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I've decided that my next pipe is going to be a Lovat. However, I'm a little unsure about the shaping of this pipe. Should the shank have a slight taper like a traditional Billiard? I've seen some Cavicchi Lovat shapes and the shanks don't appear to taper at all (at least in the pictures). Any help would be appreciated.Thank you.

In my opinion, such as it is, there should be an ever-so-slight taper from stem to bowl. Without it, the shank can appear to become narrower at the bowl end - an optical illusion, but it can make the pipe look out of sorts. The taper is very slight however.

If you taper the whole shank it will look strange, no matter how gradual. most of the shank should be straight. A .5mm taper over the 3/4" closest to the bowl will be all you need. That will prevent the effect Kurt described without creating the opposite problem of too much taper. It should look straight.

Good luck.

Jeff