As for leaving the bark. It looks neat . Must be winter cut for sure . Ropp also had a patented boiling process to retain the bark. No idea how they did it. To me it makes little difference if it has bark or is nekkid.
Use a template to get both sides the same. Don't forget to extend the cutting edge all the way up the sides as you will be cutting with them if you have any taper on your grind. Last be sure to relive the back side of each edge so you get a nice sharp bevel to do the cutting.
Just to clear up the question about our hardwood pipes, they are made from birch from the state of Maine. This results in a durable, but light-weight pipe bowl that allows us to sell it at a very reasonable and inexpensive price. In the past, the bowls have been made from other hardwoods, but for the past few years, birch has been used, and we intend to continue using birch for the reasons above.
Thanks for jumping in with the info Phil.
Guys: This thread got more offtrack than any thread I can ever remember. I deleted 15 posts that had nothing to do with the original topic. If that makes you unhappy, I'm just letting you know that I did it, and not any of the mods.
Ace - The name is actually - Ozark Mountain Hardwood Pipe, and "Cherry" is the name of one of the finishes.
http://www.corncobpipe.com/product.php?productid=16150&cat=0&page=1
It's good that Phil is here to jump in and help out with info when it's needed. Thanks "MoMeerPhil"!
Honestly, I'm not surprised in the least that the lady who answers the phones does not know the answers to tech questions. It may be expecting too much for the receptionist to know how to answer every question she gets asked, and at least she told you outright what she knew and what she didn't, instead of feeding you a line of BS like some other receptionists do.
I still can't believe they aren't briar and, yes, that was a joke!!!! I own one of the straight cherry finish and one of the bent maple and they both are decent smokes. They are my camping pipes.