COBRA by CP

[Abi Natur]

Freehand olive wood pipe.

[tritrek]

Stop it, please!
I haven't seen a pipe of yours that wasn't absolutely *AWESOME*!!! Congrats again!

[Abi Natur]

I appreciate your comment on this tritrek,i just try to give the material the shape it feels most comfortable in .

[Mike Messer]

I've never been a big fan of Cavaliers, even though all the big-time pipemakers seem to like them. They always seem like pipemakers showing-off, or something, but this one is not so extreme, and I like it. Very nice form and wood grain, too, but I still don't see the cobra in it, probably because I'm not especially fond of cobras, either, unless they are a long way off.

[Abi Natur]

Thanks Mike,it was not my intention to shape it literally into a cobra,but more shape it into the energy of the body gesture of a viper .I agree with you that it is a difficult shape but most interesting to work on ,such Cavaliers are a kind of self testing projects for some pipemakers ,maybe that's why they like to work on them .

[Sasquatch]

I like a great deal about this pipe, but the outside lines along the stem where it hits the wood are just not in keeping with the shape - they are close enough to matching the lines of the stummel that you probably SHOULD match the lines of the stummel. As it is, they are not far enough off to look as though it was designed; rather, it appears as though not enough care was taken to shape that end of the pipe.

[Mike Messer]

Thanks Mike,it was not my intention to shape it literally into a cobra,but more shape it into the energy of the body gesture of a viper .I agree with you that it is a difficult shape but most interesting to work on ,such Cavaliers are a kind of self testing projects for some pipemakers ,maybe that's why they like to work on them .

Oh, I see, not a literal cobra. And yes, I think my critique of Cavaliers in general was a bit harsh, and most of the ones I've seen were, indeed, excellent works. I tend to shoot first, and ask questions later, sometimes.
All said, It's a great looking pipe. Your work is excellent, as usual. Do you sell your pipes, somewhere?

[Abi Natur]

I understand your statement Mike,yes i have a clientele mostly from Germany,Austria,Swiss,France ,Slovenia,Croatia and Russia.
To some pipes i get kind of artistically attached to and i do not sell them but that happens just on rare occasions ,but then i will always consider orders if the client likes what he sees or has ideas and wants something like it.

Thanks again for the comment.

[Dotter]

Stunning pipe!! Simply awesome!!!

Your craftmanship is absolutely great, material also!

[Abi Natur]

I like a great deal about this pipe, but the outside lines along the stem where it hits the wood are just not in keeping with the shape - they are close enough to matching the lines of the stummel that you probably SHOULD match the lines of the stummel. As it is, they are not far enough off to look as though it was designed; rather, it appears as though not enough care was taken to shape that end of the pipe.

Thanks for the comment Sasquatch,
it can be the photo,but than maybe it's just the taste in pipes and lines.

The stummel keeps perfect line with the body of the pipe because it has 4 sharp lines in an rectangular shape when looked from above.So we have here two sharp lines on the side an one in the front an the other in the back of the shape following from the the flowing middle of the stummel all the way down to the foot .I can't really see no mismatch in this one,but then this is the place to discus about different freehand shapes an their applied arts quality under the view of different aspects .

[Abi Natur]

Stunning pipe!! Simply awesome!!!

Your craftmanship is absolutely great, material also!

Thank you esteemed colleague Dotter for this fine comment.

[Sasquatch]

The stummel keeps perfect line with the body of the pipe because it has 4 sharp lines in an rectangular shape when looked from above..

Maybe so, but the last 3 pictures show that from the side and back, and viewed along the axis there is a slight but noticeable "waist" where the stem meets the wood. The smooth curve of the outside does a little bump right there. Put a straight edge along that part of the pipe and you'll see that it contacts the stem and the stummel, and will not touch right at the joint between them. The stem "fattens up" after that joint, but only ever so slightly. Just enough to look like it needed more work (to my eye).

[Sasquatch]

Here is where I'm meaning:



Highlighted in red, this area is "scooped out" (but only on the left - the curve on the right is much straighter and more uniform). The impression left is that in making the joint smooth, you lost the shape of the pipe right there.

[Abi Natur]

Here is where I'm meaning:



Highlighted in red, this area is "scooped out" (but only on the left - the curve on the right is much straighter and more uniform). The impression left is that in making the joint smooth, you lost the shape of the pipe right there.

I really appreciate your eye for the detail Sasquatch,but if i would leave the curve the way you suggest it should flow, the other side would not be geometrically even .

[Mike Messer]

This back and forth between Sasquatch and Abi is excellent. It's about free-form design versus ideals. A question that is difficult to answer.

