Commissioned Bent Stem

[Literaryworkshop]

Here's a commission I just finished. The customer wanted a simple bent-stem with a big chamber for a long smoke, so I made the chamber 7/8" diameter by about 1 3/4" deep. Hope that's big enough for him.

The pictures don't show the couple of tool marks on the stummel I discovered after finishing, so they're not obvious. The top of the stummel looks a little too "puffed" now I look at it. Otherwise, the shape is just about what I had in mind.

A couple of "firsts" for me: first time drilling my own briar, and first time finishing with paste wax. Both went okay, I think.










The color on the second picture is a little washed out. The other two are truer to the actual color.

Critiques are welcome, especially of shape/execution.

[wisemanpipes]

intresting thing with the paste
the shank stem junction is odd and doesnt flow (ie the stem is on a different angle than the shank/ the shank is unevenly tapered and very lumpy)
to bad about the pit
also, there needs to be a ton more meat taken off the bottom.
it looks like an egg/billiard/hawksbill mixed into one (ie very amorphous?)
hope im not being to critical. but if the customers happy then thats what matters
-evan