Reverse Calabash Volcano...

[zack24]

Trying a few variations on the reverse calabashes- thought this was fairly interesting. There is actually a double chamber in the reverse calabash part- looks like a long football, with 2/3 of it in the shank, and 1/3 in the stem itself. The inlay in the stem is Goncalo Alves- a little surprised at the weight- only 53 grams....Time for a beer.......or two

 

[gwtwdbss]

Dayum Zack. Man you are very creative. We PM'd a while ago. Call me!

 

[petes03]

Wow, I love it! You got talent my man! I like the Goncalo Alves too, I have a S&W .44 mag with Goncalo Alves grips on it, good lookin stuff!

 

[zack24]

Wow, I love it! You got talent my man! I like the Goncalo Alves too, I have a S&W .44 mag with Goncalo Alves grips on it, good lookin stuff!

Nice looking wood, but a pain to work with compared to Cocobolo or Ebony...quite a bit softer...Thought the contrast was kinda nice...

 

[mso489]

You've gotten way outside the box on shapes, and shank shapes, and materials. Somehow you manage

to give all the ones I've seen a pipe-like presence, which seems somewhat important. You could make a

pipe that looks for all the world like a shoe, but I'm not sure someone would smoke it; whereas, these

are totally pipes. I don't think there would be any argument about who did these pipes.

 

[flmason]

Congratulations on making that pipe. Your wife probably would smoke that one.

 

[zack24]

...these are totally pipes. I don't think there would be any argument about who did these pipes.

Thanks! It's a tough balancing act-whether to do completely traditional shapes or stuff that is a riff on traditional or a radical departure to things that people scratch their head over. When I started making pipes again in May, it was a cold start after 30 years of not touching a piece of briar. Since the Vegas show, I've really tried to focus on the details. I see it as a journey- the next step is to spend some time with one of the American masters and hopefully next year one of the Japanese masters...and in the meantime, I'm having a great time!

 

[mso489]

Since you are able to do these, successfully to my eyes, I think that's the way to go. There are a number of fine interpreters of

the traditional shapes, and many other machine pipe sources that are superbly done. I hope you'll keep posting these as they

evolve. It's a pretty exciting path.

 

[zack24]

Congratulations on making that pipe. Your wife probably would smoke that one.

Yep...and look good doing it... As long as Greta has good flake tobacco in a cool smoking pipe, she's happy...I have created a monster- her new favorite tobacco (since I scored a couple of bags last week) is Stonehaven...

 

[peckinpahhombre]

That is a beauty Zach. I have a few reverse calabashes and my personal view so far is that I don''t notice any difference as compared to a regular pipe in terms of how cool they smoke. Curious to know what your thoughts are.

 

[zack24]

Peck, How "cool" a pipe smokes is mainly a function of how fast you smoke it. The biggest difference I've found is in how dry the smoke is. Florida is incredibly humid and we regularly smoke 3 or 4 bowls in a reverse calabash and never reach for a pipe cleaner...I've noticed with Greta (who puffs like a freight train), that she will overheat any pipe I have except the reverse calabashes...not sure why, but that's pretty consistent...I tend to pace my smoking, so I rarely overheat any of the pipes I have...

 

[anthonyrosenthal74]

Zack, I don't understand why you feel like you have to visit or learn from any American or Japanese masters.... Looks like they might be learning from you. Another beautiful pipe there.

 

[zack24]

Thanks Anthony...if only that were true... Every time I see someone's technique or how they shape something, it sticks in my head and changes how I approach a problem the next time...Every time you see a pipe by one of the best carvers, in most cases, you can see what they were influenced by...(Even on this one- the 1/3" gap between the stem and shank- came up with that from looking at my Mark Twain Peterson)

 

[allan]

Zach
Magnificent workmanship
Congrats on another masterful creation

 

[pipebow88]

Well that turned out quite sharp Zack! The pipe is quite to my liking. For me personally the stem is a bit whimsical, however it was very well executed. It does flow nicely.

B

 

[zack24]

Pipebow88, Yep, it wasn't supposed to get quite that complicated- took several hours extra due to the stem design. I'll be doing one in the next week or so with a flush fitting stem and the secondary chamber in the stem...

 

[tbradsim1]

Zack you're starting to get your signature look, Keep on Keeping on.

 

[cortezattic]

Zack, hats off to you! That is a magnificent pipe! I'm positively awe struck by both the shape and the wood -- not to mention the reverse calabash engineering. Kudos, man. Nice achievement! :clap:

 

[jeepnewbie]

Zack that is one amazing looking pipe, I love seeing your work.

 

[zack24]

Jeep, Cortez, Bradley... Thanks...
Actually working on something relatively traditional this afternoon- a Dublin with some neat B&W ebony stemwork.....