Behold the Crack-A-Toa Stack! My First Briar Pipe. (Pic Heavy)

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ivapewithfire

Starting to Get Obsessed
Nov 26, 2014
268
0
West Virginia, USA
At least that is what I call it. My wife refers to it as "Slit Happens". While there is a certain truth to that, I like my name better. I encourage you to come up with your own name. I'm not above changing it.
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I almost made the title "The Tao of Pipe Making". Maybe it could have even been "Briar is like a box of chocolates…" Either way, I was challenged with this pipe to say the least.
I was disappointed about the flaws at first, but I learned to love them. Just like the grain of every burl is different, this "natural rustication" is unique.
This pipe isn't perfect, but neither am I. In a way I think it's captured a little bit of my soul. Isn't that what every pipe maker is really after anyway?
This pipe was probably a prime candidate for true rustication, but it's my first one and I have no idea how to do that. With that in mind, I finished it smooth and hoped for the best.
It's a good smoker and I like how it turned out. In the end, that is all that really matters anyway.
I hope you other budding pipe makers can take heart; if I can make a pipe out of this, you can make a pipe for yourself.
I made this…
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Chasing Embers

Captain of the Black Frigate
Nov 12, 2014
43,248
108,348
Love it! Have made a few myself, and would be proud to smoke that bad boy!

 

kaboom

Starting to Get Obsessed
Jun 12, 2012
120
0
Turned out really cool in the end, the carving is really impressive and the cracks give it character.

I'd be worried about burnouts though because i wouldn't want my first pipe, and one that looks so cool, to get ruined. Are there any cracks on the inside of the bowl? If not you're probably safe. If there are you might be able to fill them with pipe mud and smoke away...

 

65chevy

Lurker
Jan 14, 2013
28
0
I've seen pipes like this in the basket pipes at the local JRs Cigar Shop.

They sell them for $25.00, was thinking of taken one home and reworking it into a rustic pipe.

work on my dremel skills.

 

ivapewithfire

Starting to Get Obsessed
Nov 26, 2014
268
0
West Virginia, USA
Thanks guys.
There aren't any flaws on the inside of the bowl, but some of the pits are so deep, I'm sure there are some thin spots.
Someday it might burn through, but I don't see any reason to sit it on a shelf. I'll smoke the hell out of it until it does. Then I'll put it up on a shelf as conversation piece.
I would have finished out the pipe even if I could see light through the flaws. It was as much a learning experience as anything. It gave me free license to experiment with stains and finish without "worrying" about messing something up.
If I wanted a perfect pipe, I could have commissioned one. What I wanted was to enjoy the process, create a memory, and learn a little something. I certainly got that.
In the meantime, my second block is already on the way. I can't wait to get started on the next one.

 
May 31, 2012
4,295
34
Damn man, that's mighty fine shaping for your first pipe!

:clap:
A billiard is one of the most difficult shapes to get right and you did a great job of it.
Reminds me of the Italian style, carrying an element of the Castello 55 along with the classic billiard.
Very well done!

:clap:
That you persevered through the bad block shows a lot of grit, and that you chose to do a billiard for your first pipe instead of a "freehand thingy" shows you're up to the challenge - keep at it!

 

cacooper

Starting to Get Obsessed
Jul 28, 2009
224
72
Parker, CO
I had the same thing happen on my first "F" graded pipe. Total crap wood, full of fissures and cracks. They appeared early, but I decided to keep going to work on my billiard skills. The block has nice birdseye and smokes very good. I just wrote it off as practice.
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CACooper

 

mephistopheles

Part of the Furniture Now
Oct 14, 2014
545
0
It turned out great. :clap:
I would call it, "The Feminine Mystique". :wink: The Sociologists in the room will get that one.

 
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