Michail Kyriazanos Commission (pics)

[mranglophile]

I recently contacted Michail about making me some pipes (7 day set). I asked him if he minded if I posted the process of getting a pipe commissioned from him and so no problem( my first commission and not knowing exactly how they work, I thought others would be interested as well). The first pipe is going to be a LB style Billiard, Blasted with a silver band and around a group 4. He sent me these photos of a group 3ish one he just made of Strawberry wood. I love the blast but am nervous of getting Strawberry wood. I did a lot of reading today and from what I found out it is in the heath family and is very similar to briar grain wise, and is 25% lighter. My main concern is the durability but those I talked to had no issues. Below are those photos:






He is supposed to send me some sketches in the next few day. Any info or experiences of people smoking Strawberry wood would be greatly appreciated.

 

[lostandfound]

Never smoked Strawberry wood, but I am a fan of Michail's work. I'm excited to see how your set turns out.

 

[fishnbanjo]

I love my Strawberrywood pipes and am sure you will also be pleased with yours as well. I find the flavor a shade sweeter than briar but not interfering with the quality of the smoke in any way. The pipes are certainly lighter which means a larger pipe weighs nearly what one in briar 1/4 of the size might weigh, this isn't cast in stone since there can be some exceptionally light chunks of briar but generally Strawberrywood is lighter.
To feed your ambitious seven day set I'm dropping some of my eye candy here.
First up is the late Paulo Becker Strawberrywood Dublin

Next is the Dr's Pipe Buddha with fat bamboo shank, this is not a Reverse Calabash pipe.

Next is the commission made by Scottie Piersel and if I remember correctly it was her first Strawberrywood pipe an elongated Eskimo.

Will be watching the formation of your seven day set progression with great interest, happy smokes.

banjo

 

[jkrug]

Some beautiful pipes there guys. The picture of that Billiard from Michail is absolutely stunning! The Eskimo is such a unique shape and one that I will definitely have in my collection someday.
Looking forward to following the progression of your 7 day set. ::

 

[seacaptain]

Very nice, I like a lot of his work.

 

[ssjones]

That blast is incredible, stem looks first rate as well. I've wondered the same about Strawberry wood and I'm curious to hear your smoking impressions.

 

[gloucesterman]

Banjo, that Fat Bamboo Shank is gorgeous!

 

[beefeater33]

Anglo-

That blast is to die for!! .......... :worship:

Please keep us in the loop on this set. I have no experience with strawberry wood at all, but I love a lightweight pipe---

these seem to take to the blast extremely well, no?
Fish- That P. Becker is drop-dead gorgeous and that eskimo is a thrill......thanks for sharing these!....

 

[disinformatique]

The late Paolo Becker worked a lot on strawberry wood as well. So go ahead and commission the pipe.

 

[lightmyfire]

Nice pipe. I have a question about this metal part appearing on the tenon. Is it a stinger or ... ?

 

[mranglophile]

According to Michail "The metal tube is 1)reinforcement to small diam tenons so that they wont brake2) tribute to comoys blue riband series. "
I love Scotti's Eskimo, kinda a weird shape but really cool none the less. Michail's take on the Eskimo:

As you can see the briar doesn't blast nearly as well, from what I understand the Grecian Briar he uses is very hard and doesn't take blasts terribly well.

 

[cortezattic]

This is really exciting! (I know, "Get a life.") :lol:

I don't have any experience, but I think the strawberry wood idea is great.

Go for it, and keep us posted on your progress. :clap:

 

[wyfbane]

Michael, awesome to see some pics of what you described to me Saturday. This is going to be an epic set of pipes!!

 

[hiplainsdrifter]

mranglophile, that is an absolutely perfect billiard. Jealous- it is hard to come by a pipe like that even as a commission. That grain is superb.

 

[michail]

Thanks for posting this Michael.
I can understand your concerns about strawberry wood, but when it comes to pipes that they are going to be blasted for me it is an absolute must, because of the better rings that can be achieved.
Hope you guys enjoy the topic and commission procces.
Michail

 

[pipebuddy]

I am amazed because I thought this was briar at first as the sandblast is so typical of briar. Enjoy your new pipe and many puffings with it!

 

[pruss]

Gents congratulations on what looks to be an exciting, and collaborative, commission.
I have seen a number of wonderful pipes completed in strawberry wood, and agree with Michail that it can produce some outstanding relief when blasted. Friends who have pipes made in strawberry are all very positive about the smoking qualities of the pipes, so I think you're in good hands Mr.Anglophile.
I look forward to seeing the progress on the set.
-- Pat

 

[mranglophile]

Not quite sure why I am hesitant about Strawberry Wood, it makes a wonderful blasts and is much lighter in weight. I guess I always used to look at olive wood and pear wood and other Briar alternatives for people who couldn't afford briar but I guess Morta had to start some where. If it was good enough for Banjo to get 3, I am sure I will be happy with mine. Thanks for everyone's input.

 

[jpmcwjr]

Enjoy! She's a beauty, the blast.

 

[mranglophile]

So below are the first sketches from Michail, "I've attached 2 photos of 3 different variations on LB based on my research on different eras.

2 of them are the chubby kind of LB that we are used to while one(the bottom one) is a more skinny 20's style." I think I like the 20's style one (the bottom)the best, the only thing I would change is to make the band a tad smaller. Let me know what you guys think.