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Hello everyone, I have just started getting into pipe smoking and pipe making and have just completed my first two pipes. The first one I made is the pickax shape. I made this one from a peace of spalted boxwood rootball that was sitting in my dads firewood pile. I used a drill press for the various holes and ruffed out the shape using a hand saw. I then went to work on it with a dremel, files, sand paper, buffing wheel and finally rubbed it down with olive oil. For the stem I used one that was on an old calabash pipe that hadn't ben used in years. I intend on making a stem for it but haven't gotten around to ordering the material. But that's the shape I want it to be anyway.
The other one I made from a pipe kit that my dad has had for a long time (I would guess 25-30 years). He never felt the urge to carve it so I dug it out of the basement and went to it the same way I did the first one.
I will start number 3 soon.
What do you guys think? Criticism welcome.
Thanks,
Nate
Thanks, I really enjoy making things like this. There is one more chunk of the boxwood left so I'll probably start on my third tomorrow. I haven't smoked out of the pickax yet so I'm not sure if the spalting will make it taste bad. For my first few pipes its good for the practice if nothing else.
Zeeborn wrote:I haven't smoked out of the pickax yet so I'm not sure if the spalting will make it taste bad. For my first few pipes its good for the practice if nothing else.
It will be interesting to hear the results of it being smoked, bearing in mind that the spalting might have structurally weakened the wood. Hopefully the mold/fungal spores that created the spalting are well dead.
Regards,
Frank.
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Grouch Happens!
People usually get the gods they deserve - Terry Pratchett
Man you've got one hell of a talent in your hands! The first one is very interesting (although won't "live" too long - IMHO) and the second one is simply superb! Reminds me of Rolando Negoita's pipe designed for Butz Choquin merged with a nautilus. So what I wanna say is suspend the PC and get down in the basement to finish the third one Looking forward to see it! Congrats!
Frank wrote:It will be interesting to hear the results of it being smoked, bearing in mind that the spalting might have structurally weakened the wood. Hopefully the mold/fungal spores that created the spalting are well dead.
I will definitely give a report on how it smokes. Before i started making the pipe i did test the density of the wood buy just poking it with a sharp object in several spots while trying to apply the same amount of pressure. I didn’t notice any difference between the light and dark parts of the wood. That and the fact that the wood had ben drying for a year or more makes me think that it should be stable.
tritrek wrote:Man you've got one hell of a talent in your hands! The first one is very interesting (although won't "live" too long - IMHO) and the second one is simply superb! Reminds me of Rolando Negoita's pipe designed for Butz Choquin merged with a nautilus. So what I wanna say is suspend the PC and get down in the basement to finish the third one Looking forward to see it! Congrats!
Thanks for the encouraging words. im not familiar with the work of Rolando Negoita I’ll have to look him up. I hope I’ll have time today to get to my dads shop (across town) to start on my third.
I think for my next one I’ll use carnauba wax to finnish it . The olive oil is good for a matt finnish but I’m ready for some gloss. Dose any one see anything that stands out as something I should improve on.
Thanks for the help,
Nate
Zeeborn wrote:Does anyone see anything that stands out as something I should improve on.
Thanks for the help,
Nate
Considering that they're your first attempts, they look very good to me. The only thing that's slightly noticeable (could be just the photo and lighting), they perhaps need a sharper transition between shank and stem.
I'm not too sure about the flattened back of the pickaxe bowl, but perhaps that's a personal preference.
Regards,
Frank.
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Grouch Happens!
People usually get the gods they deserve - Terry Pratchett
Frank wrote:]Considering that they're your first attempts, they look very good to me. The only thing that's slightly noticeable (could be just the photo and lighting), they perhaps need a sharper transition between shank and stem.
I'm not too sure about the flattened back of the pickax bowl, but perhaps that's a personal preference.
I definitely agree about the stem transition. It should appear to be one continuous line. I was just having trouble with it and rather than removing too much material trying different methods I just got it as good as I could and went with it. What's the preferred method for doing this? As for the flat part on the pickax I would say that falls into personal preference. My reasoning behind it is that the shape it makes mirrors the shape of the lower stem cross section. That being an inverted teardrop shape witch also mimics the shape of the rest of the pipe. That's how it makes sense to me any way. I try not to make design decisions arbitrarily but its ok if my choices don't suite everyone’s taste.
Zeeborn wrote:I definitely agree about the stem transition. It should appear to be one continuous line. I was just having trouble with it and rather than removing too much material trying different methods I just got it as good as I could and went with it. What's the preferred method for doing this?
There could be a couple or more reasons depending on your working methods, but a common mistake with beginners is to buff/polish with the stem removed from the shank. This can cause roundover of the sharp edge between the stem and shank. Albeit very tiny, it is noticeable to a critical eye. The stem should always be in the shank when sanding, buffing and polishing that area.
It is also possible that you are sanding the junction with a flexible sandpaper. The softer material, the briar, will tend to be sanded down more than harder vulcanite/ebonite. Many pipemakers use emery boards, obtainable from beauty shops, to sand the junction. They are double sided and have a dense foam layer sandwiched in the middle between the sanding surfaces which makes them slightly flexible, but still firm enough to get a sharp transition from shank to stem.
Regards,
Frank.
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Grouch Happens!
People usually get the gods they deserve - Terry Pratchett
Thanks for the tips Frank. I was doing both of the things you said could cause the unevenness. Well I'll do better next time for sure. Maybe I'll even go back and see if I can fix these two.
I just finished my first smoke out of the pickax with the tobacco shown in the pictures. It started off a little harsher than it has been in my other pipes but then settled down after a minute or so. Most of the boll was good but when it got towards the end I could taste the wood getting hot and that didn’t taste good. I dumped it out and saw that the wood around the hole in the bottom of the boll was scorched. I wonder if that problem will go away after it has a sufficient layer of carbon build up or if I will always have to be weary about smoking it to the end?
Zeeborn wrote:... and saw that the wood around the hole in the bottom of the bowl was scorched. I wonder if that problem will go away after it has a sufficient layer of carbon build up or if I will always have to be weary about smoking it to the end?
It usually takes a few bowls to break in a new pipe, so you're doing OK thus far. As for the charring at the hole, try puffing a little gentler when you get near the bottom until you've built up some cake there. Only time will tell if the charring problem stops. Remember, it's boxwood not briar. Happy puffs!
Regards,
Frank.
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Grouch Happens!
People usually get the gods they deserve - Terry Pratchett
Looking forward to see it! Congrats!
Well I'll do better next time for sure. Maybe I'll even go back and see if I can fix these two. 
