Here’s a Nording I picked up last year. 360 degrees of fine angel hair grain.
Chasing Grain
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Since we're talking about grain...
(Any excuse to post this Ikebana):
(Any excuse to post this Ikebana):
I have this Bari incoming from MBSD Pipes - hope they don't mind my using their lovely photos. It's my first Danish-style pipe and also my first real straight grain. I've been perusing the usual websites for a couple years now, looking for one in this style that I couldn't resist. This one just hit all the right notes for me, and the price was very reasonable. The grain was definitely an attraction, as was the pickaxe shaping, as I tend to favor dublin types. I love the pinched stem, too, a cool detail. Can't wait to get my hands and mouth on this pipe! I anticipate using it for Virginia flakes.
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I LOVE Danish freehand style pipes!
For anyone wondering about that pipe's size (because the less surface area a pipe has the more likely it will be flawless and/or fully grain-covered), here it is next to a Dunhill LB (Group 5) billiard. (Taken w/240 mm lens with both pipes in exactly the same the same focal plane to prevent any lens-related distortion.)
In short, it's a biggie.
Besides the grain, there are zero flaws of any size or kind. Not so much as a micro-sized flea speck, fissure, or etc. anywhere on it.
In short, it's one of the best pieces of straight grain briar to have ever come out of the ground.
In short, it's a biggie.
Besides the grain, there are zero flaws of any size or kind. Not so much as a micro-sized flea speck, fissure, or etc. anywhere on it.
In short, it's one of the best pieces of straight grain briar to have ever come out of the ground.
Did not consider that!For anyone wondering about that pipe's size (because the less surface area a pipe has the more likely it will be flawless and/or fully grain-covered), here it is next to a Dunhill LB (Group 5) billiard. (Taken w/240 mm lens with both pipes in exactly the same the same focal plane to prevent any lens-related distortion.)
In short, it's a biggie.
Besides the grain, there are zero flaws of any size or kind. Not so much as a micro-sized flea speck, fissure, or etc. anywhere on it.
In short, it's one of the best pieces of straight grain briar to have ever come out of the ground.
View attachment 398129
It's my favorite style by far. I love the uniqueness of each pipe since the briar itself to some extent controls the design of the pipe. As close to nature as you can get. Being of an artistic slant, and a nature lover, and a Myers-Briggs perceiver, I love the one-off, one of a kind character of these freehands, and actually get a little bored with standard shapes.
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Just a quick shout out for sandblasted grain too!
A bit of bird's eye. The right side could be better but if it were, I would not have been able to afford it.
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Who made the pipe?For anyone wondering about that pipe's size (because the less surface area a pipe has the more likely it will be flawless and/or fully grain-covered), here it is next to a Dunhill LB (Group 5) billiard. (Taken w/240 mm lens with both pipes in exactly the same the same focal plane to prevent any lens-related distortion.)
In short, it's a biggie.
Besides the grain, there are zero flaws of any size or kind. Not so much as a micro-sized flea speck, fissure, or etc. anywhere on it.
In short, it's one of the best pieces of straight grain briar to have ever come out of the ground.
View attachment 398129
And is the LB a proportionally bigger version of 4103/3103/etc? Or is it a completely different billiard shape-wise?
Grain doesn't get any more perfect than that. That's an exceptional peice of briar
I had the opportunity to restore this Nording Extra. Best grain on a pipe that I have restored yet. 
(Before picture for reference)
(Before picture for reference)
I love a good sandblast, especially when someone does something creative and a bit different with it, like this volcano by Paul Tatum, that looks like a volcano:
Here is one of the straightest grains I have ever held in my hands and the brand was absolutely unexpected for me...
