SchmidtN's first pipe

[SchmidtN]

I just learned that you need to be good at making pipes AND good at taking pictures of pipes. Not sure I've got the hang of either, yet.

This is my very first pipe and I had to rusticate it because of a lot of pits, I also had to use pipe mud inside the bowl because of another giant pit. Since I was rusticating I decided to color the smooth portion green and go brown/black on the rustication (kind of like a caramel apple sucker). I'm pretty happy with how it turned out.

Pipe is briar shaped with a dremel and sand paper. Rusticated with a compression fitting & concrete nails tool. Color is Fiebings leather dye. Stem is vulcanite precast and bought off Ebay. It's all pretty much based on the first pipe recommendations found on this site.

Please feel free to tell me what I did well and what could be better next time.









I've been lurking here for a while and tried not to repeat what most people get criticized for on their first pipes. Only thing I think I'm guilty of is maybe not taking enough wood off the pipe, but I was afraid the pit inside the bowl was going to work through the pipe wall.

Hope you enjoyed it and thanks for any input you have for me,
Nicholas Schmidt

[JMG]

Looks like a great first pipe. Good job.

[SchmidtN]

Thank you for the compliment JMG!

[wdteipen]

This pipe reminds me of one of my favorite things in life.....zombies! What it lacks in execution it makes up for in imagination and creativity. It's a nice effort for a first pipe. From here I would work on smoother lines and adjusting your shape to match similar shapes made by professionals. Aside from tooling, this is the single most significant thing I have done to improve my own pipemaking skills.

[SchmidtN]

Thanks for the tips wdteipen. Maybe I should work on a billiard, poker or egg? I think I'm going to practice on cheaper woods before working with briar again. What kind of more traditional shapes do you guys think I should focus on?

[Boekweg]

Nice pipe you have made there. Keep up the good work!

[wdteipen]

Thanks for the tips wdteipen. Maybe I should work on a billiard, poker or egg? I think I'm going to practice on cheaper woods before working with briar again. What kind of more traditional shapes do you guys think I should focus on?

The advise I took from here was to make billiards until you can make them well. They're tougher than they look and will teach you a lot about shaping, proportion, and flow just to name a few. It worked for me or at least I think it did. I think my work got significantly better after working on billiards for awhile.

[SchmidtN]

Boekweg: Thank you for the kind words.

wdteipen: I'm going to start practicing billiards on cheaper wood until I get the hang of it, then try one in briar for my #2. Thanks for the tip... hopefully it helps my get better at making pipes.

[hawky454]

What cheaper wood will you be working with? I'm just curious.

[SchmidtN]

Nothing smoke-able, except for maybe cherry (since I already have a couple blocks of that). Maybe some oak I have laying around or a soft pine from some Christmas past. Also have some old limbs off an apple tree that we cut down six or seven years ago. I don't plan to go buy wood just to practice.

[hawky454]

I understand. I have a ROPP cherry pipe (I believe they only made pipes from cherrywood.) and it smokes excellent! Also have a pearwood pipe that smokes great too.

[Nate]

Pretty good for pipe one! Keep at it!

[SchmidtN]

Thank you for the compliment Nate!

[bornagainbriar]

I like it quite a bit. It shows better than basic pipe crafting skills, but also a look for the arts as well. All the technical stuff will come, but it is hard to train a good conceptual eye. Just my novice 2 cents. Good work!

[SchmidtN]

Wow, thank you for the very kind compliment bornagainbriar!

[Archer]

I like it. I was thinking green apple as well! The color is nice, I actually wish to make a green pipe soon but I will probably go for a lighter green if I can! Think St. Patties day! You said you bought the stem, but did you make any shape changes to it? I like that hybrid taper/saddle stem look, I would be interested in getting some from that seller if you can help me!

Now as to copying well known styles...we all do that while learning...Im doing it to an extent now...its part of the process...but I still have my own twist...I do it with pens I make or anything else I make.

I understand we post our work for critique here, but I think all pipes regardless of skill or beauty deserve praise for effort and of course the beauty is in the eye of the creator, what may be a "pro" style and largely copied may not be the right thing for some people. I know Walle is a prime example of not giving a crap what anyone thinks...he does what makes him happy.

Im not seeking to debate here but Im simply saying this, if you want to make copies of well known styles then by all means work hard and gain the skills to make those particular styles, otherwise make your pipes your way and 99% of the world may think it "doesnt flow" or something, but there WILL be that 1% that does!

I understand the point about making well known styles helps hone your muscle memory and shaping skills...I guess all Im trying to say is whats in a shape??

***DISCLAIMER***
I am not a professional pipe maker nor do I claim that status, but I am an artist of many genres, so I speak from that experience happily!

[Sasquatch]

What's in a shape is money, it turns out. A really well shaped billiard will get 300 bucks, and poorly shaped one won't. That's not the "be all end all", but it's a factor for most of us. I "coach" new guys to learn the basic proportions of "good looking pipe" and the perfect ordinary shapes before trying too many weird things, and not out of a "learn the rules before you break them" dogma, but out of the simple fact that if you learn by working up to a defined standard, it's easier to judge your progress.

Nobody gives a crap what kind of pipe anybody shows up here with - hell, Walle and Bruce are having weird-pipe-wars some days. But they are well done weird pipes. Look at Walle's stem work. It's very, very perfect.

[Archer]

I like money...

I do not disagree with you. I was thinking of it from a "dont stifle your creativity and raw interpretation" standpoint...basics are great, I'll let everyone know when I have them down...shortly before I expire....

[SchmidtN]

I like it. I was thinking green apple as well! The color is nice, I actually wish to make a green pipe soon but I will probably go for a lighter green if I can! Think St. Patties day! You said you bought the stem, but did you make any shape changes to it? I like that hybrid taper/saddle stem look, I would be interested in getting some from that seller if you can help me!

Thank you. The stem was a blank vulcanite lump that had a button and tenon but everything else was a lump. I started with it as a saddle but it looked funny to me so I rounded the top half of the saddle into a fast-back style. I bought it off a junk picker off ebay... sorry I cleaned him out of pipe stems. He didn't have very many, but the prices were dirt cheap.

[Archer]

Flapicker or Navycdr maybe?? Ive bought a few from those guys too...