I have two semi carved billiards to play with. The first one, not so good the shank cracked twice so it is on hold awaiting a cap. This one was carved with guidance from pipe makers. Its far from perfect, but I think it's a nice little mini billiard, and I learned a lot about the shape doing it. As you can see there was a pretty major flaw in the briar. I think its still useable, but I really didn't care I was just practicing my lines.