I agree that the plateau freehand styling and grain chasing was terrific, I guess one question I had while perusing the thread is - are there really that fewer pipe-makers chasing grain today, as opposed to yesteryear? What are they doing then? AFAIK grain is one of the only price differentiators in the higher price brackets and most master pipe-makers are standing on the shoulders of giants - damn near every one of them is producing freehands in the Danish tradition?
What I’d say the Old Danes perhaps had, if anything, was superior taste, and a sense of measure. Most knew when to stop, or what kind of shape would be much too unwieldy. Not all up and coming master pipemakers seem to have mastered that particular art.
Anyway, here’s a modestly begrained Karl Erik, probably the first such pipe I ever bought:
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I also love Bari pipes and find them frequently punching above their weight. This one in particular is not only massive but also has some dramatic flair, though she’s so glossy that it’s extremely difficult to take pictures that depict the colour, size and heft of the pipe. Bari Wiking:
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I guess I mostly enjoy the serendipity of what
@sasquatch mentioned. I love my meticulously made pipes, but I also love when destiny gets involved and clearly some unplanned terrific grain ends up in a pipe, maybe punching above its intended pay grade.
Though I am curious
@sasquatch, how one can tell the difference between those nuances? How can we see when a master was able to elevate a merely "good" block to a great pipe, vs. when a great block produced a great pipe without necessarily needing a master’s hand?
Of course, what’s a thread about nice pipes without some Stanwell! This one I think was particularly serendipitous, I’ve seen many 204’s with very lacklustre grain. This is not one of them:
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Another great example that is not Danish at all is this fantastic belge my wife just bought me. This is from Butz-Choquin’s "Master Pipemaker" line, and one of the best I’ve seen from the marque. Here one of two of their master carvers was allowed to craft whatever unique shape they saw fit, and here they decided to exactly what
@sasquatch mentioned, use the briar block they had to its fullest and create a nice belge. And how nice it is! The way the grain seems to sort of hurl itself forward all the way from the shank, and kind of meet right at the foot is striking to me. Nice little birdseye at that meeting point too.
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