[Abi Natur]

Eloquently speaking Mike,i wish we could discuss over this principles of freehand design on a porch with some fine blends,but this virtual porch has to do it for now

[Sasquatch]

There is an extremely fine line (or maybe an extremely blurrly line) between technical execution of shape and the "idea" of the shape. I would never say that there's no way this pipe could have an inward curve at the stem, for example. But IF, if there is an inward curve, it has to look "right". That is, it has to be done such that it looks intentional, fits the rest of the design, probably is symmetrical from side to side (or through whichever axis was relevant) etc. I don't think there's an objective "right" shape to be attained here, but I think we also must distinguish between ultra careful application of tools to render a shape and less careful, or less skilled application of the same tools, which renders a less sophisticated shape.

This stem is smooth, and polished, and nicely bent. But I cannot look at these photos and say "Yes, the stem flows seemlessly into the pipe (which otherwise is all nice smooth curves)." and therefore I have grounds to say "that doesn't look right".

If the artist's answer is "That is EXACTLY how I want that piece shaped." then I would shrug my shoulders and say "Well, good for you then. I don't particularly like it." And that's fine. We've seen lots of pipes where some guys like a particular part and others don't. There's people here who don't like partially rusticated pipes, for example, and I love them.

So my contention on this pipe is that the stem doesn't flow quite as well as it should, is not as symmetrical as it could/ought to be. It has bulges that are not echoed anywhere else (notably in the shaping at the bottom of the pipe, which is a smooth, slowly widening foot). The net result is that to my eye, it looks like another hour of really careful shaping would make this pipe look more "pro". There are some refinements in the shaping of the wood as well, some curve adjusting that would take this pipe from good to stellar, and I'm pushing Abi really hard here, as hard as I can without offending him. (I hope)

This same style of question/answer is posed by the beginner who brings his first freehand to the gallery and says "Tada! What do you think?" And the answer is, "That looks like a second or third pipe" to the astonished disappointment of the maker (who put in HOURS). Part of what shows up is simply inexperience with the tools and materials, inexperience with the difficult combination of matching up the mechanical side with the aesthetic side. But you can just tell, because round isn't quite round, flat isn't quite flat, and the pipe is just a little lumpy.

Let me digress even further, if you will: It is very easy to sell pipes made with "prefab" stems, and the reason for this is that people are "used to" what they look like. So if you make a pipe with a prefab stem, it looks like a lot of pipe shop pipes, and people get excited.
Bring the same pipe here, and you'll be told "this is too long, this is too fat, this angle is off, etc etc"

The difference is, at the end of the day, whether your pipe sells for 50 dollars or 500, to a collector who appreciates (is educated about) the subtle refinements in the best pipes, made by the most skilled makers.

Now, I've probably come across as a condescending prick, and that's not my intent. I really think Abi is close to doing something awesome, and I fear that because he is also doing something different, that all he will hear is praise from an adoring but (forgive me guys) ignorant mass.

Get those little inconsistencies out of your shaping, Abi, and these pipes will be remembered for a long time. Have a look at the carving on a Bo Nordh Ballerina to see what I am hinting at with regards to the possible perfection of the curves. It's a different style of carving to be sure, but I think the technical aspect of what we find beautiful in these pipes DOES carry across.

Just my 2 cents' worth, as they say, and Lord knows I am still struggling mightily on these issues on my own work.

[Abi Natur]

I really do appreciate your point of view Sasquatch !It took you time,will power and energy to lay down all the facts you consider to be of vial import-ans in the design of this freehand pipe,an that now is a big compliment to my work!
By holding this pipe in your hands you would get the whole aspect of the real shape and ,i don't want to say now;photos of pipes are not showing the real picture,but some pipes with complicated lines and with a lighter texture without contrast can be tricky to the eye by multiple factors .But then the picture is not the issue here ,it is the different point of view to a shape of a pipe.

It would not have been a problem to shape it in a round curve from the stem to the bowl,but that again that was not my intent as the flowing of the line is from a narrow stem to a wider but also quiet long bowl, having in mind that all four sides on the bowl are flat but yet flow with straight lines to a light curve downward not inward, as you suggest .
The foot is as the line flows also of a rhomboidal flat end shape observed from below,such a pipe-end you can view at some of Master Tokutomis pipes,but a wider finish of the foot would also have done it quit nicely,I agree .

Never the less -without constructive criticism this craft would go nowhere,it is an essential part of the procreational process in the making of a new pipe or a new stile .
Any pipe maker who can not take criticism on his own work has no place in the world of the pipe-craft,but also there has never been a birth to something new that did not demand sweat,will-power and the will to endure the pain of sacrifice.
So for what it's worth ;thanks again for giving this pipe a place in your universe of the mind,maybe it will inspire you also to something new but yet classically shaped.
I hope my next pipe will give you some more pleasure in the light of the observation,but then there can't be disputes on different tastes just on different views from different angles to the same object .

[JMG]

I don't how I missed this pipe. Abi...this is absolutely gorgeous.

[HumblePipe]

Abi, now that is one handsome pipe. You really made the grain of this wood speak out. I love it. You are truely a skilled pipe crafter.

J