Assembling the Pieces: Creating Harmony

[d.huber]

Creating harmony in the pipes I make is something that I struggle with. I'll create different aspects that all look pretty good, but they don't seem to mesh. They don't belong together. They lack harmony.

Since the whole is only as good as the sum of its parts, this is an important hurdle that I want to overcome.

Here's a pipe that I started working on yesterday. I have an idea of what I'd like to do with the stem, but I'm interested in hearing others thoughts. Specifically, I want to know what you think would imbue the piece with a sense of harmony.

Any thoughts relating to any part of the pipe are welcome.

[Alden]

Also, I'd put a white dot on the stem.

[d.huber]

Also, I'd put a white dot on the stem.

Dammit, Ryan. While that commentary is very funny (and I have to restrain myself from following you down that road), I want to avoid derailing the thread before it's even begun. Please offer some of your serious and constructive thoughts on creating harmony in the piece. I would value your input.

[Ocelot55]

I needed that! best laugh all day!

[d.huber]

I needed that! best laugh all day!

Jesse, please see above.

[Nate]

Dome saddle.

[Alden]

Dammit, Ryan. While that commentary is very funny (and I have to restrain myself from following you down that road), I want to avoid derailing the thread before it's even begun. Please offer some of your serious and constructive thoughts on creating harmony in the piece. I would value your input.

Yeah yeah yeah, I'm working on it. Actual thinking is not as natural for me as BS.
I'm thinking a flare that mimics the shank itself in some way.
Sort of a saddle stem, but instead of a round saddle you make a teardrop that then transitions into the flats.
Thats a bit outside the box, so it would take some tweaking.

edit: Nates idea is much more straight forward. I'm having a hard time picturing exactly how my idea would work.

[d.huber]

Dammit, Ryan. While that commentary is very funny (and I have to restrain myself from following you down that road), I want to avoid derailing the thread before it's even begun. Please offer some of your serious and constructive thoughts on creating harmony in the piece. I would value your input.

Yeah yeah yeah, I'm working on it. Actual thinking is not as natural for me as BS.
I'm thinking a flare that mimics the shank itself in some way.
Sort of a saddle stem, but instead of a round saddle you make a teardrop that then transitions into the flats.
Thats a bit outside the box, so it would take some tweaking.

edit: Nates idea is much more straight forward. I'm having a hard time picturing exactly how my idea would work.

Now that's what I'm talking about!

I think I know what you're getting at because that's pretty much what I was thinking.

Seeing Nate's idea was a surprise for me because I hadn't considered it at all.

Nate - what makes you go straight to a domed saddle like you've suggested?

[wdteipen]

I love the shape. I think a white shank cap would look good. For the stem, I would stick to something simple and not too distracting because it would draw too much attention from the bowl shape. As a rule for me, the wilder or more unusual the bowl shape the more simple the stem. If it were me, I would put a ivory-esque shank cap on it then slightly countersink a round based freehand style stem sort of like the one I use on the mad hatter shape but with a smaller base diameter. Imagine how goofy the mad hatter shape would look with a freehand bead on it. Same concept here. Keep it simple.

[d.huber]

I love the shape. I think a white shank cap would look good. For the stem, I would stick to something simple and not too distracting because it would draw too much attention from the bowl shape. As a rule for me, the wilder or more unusual the bowl shape the more simple the stem. If it were me, I would put a ivory-esque shank cap on it then slightly countersink a round based freehand style stem sort of like the one I use on the mad hatter shape but with a smaller base diameter. Imagine how goofy the mad hatter shape would look with a freehand bead on it. Same concept here. Keep it simple.

Really useful thoughts, Wayne. Thank you!

[wisemanpipes]

i love the ivory endcap idea from wayne.

i also immediately thought lars or nanna with the way that teardrop shank flowed and reverse tapered. they are notorious for dome saddles, and i think that would work great with the harmony on this piece.

when in doubt, do it like the danes

evan

[wisemanpipes]

Dammit, Ryan. While that commentary is very funny (and I have to restrain myself from following you down that road), I want to avoid derailing the thread before it's even begun. Please offer some of your serious and constructive thoughts on creating harmony in the piece. I would value your input.

