What Would Your "Dream Blast" Sandblasted Pipe Look Like?

harkpuff · Nov 8, 2013

I know from what I read that straight grain angel hair is considered the holy grail of smooth pipes. Fine straight grain and a rare find for the pipe makers.

But my question today is what do pipe collectors believe is the holy grail of sandblasted pipes? I realize the answer will differ with wide and varying opinions, but I'm curious to know if there is an overwhelming favorite that would be considered the "Dream Blast" in sandblasted pipes.
What combination of the following characteristics would your Dream Blast be?:
Shallow cut?

Deep cut?

Ultra-deep cut like JT Cooke pipes?

Straight and nearly totally un-wavering rings?

Wild waves and loops in the rings?

Ultra Wild grain with a mix of birds-eye and nearly indistinguishable rings creating a wild yet interesting texture.

Close and tightly spaced rings?

Loose and widely spaced rings?

A combination of both horizontal and vertical grain lines?

Horizontal grain lines only?
harkpuff
Edit: Corrected capitalization in title per Rule #9. L.

pitchfork · Nov 8, 2013

I really like older Dunhills and Ashtons -- wild, irregular, somewhat craggy, yet not sharp and spiky, either.

kashmir · Nov 8, 2013

Michael Parks manages to bring out the mico-grain detail in his proprietary blasts. Also, I like both old (Taylor) and new (Craig) Ashton blasts. Of course, old craggy Dunhill shell blasts can be spectacular. Comoys was no slouch either on its blasted line. Those are the pipes I have in my collection. But the others mentioned above, from the photos, also look marvelous.

peckinpahhombre · Nov 8, 2013

. Wayne Teipen has a proprietary "suede blast" that is truly stunning

I believe you may be thinking of Walt Cannoy.

bid on a Butterscotch Bulldog earlier this year from '06 and went about $200 past my limit.

Yeesh Duckfat, I think I may have won the pipe to which you are referring. You should have given me the headsup and I wouldn't have bid against you.
I like rugged, deep craggy blasts.
My favourites would be JT Cooke and Michael Parks, with older Taylor-Ashtons a close second.

docwatson · Nov 8, 2013

Ashton's are tops in this category for my taste in blasts. I was lucky to find a newly made Ashton at the Las Vegas show with a very deep ring grain that smokes like a dream. Jim Craig is certainly carrying on in the footsteps of Bill Taylor. Most of the Kaywoodie Handmade pipes of the year are exceptional blasts as well. Personally I look for the craggiest, uneven, random grain blasts I can find.

peckinpahhombre · Nov 8, 2013

Actually Duckfat, I just looked. Mine is an 07. So I wasn't the evildoer.

gripsie · Nov 8, 2013

Difficult and interesting question.
I'd say: depends on the style of the pipe. Large pipes might need deeper, more "rustic" blasts, smaller pipes more shallow blasts. But not only the size of the pipes matters, but the style of the shape also I guess..
Generelly I guess, I prefer the more shallow but still detailed blasts. This Barbi in my collection might be a good example:

pstlpkr · Nov 8, 2013

I suppose if I was to actually buy a sandblast it would have to be a Volcano with a great ring grain pattern and birds eyes on the bottom and on the rim.

bigboi · Nov 8, 2013

I would have to say right now I am enamored with Walt Cannoy's suede blast.

cigrmaster · Nov 9, 2013

I like a wide variety of blasts. I love my Rad blasts, Ruthenbergs, Weavers, and I also really like the Cooke ones as well. As long as it is a nicely defined ring grain that is even around the bowl, I like em. I am not into a blast that is too shallow as I like definition.
Here are a couple of my favorite blasts that I own.
Rad Davis

The first Rad is more of a flattened layered type blast where the second is a deeper and craggier type, I enjoy both.
Bruce Weaver, this one is more like the first Rad where it is a more flattened layered type that is very even across the entire pipe.

