number five

[sam a]

i just finished up another pipe... and although there are plenty of issues with it. i feel like it has fewer mistakes than previous ones . balance and symmetry are starting to get easier (but still far from easy) any criticism and or suggestions would be very much appreciated.

[Ocelot55]

I love it. A lot better than my #5. I won't make any comments about anything other than aesthetics, but IMHO the stem is a bit too long, 1/2 inch or so. I love the pencil thin shank. Keep em coming.

[JMG]

Great looking pipe. Your bowl proportions look spot on to me, shank is a good length, stain job looks decent. The only two critiques I could offer to this one is that the stem might be just a touch too long for what some might call a proper billiard, but not too much. Lastly, you might want to try to refine your buttons a bit more so that they are more crisp.

Those two critiques should in no way take away from this pipe, however. It really it is a nice looking pipe. Well done.

[Sasquatch]

That's a nice looking pipe.

There's a whole bunch of tiny little things that would probably improve it just a little. As noted, the stem is just a little long, or should be longer (which would take it into Bing's Favorite territory).

Visually, it's just a little heavy right at the stem/shank transition. This occurs for two reasons. First, just a tiny little bit of taper on the shank would alleviate some of that - nothing much but a mm or two makes a big difference. Also, the stem should start tapering immediately - make that transition sharp and definite, from cylindrical shank to tapering stem and no fudging either.

What are you using to cut the button? It's kinda roundy/lumpy (as we big time professional pipe critics like to say. Sorry for the jargon.)

But for bowl shape and overall presentation, that's a very creditable early pipe indeed.

[sam a]

thanks for the critiques... all points noted and appreciated.

What are you using to cut the button? It's kinda roundy/lumpy

i am using nail files for most of the work on the button

[Sasquatch]

Have you got a regular flat file, like for filing axes or doing counter-top edges? (Like, I have a nicholson "axe" file and a nicholson "laminates" file) that I use. A long, hard, metal edge would allow you to get a much more perpendicular intersection of the flat part of the stem and the button itself.

[sam a]

Have you got a regular flat file, like for filing axes or doing counter-top edges? (Like, I have a nicholson "axe" file and a nicholson "laminates" file) that I use. A long, hard, metal edge would allow you to get a much more perpendicular intersection of the flat part of the stem and the button itself.

yes i do... i'll give that a go on the next one i do. thanks.

[frazeeg]

I love this one. The size and proportions look wonderful. I'm not experienced enough to notice anything to fix so I'll leave that to the experts.

[HumblePipe]

I love the color on this one. Great looking pipe!

[wdteipen]

Good looking early effort. The shank should taper ever so slightly. You also have a bit of a bulge in the bowl (what I call a beer gut) above the shank. Button work needs some refining as already mentioned. Nice job overall.

[pzhan]

That is one good looking pipe. Keep it coming.