Yeah yeah yeah, I'm working on it. Actual thinking is not as natural for me as BS.
I'm thinking a flare that mimics the shank itself in some way.
Sort of a saddle stem, but instead of a round saddle you make a teardrop that then transitions into the flats.
Thats a bit outside the box, so it would take some tweaking.

edit: Nates idea is much more straight forward. I'm having a hard time picturing exactly how my idea would work.

this?

i like this as well

[yachtexplorer]

By Alex Florov

[The Smoking Yeti]

I think the biggest issue with this pipe is how dramatic and visually heavy the shank is compared to the bowl. As such, a simple saddle- much like the Florov pipe shown above is wise(the first florov, with the smooth transition to simple ebonite). Also, if you could trim a bit more weight off the top line(it might be too late) that would help. In the future, keeping a bit more meat on the top line at the bowl-shank transition would probably look better.

Just my two cents.

Cheers!

Yeti

[Joe Hinkle Pipes]

I like the first pictured stem option if it is going to stay a light stain. I like the ivory cap if it is going to be stained dark. The cap idea is more appealing to me than the teardrop ebonite stem, but both could work depending on the color.

[d.huber]

This is where my head went to first. Why does this work/create harmony in the composition?

By Alex Florov

This is definitely intriguing. Why does this work/create harmony in the composition?

I think the biggest issue with this pipe is how dramatic and visually heavy the shank is compared to the bowl. As such, a simple saddle- much like the Florov pipe shown above is wise(the first florov, with the smooth transition to simple ebonite). Also, if you could trim a bit more weight off the top line(it might be too late) that would help. In the future, keeping a bit more meat on the top line at the bowl-shank transition would probably look better.

Interesting thoughts, Micah! The visual balance between bowl and shank has been a constant challenge for me and I had hoped that I'd made real progress here. Shucks!

Why doesn't the current form work and why will some of those suggestions improve harmony within the composition?

[Joe Hinkle Pipes]

I think if you look at the bowl and shank you will see they are roughly the same length and of similar size. Either the shank is too big for the bowl, or the bowl is too small for the shank. Those two have to compliment each other before the stem comes into play in my opinion, or, If the shank is too long, the stem has to balance it somewhat. The idea of the cap seems to complete the stummel and create a breaking point before the stem. in the example without the cap it seems like the shank continues into the stem all as one unit and i dont think it works as well. Im trying to rationalize in words what I see in 1/3 of a second "feeling" you get from a pipe. Its easy to see what your brain wants it to look like, its actually very hard to describe it. Im not saying there is actually anything wrong with your pipe at all, just the feeling i get from it. does this actually make sense to anyone else?

[wdteipen]

The Florov example Richard posted is exactly what I was thinking although I wouldn't have left that gap between the stem and countersink.

[d.huber]

I think if you look at the bowl and shank you will see they are roughly the same length and of similar size. Either the shank is too big for the bowl, or the bowl is too small for the shank. Those two have to compliment each other before the stem comes into play in my opinion, or, If the shank is too long, the stem has to balance it somewhat. The idea of the cap seems to complete the stummel and create a breaking point before the stem. in the example without the cap it seems like the shank continues into the stem all as one unit and i dont think it works as well. Im trying to rationalize in words what I see in 1/3 of a second "feeling" you get from a pipe. Its easy to see what your brain wants it to look like, its actually very hard to describe it. Im not saying there is actually anything wrong with your pipe at all, just the feeling i get from it. does this actually make sense to anyone else?

Awesome! Putting the "why" into words is seriously challenging. It does make sense and thank you for tackling such a challenging and worthwhile task!

[d.huber]

The Florov example Richard posted is exactly what I was thinking although I wouldn't have left that gap between the stem and countersink.

I agree. Both of these options are interesting to me but the gap between stem and countersink seems counterproductive. The purpose of a countersink is to allow a seamless transition between stem and pipe and the choice to leave that gap does not fulfill the purpose.