My first pipe carving attempt using hand tools

[jpmcwjr]

I've done this quite a bit, actually. Then again, I grew up in Illinois the "land of corn".

So did I, in the "Land of Lincoln" as the license plates proclaim.... Where? I was in Dwight, 80 Miles SSW of Chicago.

 

[jpmcwjr]

Very nice for a first effort! Only visible error is the tapering of the stem.
Did the drilling demand a poker, or was that simply your choice?

 

[okiescout]

Good job for a first pipe and far better than most folks could accomplish. A labor of love that should be a special joy to remember. This would make a great family heirloom to someone down the family tree :lol:

 

[mso489]

That's a great result for a first pipe, all with hand tools. It looks like you did a lot of thinking and planning and adapting along the way.

 

[pritch13]

Thanks for all the lovely feedback and advice which i will take into my next pipe project with me. I just wanted a poker to be honest, didn't think the wood was telling me to do anything differently either and yes i should most definitely keep the stem in during the entire process next time! And thanks for the hacksaw advice, my lines were all over the place haha.

 

[randelli]

Great job! I am off to find a pecan or cherry branch to start my own build.

 

[mso489]

If you make a second and third pipe, you will likely make some significant advances, knowing how to get the shank even and similar points. And you always have to allow for a set-back, getting one that doesn't meet the first pipe's standards, but that's just life on the trail. I think this first pipe is well worth keeping, even if you have to pack it away as you get better at the craft, until you like it precisely for its homemade originality. It may out-smoke any pipe you ever make or buy. That piece of briar may just be the one.

 

[avail]

I think it looks pretty nice and the grain is beautiful...

 

[hawke]

I especially like the layout of the grain. Well done!

 

[parttimetryhard]

Great job man! I'm looking to do my first project myself and I'm hoping mine comes out half that good

 

[gloucesterman]

The first one of anything is a learning experience. Yours turned out quite well.

 

[lohengrin]

Nice first work!

Enthusiasm gives the power to use just hand tools, but if you are really interested in continuing I suggest you at least a drill otherwise you'll get bored from the hard work.

You'll learn lot of things by yourself going on. My only suggestion now, that you can already apply with your tools, is to insist with grits.

I didn't know they can go till 12000, as Carver states, I use till 2500. Anyway, what I learned later than I would is that you have to sand and sand and sand before changing grit. From 120 up I keep on sanding with the same number till I take away the "mist" concealing the briar's beauty. Sometimes it looks like I already sanded enough, but untill I don't clear away that mist I don't change grit.

 

[avail]

Beauty, eh...