Swan Neck/ LC shape

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sasquatch

Lifer
Jul 16, 2012
1,683
2,862
Let's just identify what makes the "swan neck" on a pipe. It's not the stem so much as the shank. Go back to the early LC and similar pipes, what we see is a lot of curve in the shank, much more than a typical bent billiard (which is essentially a straigh-line shank at an angle).

9aPeIUD.jpg


Here's two pipes on the bench, (one stem not bent yet) from years ago, but the top pipe has a much straighter shank, the bottom pipe much more curve, more "swan neck", even though they are approximately the same angle, a 1/2 bent pipe.

iPkuin2.jpg


If you build this thing chubbier but carry the curve, you get into a "Peterson" esque aesthetic. They have a lot of heavy shanks, and a lot of nicely curved shapes (like the Professor).

ztdbqd5.jpg



If you go the other way and make it as thin as possible (to the point of needing curved drilling perhaps, as those old French pipes did have pretty often), you get the true elegance of the LC shape proper.

1lsVkW1.jpg
 

sasquatch

Lifer
Jul 16, 2012
1,683
2,862
Nope, I made that one.

Gustavo (Martelo Pipes) makes lots of swans too, one of the only other guys who has taken a serious run at the shape, but he generally uses a thicker shank web (where the shank hits the bowl). So his pipes have a slightly different vibe, a little more "modern" or something.
 

alaskanpiper

Enabler in Chief
May 23, 2019
9,348
42,247
Alaska
Nope, I made that one.

Gustavo (Martelo Pipes) makes lots of swans too, one of the only other guys who has taken a serious run at the shape, but he generally uses a thicker shank web (where the shank hits the bowl). So his pipes have a slightly different vibe, a little more "modern" or something.
You would be BST then I’m guessing?
 
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sasquatch

Lifer
Jul 16, 2012
1,683
2,862
LOL yeah I guess in a way that's true. I think the last few years a lot of guys have been buying more pipes again, stuck at home doing nothing. There's always a lineup of buyers and tire kickers, instagram and platforms like that allow a real direct customer-over-your-shoulder sort of business model. If you post a picture of a half done pipe you get 3 emails about it. Just a few years back a lot of pipe makers were having much thinner margins - people were hoarding tobacco like crazy and buying less in the way of pipes. So it's nice to see the market come back.
 

alaskanpiper

Enabler in Chief
May 23, 2019
9,348
42,247
Alaska
LOL yeah I guess in a way that's true. I think the last few years a lot of guys have been buying more pipes again, stuck at home doing nothing. There's always a lineup of buyers and tire kickers, instagram and platforms like that allow a real direct customer-over-your-shoulder sort of business model. If you post a picture of a half done pipe you get 3 emails about it. Just a few years back a lot of pipe makers were having much thinner margins - people were hoarding tobacco like crazy and buying less in the way of pipes. So it's nice to see the market come back.
Indeed. Speaking of pipe makers taking a stab at the swan, in addition to Gustavo, IRRC Michael Parks has made a few that caught my eye from time to time. His protege Nate Rose (rosepipes) has a fondness for the shape and has been playing around with it for a while as well.