Fantastic Review ! And not just because it says good stuff about my pipes :D
A few things I'll add; I just started making the pipe bags a few months ago, so glad you appreciate it! I make the bags myself from whole hides, and that had its own learning curve!
On "Golden Ratios", I actually find the more I try to plan a pipe on paper, the harder it is to get right. My favorite way to make a billiard is just to chuck up a good block and put the whole thing together as I go. You may find golden means, matching dimensions and so forth, but I mostly work just like you said, by "making it all look right". So any time one dimension changes, say the length of the shank, something else has to change to balance that out. In the end there are rules that govern it all, but for me it's more Art than Science.
On Blasting, I agree with your observations. I use a very simple blasting technique that relies more on the briar and brute force than technology :lol: I could switch systems and media and come up with something that relies less on the briar itself to dictate results, but I like the rugged, natural, chaotic results I typically get. Some of my blasts are compared to early Dunhills, and that's probably because they used simple techniques and brute force as well !
A few things I'll add; I just started making the pipe bags a few months ago, so glad you appreciate it! I make the bags myself from whole hides, and that had its own learning curve!
On "Golden Ratios", I actually find the more I try to plan a pipe on paper, the harder it is to get right. My favorite way to make a billiard is just to chuck up a good block and put the whole thing together as I go. You may find golden means, matching dimensions and so forth, but I mostly work just like you said, by "making it all look right". So any time one dimension changes, say the length of the shank, something else has to change to balance that out. In the end there are rules that govern it all, but for me it's more Art than Science.
On Blasting, I agree with your observations. I use a very simple blasting technique that relies more on the briar and brute force than technology :lol: I could switch systems and media and come up with something that relies less on the briar itself to dictate results, but I like the rugged, natural, chaotic results I typically get. Some of my blasts are compared to early Dunhills, and that's probably because they used simple techniques and brute force as well !