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Pipe #5. First "successful" hand cut stem. I was going for a billiard here.

This one was tough and I have to say I'm not ecstatic about the final product. I can see issues including the backwards cant, pinched look at bowl/shank, roughness inside the slot as well as a stem shank gap…I was dismayed to find that at the very end of sanding, a small gap at the bottom of the stem shank transition appeared. This was not present before and I'm not sure what caused it. Then when I was sanding off my first coat of stain with 400 and 600 grit I noticed there were now areas where the stem was proud. Perhaps I could have fixed this, but at that point in the process I wasn't sure how. Everything was perfectly flush and then it wasn't. Thoughts about what may have caused this and how to avoid it in the future are most welcome.

What else am I not seeing? Is it as bad as I think it is? Is the stem shank gap as bad to everyone else as it is to me? (It actually much easier to see it in photos than in person) Is it worse? …Pointers, critiques and tips about the pipe in general are most welcome (desired). The question about is it as bad as it looks is genuine. Sometimes I can't separate myself from a project and be objective. Please don't sugar coat, I want and can (probably) handle the honesty.

Hopefully #6 will get closer to the mark. Thanks everyone.

… Also. If there are issues that it's not too late to fix. Please feel free to share those as well. I'm willing to do more work even if that means sanding off the stain and finishing everything again. Thank you.

It's difficult to see much from the angle of most of your pictures. Premal has a good sticky covering posting pics in the gallery to generate the best critiques. I do see the backwards cant you're talking about- you want a slight cant in the forward direction on a billiard. Also, It's hard to see your bottom line due to the shadow, so I can't tell if your bowl hangs down below your shank- definitely something to avoid on a classic billiard.
On a straight billiard, I try to get that stem/shank junction totally flush-no matter how you turn the stem. I achieve this by a combination of sanding parallel and perpendicularly to the transition, rotating the stem 45 degrees and repeating until the junction is flush-regardless of the orientation. I then work on the taper to the bite zone. Your button looks a little fat and your crease is not very defined. A pillar file and a nut-seating file are must- have tools for this area of the stem IMO. The focus of your button picture was down the draught hole, so I cant see the slot very well.

As far as the gap goes, I don't know what tools you're working with, so I can't tell you where you might have went wrong, but if the face of the shank and shoulder of the stem aren't perfect, you'll have a gap. You can fix this by "lapping" the end of the shank. Get a completely flat surface and take a piece of sand paper (I use 800 grit) and tape the top of the paper to the surface and hold the bottom down with your hand. Being that your gap is on the bottom, you'll want to take a little- and I mean a little at a time off of the top. Take the stummel (with the mortise end flat on the surface and the bowl pointing away from you) and drag it across the sandpaper, putting slightly more pressure on part you want to take away from. Do a few passes and check it. Repeat until the gap is gone. LatakiaLover has a video on his YouTube channel demonstrating this technique far better than I'm describing it.

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCWQlM1 ... rZTdEDANZg

All that windbaggery aside, not a bad pipe-especially for a fifth. I wouldn't bother going back and trying to fix anything- just make another pipe...and another... and another!

Thank you Undershade. This feedback is extremely helpful. I'll utilize these suggestions on #6 and work on taking better photos for the next critique. Thanks again!

Not bad at all for the fifth pipe. Maybe you should pay a little more attention to the joint between the shank and the bowl. In my opinion, the docking place should be drawn more clearly, now it is somewhat smeared.

Thank you Odissey. I appreciate the feedback. Working on improving that area with pipe #6.

There's plenty to improve on but it's not bad for a #5. Undershade hits the bulk of things to work on first. Other than practicing refining your button, I probably wouldn't spend anymore time on this pipe. You're time would be better spent making more pipes and improving on specific things with each one.

Thank you wdteipen.