slightly sort of OK.

LatakiaLover wrote:A masking stripe of unblasted wood looks spectacularly horrible without exception, imo, when compared with what the pipe would look like if the blasting was properly "blended" to the end of the shank.

Nothing will budge my take on this issue a nanometer, and I have a stockpile of 1000 gigaton nukes that I'll use in a heartbeat to defend it. Better the Earth cease to exist than masking stripes become accepted as being even just barely somewhat a little bit slightly sort of OK.

I tend to agree with this. Now, how does one go about achieving this blending?

By hand, using rotary (Foredom, Dremel) type tools. It's how everyone from Dunhill to Lars Ivarsson has done it.

It CAN also be pulled off by actual blasting, but that takes a lot of practice and a willingness to trash a lot of pipes before figuring it out.

Cover the shank face with leather so it covers the edges. Fade the blast into the shank face and then you need to finish the stem to fit it flush. That’s how I do it anyways.

It's not that hard. Blast the pipe - naturally you blast the shank less deeply than the bowl lest you utterly lose the line on the shank. So the blast is tapering off anyhow, it's lumpy but it's not crazy ridges. I put the stem in and tape it off, blast the shank, then take the stem down to match the size/shape of the shank with a file. You can also make the stem just a hair undersized and kind of blast to it.







You can see how the blast on both these shanks is just not as deep as the bowl. It's not like sandblasting is this totally uncontrollable process where you just squeeze the trigger and hope nothing goes wrong as the pipe is immolated. You have control.

So you blast, shape the stem, you might even file the blast a little, even things up here and there - this is quickly remedied with a very quick touch up in the cabinet or as LL suggests, you can "fake it" with other tooling.

Thanks for the info guy's. Sandblasting is totally new to me so I'm sure there will be a little learning curve. Having at least an idea of how to proceed is very helpful.

Just to thumb my nose at George, when I took some pipes to the New York Pipe show, the one that got picked up and fondled the most, and purchased second from my group was a dark mahogany cherry wood sitter with a Cumberland stem. The final polish lightened up the unblasted strip and it looked like a shank enhancement.
I personally thought it was quite attractive, and apparently so did a few others.
Take a look at JT Cooke’s web site.
People like what they like for what ever reason. YMMV
DocAitch

Doc,

There will always be insanity and tastelessness. What can I do except start lobbing my nukes?

Since what you describe happened in New York, though, I won't just yet. (Everyone's judgement goes to hell when they breathe Hudson River fumes.)

PS -- Jimmy makes sand-sculpted tropical fish tank decor that's incidentally smokable, not pipes.

I tend to agree with George on this one. I've been blasting right up to my stems but I use Sas's method. Just feather the depth of the blast on the shank. I taper my shanks a touch more severely to compensate. That's taking some practice and some of my results have been better than others. I tend to not taper them enough but I'm getting there.

Psst, guys! Seriously nobody has thought of the easiest way??
Instead of some mysterious 10th dan sandblasting and dremel kung fu you could just maybe... sand it lightly after blasting?
It does work perfectly.

W.Pastuch wrote:Psst, guys! Seriously nobody has thought of the easiest way??
Instead of some mysterious 10th dan sandblasting and dremel kung fu you could just maybe... sand it lightly after blasting?
It does work perfectly.

You're joking, right?

A blast that's sanded---meaning the tops of the bumps are flattened---looks bad categorically. Like cheap rustication. A blast that's sanded in only one area like the last 5/8" of the shank, looks spectacularly horrible.

You MUST be thinking of something else...

Pics? (or please clarify)

I assumed he meant sanding the stem. If he means the stummel, then I most certainly agree with George.

I think Wojtek is just screwing with us. Goddam Commies.


I never trust anyone whose name starts with a W anyhow.

That would definitely explain it.

Commies 1, Canmerica 0

I'll take some pics when I do the next batch of blasted pipes next week.
It does not look horrible. It looks very good. I mask the areas that are meant to be smooth (logo area), blast over the tape carelessly, blast all the way up to the mouthpiece and blend it all nicely with fine grit sandpaper. There is no "blast sanded over", it's smooth briar that transitions into sandblasted briar without a crisp border.

Btw, we're not commies anymore. The fucking idiots ruling my country are far worse than commies

Sasquatch wrote:
I never trust anyone whose name starts with a W anyhow.

That hurts.
DocAitch aka “Walter”

I know native English speakers are kind of retarded when it comes to foreign languages, but I'll make it easy for you- my name is pronounced "Voitec", so no W sound as you imagined it you can trust me now

You don't even want to know what we call you!