But after rereading the thread and watching the videos, I wonder if it is true that handmade pipes are superior to machine made.
Well, here's the simple fact about that: Handmade pipes should be as good or better quality than machine made pipes... but, sadly, they aren't always.
The proliferation of new handmade pipe brands in recent years that exhibit sub-standard workmanship, despite having above-machine-made-pipe-level prices, has already been discussed at length on this board and others. Some of the opinions (and facts) presented in that discussion have served to cast a shadowy impression of elitism and snobbery on some well informed and well intentioned professionals in the pipe industry, one of whom may or may not have the initials TJ. At the risk of suffering the same fate of character as TJ, I will state the following: There are currently as many, or more, makers of handmade pipes who are working at a "below factory pipe" level of quality, than there are makers of handmade pipes who are working at an "above factory pipe" level of quality.
That said, the factors that contribute to the level of quality lies not just in the method used to shape the stummel. The differences between the approaches to production of factory pipes and "artisan" pipes are many, and range all the way from the very important process of briar selection (which, itself, involves a butt ton of variables), to the design, shaping, construction, and "engineering", to the flourishes of fit and finish. The differing ways that factories, inexperienced artisans, and well seasoned artisans handle these factors, is fodder for a long thread of its own, at another time.
So, no, not all handmade pipes are superior to machine made pipes, as one would assume... but some are.
Also, I wonder if you could comment about drilling bent pipes. I assume that the airway through the stem is fashioned before the stem is bent? If so there remains the mysterious offset at the junction of the airway and draft hole. I suppose that these are drilled in two steps, the draft first and the shank second? Is this a matter of one angle for the draft and another for the shank?
Short answer; Yes. These are drilled in two steps, at two different angles... sometimes.
Long answer; Ok, allow me to use this seemingly simple question to illustrate some different approaches to this one aspect of pipemaking.
I will use as an example this bent egg of my own make:
You can see in this illustration that if the angle of the draft hole were to be drilled along the same axis as the angle of the mortise, the draft hole would miss the bottom of the chamber and protrude from the bottom of the pipe:
To avoid this tragic fate, the draft hole must be drilled at a different angle than the mortise to achieve this bend in the shank. This can be done a couple of different ways, depending on the makers approach to the problem.
The first option, seen in many factory pipes, and some handmade pipes, is to drill the airway high in the mortise floor, leaving a small gap between the end of the tenon and the mortise floor for the smoke to travel through:
This is a quick and easy way to solve the problem, but perhaps not the most desirable in terms of airflow and smoking properties due to the offset of the airway at this intersection. This method is also less likely to pass a pipecleaner.
You can see the results of this method in the mortise of this Blakemar briar:
A little work-around of this design, used to help airflow and to pass a pipecleaner, is to "ramp" the draft hole where it meets the mortise floor. It's a little extra step, a quick fix to a easy solution.
This "ramping" is generally seen as more desirable than a simple off-set airway, although it incorporates a tiny expansion chamber that does not serve to maintain a consistent volume of airflow.
A different method, commonly used in most handmade pipes, and some factory pipes, that will ensure proper alignment of the airway from the shank through the stem, is to drill the draft hole low on the shank face, through the center of the mortise floor.
This approach is used by the makers who chose to concern themselves with proper airflow, but it does present the additional problem of creating what pipemakers call the "keyhole" effect on the shank face, as seen in this pipe that frozenchurchwarden posted some time back:
Some might find this method unsightly, but only if you take the stem off, so some more diligent makers will take the extra time to cap off the shank after drilling to hide this keyhole.
Of course, while now hidden, the keyhole is still there, and while the keyhole rarely becomes a problem, it can sometimes lead to a "locked stem". This is where the heating and cooling cycles of the tenon create a bulge on the tenon into the channel of the keyhole, making it difficult, or impossible to twist the stem and remove it.
Yes, the bulge is slight, but enough to lock the stem in place, and enough to crack the shank if forced.
So, what is the most detail oriented pipemaker to do in order to solve all of these problems? How about this: Drill the draft hole centered on the mortise floor to ensure that the airway is aligned properly. After all, that is the most important aspect of a smoking pipe... that it smokes properly! Then, drill the mortise oversize, and line the mortise with a sleeve of briar eliminating the keyhole:
Although painstakingly time consuming, the implementation of this method will leave the shank face looking like this:
Finally, one more method of drilling a "bent" pipe to overcome all of these problems is to just change the shape of the pipe:
But this is the easy way out. It compromises the possibilities in shaping and flow of the pipe's design, and it can be argued that this is not a pipe with a bent shank at all, but a pipe with an "angled" shank. But that's an argument for another forum:
Bent Pipes: Shank Angles and Curves - Two Case Studies
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