Rustication and Blasting

[nevadablue]

Pipe carvers' forum? Where please.
I too would like to know more about blasting pipes. I have a nice cabinet sand blaster but I have never blasted any wood.

 

[mayfair70]

It's taste, judgement, nuance, sensitivity, experience, know-how, open-mindedness, creativity, expansiveness. Skip the rules; skip the rules.

I love this quote by MSO. Most artforms I can think of require you know the rules before circumventing them. I think carving falls under this banner. I feel texturing should be done with a light touch, because you can go too far, then it is too late. However, I do love me some craggy pipes. Subjectively, the most beautiful pipes I have seen are ones I cannot imagine being done another way. The wood begs to be worked a certain way and the master carver hears this call and obliges. Most every pipe in this thread has been worked near perfectly, in my humble opinion. Good topic and GREAT pictures folks! :clap:

 

[zack24]

Zack, some fine work. How long have you been carving? I especially love the bent volcano/snail, and the stem adornments are interesting and beautiful. Did you make all the pipes in your photos?

A little over 3 years and maybe 100 pipes...those are all mine...

 

[tschiraldi]

It is my understanding that sandblasting simply removes the softer wood while leaving the harder wood behind. So the end result depends on the amount of softer Briar on the outside of the stummel. The only rusticated pipes I have ever found pleasing are the Castello Sea Rocks. It still confuses me why a pipe requiring more work and more time costs the least!

 

[Chasing Embers]

Nice picture. I like that you are sitting on what appears to be a pile of clothes.

Yeah, that pic was taken when we were moving. Chaos!

 

[saltedplug]

Lomma pipes on smokingpipes has some very fine rustication, deep, long, about 3/8", black divots, with clear unrusticated area between them given a reddish/brown stain.
There are so many beautiful pipes out there!

 

[zack24]

It is my understanding that sandblasting simply removes the softer wood while leaving the harder wood behind. So the end result depends on the amount of softer Briar on the outside of the stummel

A couple of thoughts- what's actually used is glass bead or a mix of other abrasive medias- sand is never used. In its simplest form, blasting takes 10 minutes using one media and one pressure setting- in that case, the grain determines the result.. At the upper end, it can take 3 medias and 10 hours to tease the best out of the grain. When you see a Weaver, Cooke, Parks, or von Erck, you're looking at hours of work.

 

[crashthegrey]

Each have their own place. I like craggy and deep sandblasts, except when I see a uniform gorgeous shallow blast, and then I like that. I like random deep rustication, except when I see a shallow predictable rustication that looks like it feels good in the hand. I am also a huge fan of partially smoothed blasts or rustication, as it give the feel of a smooth and the look of a blast/rustication, but still adding grip in the hand. Every pipe is unique, and each finish can be beautiful, the hard part is making the right pipe from each block.

 

[tslex]

When I want a rusticated pipe -- and I often do -- I want the rustication as sharp and craggy as can be. I have a black rusticated Brebbia that is just amazing. (Have to fins a picture.) It's like holding 30-grit sandpaper.
But as much as I love Petersons for all kinds of reasons, I find their rustication style -- very muted and smoothed over -- to be unappealing.
I'd say it's personal taste like a lot of this hobby is, but to me rustication needs to be. . . rustic.
Sandblasting, I think it can be said, necessarily means that the grain of the pipe is discernible. For some amazing sandblasts, consider JT Cooke.
For rustications, hard to beat Brebbia or Castello.

 

[ryeguy]

The only rusticated pipes I have ever found pleasing are the Castello Sea Rocks. It still confuses me why a pipe requiring more work and more time costs the least!

Rustication, like distressing wood in other contexts, covers over natural imperfections.
I've always assumed that pipemakers cut the pipe, and if notable imperfections show up in the briar after it's been cut, they rusticate it, while the ones without notable imperfections get sanded smooth; so the rusticated is basically the seconds, the ones that weren't good enough to be finished smooth.

 

[cosmicfolklore]

What has also interested me, is that blasts and rusticated pipes smoke way better, IMO, than the polished straight grains or even birdseyes. Smoke better, in that they tend to dissipate heat better, thus creating better cake, and also allowing the cherry to cool off faster. I always smoke my blasts and rusties more often. So, when I buy a polished pipe, I am merely paying more for looks, which is debatable at that.
BTW Zack, that stacked bulldog on the bottom is smoking awesome. I tend to use it most on long drives.

 

[tschiraldi]

Ryeguy - I agree that is the case with most makers, but not all. I know of several artisans that begin a pipe with the intention of blasting or rusticating from the start. Castello claims they do the same, and that every one of their pipes is perfect. They claim that if the pipe shows a flaw, even in the last stages, they throw it on the wood pile. Their words, not mine.

 

[alexnorth]

I don't own a great number of pipes but I've seen a lot online and I agree that there are good examples from every type of finish. I really like some partially blasted pipes aswell which seem to be a bit of a divider. However I did not find those Cooke pipes to be the most appealing example. I found the blast a bit too fine for my taste.

Also sometimes I think its hard to know if I should call a pipe sandblasted or rusticated.

 

[crashthegrey]

Cosmic, some would argue that the increase in surface area on a blasted or rusticated pipe, which can practically double depending upon the depth, is what allows it to cool faster. I tend to agree with the perception, if not the science behind it. It is a hard thing to study, as there is no control. Each block will dissipate heat differently, so no two blocks can be studied to see the effect of the finish.

alexnorth, there is a distinct difference between sandblasted and rusticated. A few makers have tried to emulate a sandblast with rustication techniques, but this is rare. If the cragginess follows the ring grain of the pipe, it is a sandblast. Rustication is done with any number of tools and tends to be highly patterned or sporadic. I guess there just comes a day where you can tell which is which, as I find it hard to explain without showing.

 

[azpipe]

@chasingembers all three of those are gorgeous pipes. who made them?

 

[crashthegrey]

tschiraldi, you are correct. Many set out to rusticate because they like the finish. Those who sandblast often choose the blocks specifically for doing so, as sandblasting follows the ring grain rather than the typically visual grain. It takes a keen eye to see ring grain well, but when you do, you can pick the best blasted blocks. Sometimes when a block that you want to rusticate or sandblast has amazing grain, you change your mind and make it smooth. However, often it is blasted or rusticated because that was the pipe that you wanted to make.

 

[ryeguy]

Castello claims . . . that every one of their pipes is perfect. They claim that if the pipe shows a flaw, even in the last stages, they throw it on the wood pile. Their words, not mine.

I can't argue with the process the Castello carvers follow when making pipes.
But Castello's smooth finished pipes are graded by the quality of their grain; some of them are quite literally of a higher grade briar than others. And they don't bother grading their carved pipes for grain quality.
They might mean, by claiming that every pipe is perfect or that there are no flaws, that they don't use filler to fix holes in the briar (or some other minimum standard), but I don't believe that each block (that meets that standard) turns out to be as good as every other, which would render their own grading system meaningless.

 

[crashthegrey]

ryeguy, I believe what they mean by "perfect" is that they don't rusticate pipes with cosmetic flaws. The grain may be better on certain pipes, and that well may be how they choose smooth vs. rusticated. However, the claim seems to be that there are still no (visible) pits in rusticated pipes, which is important. Those pits, when covered up by blasting or rusticating, can be weak spots and lead to burnouts. So lesser grain "perfect" pipes are rusticated, and gorgeous grain is smooth and graded.

 

[danielplainview]

Well it seemed funny after a few whiskey sours....