tbradsim1 · Nov 9, 2013

I love the Cooke Blast, don't have one yet, but looking.

sfsteves · Nov 9, 2013

A couple of months ago, someone here (I forget who it was) posted a picture of an absolutely STUNNING new Morta pipe with a green stem and an Irish ring band ... THAT, to me, is ideal ... I was utterly captivated by it ...
I found a pic (which I hope appears below ... I've never tried posting a pic here) which is evocative of that pipe, though nowhere nearly as nice ...

tbradsim1 · Nov 9, 2013

08B9FE59-47BB-40D1-BD10-ADAC67D97B97-9513-0000155333E74C0A_zps12d7d962.jpg

. Here it is.

sfsteves · Nov 9, 2013

YES !! ... that's the one ... that's quite possibly the best looking pipe I ever saw ... and to think it smokes superbly ... the problem I'd have with that pipe is not picking it off the rack and loading it up every time I wanted a bowlful ...

fishnbanjo · Nov 9, 2013

I already own mine, I love absolutely everything about it, shape, blast, bowl size and bamboo shank.

misterlowercase · Nov 9, 2013

I gotta go with the inventor and those old early Dunhill Shells, particularly when they were super craggy and wildly irregular...

http://pipesmagazine.com/forums/topic/the-dunhill-shell-briar-pipe-1918-1958-a-small-gallery-image-heavy
Dunhill is hard to beat,

Or even an old Parker

...but the other old British factories did 'em good too, Barling especially, but Comoy's turned out some sweeties too...

This BBB is an ugly cragmonster, the way I like 'em!

Stanwell could turn out a mean spiderweb,

...and speaking of spiderwebs, that's probably my fave look,

dig this article and gaze at that amazing Linder,

http://www.apassionforpipes.com/neills-blog/2010/9/23/what-a-blast.html
I even like the subtle pinhole look, this one is by Wayne Teipen,

...or this Russ Cook with soft top and ring'd bottom,

In fact, I think I like just about all styles of sandblasted pipes, and each variation thereof.
Talbert does wicked blasts to boil the brains,

Michael Parks holds the crown in my head, one of his pipes is a true dream for me.
As is Cooke, who holds the pinnacle.

flakyjakey · Nov 9, 2013

@mlc, damn and BLAST you Sir - they are some of the best I've seen in this dimension (still feeling odd) lol !!!

sablebrush52 · Nov 9, 2013

I like any kind of blast that catches my eye. Some are deep and craggy, others have really interesting patterns, and some are just creative. Here are two that I admire. The first is a very early Barling whose craggy ring blast is as deep as any Dunhill. The second is a Paul Tatum volcano that uses blast in a unique way to create a real volcano effect.

peckinpahhombre · Nov 9, 2013

These are my favourite blasts. First, my 1987 Ashton:

Next, a very unusual Brian Ruthenberg blast:

This is my favourite Larry Roush - love the juxtaposition of the smoot areas with the blasted areas:

A beautiful Bruce Weaver blast:

Nate King is no slouch in the blast department either:

My Rad poker:

Werner Mummert does a different kind of blast on an unusual shape:

Cooke's blast speaks for itself:

My Michael Parks blasted pipes are probably my favourites that I own:

sablebrush52 · Nov 9, 2013

Okay Peck,
You win.

What Would Your "Dream Blast" Sandblasted Pipe Look Like?

Log in

SmokingPipes.com Updates

PipesMagazine Approved Sponsor

Site Sponsors

PipesMagazine Approved Sponsor

PipesMagazine Approved Sponsor

PipesMagazine Approved Sponsor

PipesMagazine Approved Sponsor

Lurker

Lifer

Lifer

Lifer

Lifer

Lifer

Might Stick Around

Lifer

Lifer

Lifer

Lifer

Lifer

Lifer

Lifer

Lifer

Lifer

Lifer

The Bard Of Barlings

Lifer

The Bard Of Barlings