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Taking a break from CWs for a little bit. I've had this one planned out for some time. I'm not sure what to call the shape, though. It all started when I picked up a square stem on a lark. Then I got to playing around with a pencil and a chunk of briar, and I decided to try to work in the square stem somehow, and this is the design that eventually came out.




















As usual, critiques are welcome.

The shank is too big for the bowl, and it looks disjointed like the shank came off a different pipe. Figure out a way to gracefully bring the lines of the shank around on the bowl somehow.

Also, I can't tell whether your stem has smudges or scratch marks in the last picture.


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I like the shank....I like the bowl. They just really don't work well together. I would remove the bottom of the bowl and bring it even with the botom line of the shank. I think that would create a bit more visual balance.

Nice grain

I agree with everyone so far, but for the life of me I can't get over wanting to see a gentle bend in the stem.... the bowl seems to can't back a bit towards the shank, making me think it's a bent pipe in disguise??

Nope, the bowl is straight up and down relative to the draft hole. The shank tapers gradually, so that may be what you're seeing.

I did think about bending the stem, but decided to keep the straight lines.

scotties22 wrote:I like the shank....I like the bowl. They just really don't work well together.

This was my first impression. I wonder if it would work better if you carried the facets on the bottom of the shank into the bottom of the bowl like some bulldogs. That and a more gradual curve into the bowl on the top two facets of the shank.

Thanks for the critiques, folks. It was the sort of idea I got in my head, and I wanted to see if I could pull it off. I did, more or less, but now it seems the idea was off from the start.

Well, at least I learned a lot while making this one.

I like it!

Aw, thanks. There's always one, I guess!

I do really, here's why. It has a strong look and would be strong. Good to stuff in the pocket and go. Next is the way you planned out the grain. Even the bottom is very symmetrical how the grain comes together. The bowl and the shank contrast is awesome. For me what makes a pipe is its unique qualities anyway. Seems you did that "think outside the box" thing here. I

The other comments are probably more in tune to what might sell I guess. Im just speaking from an untrained eye. Looks like the holes are aligned nicely too.

The bowl should not be straight up and down. If it is, it gives the impression that it's tilted backward (it's an optical illusion), so it should be tilted forward at least a degree or two.

Two different pipes. It is not logic

Thomas Tkach wrote:The bowl should not be straight up and down. If it is, it gives the impression that it's tilted backward (it's an optical illusion), so it should be tilted forward at least a degree or two.

In this case it is actually the plateaux top that gives the illusion of the backwards cant. If the rim were straight it wouldn't be a problem.