Twisted Ram's Horn

[zack24]

Took one piece of really nice briar, a little gaboon ebony, some SEM Ebonite rod, a gallon of sweat, and a couple of beers to produce this one...Finally managed to carve a hand-cut stem that I'm fairly happy with...

 

[Perique]

Wow. Love that shape. And a unique stem. Outstanding work. I've never smoked a horn, but love the aesthetics.

 

[voorhees]

I like the color and finish, much better than some work I've seen around here lately.

 

[mso489]

That is one fine briar, the grain and the way it is displayed in that shape. Almost too pretty

to smoke. I might smoke some pipe I've broken in and look at that one!

 

[tjameson]

She's got some nice curves. Bravo!

 

[uberam3rica]

I love it. Horns are one of my favorite shapes.

 

[phil22]

I never owned a horn. Are they difficult to smoke, because of the shape?

 

[zack24]

Phil, I can't tell you about smoking one- it's the second horn I made and they're both going to the West Coast Pipe Show in November. That's the problem with making pipes- if it a good one, I sell it. I end up smoking the ugly pipes and the mistakes like where I bore a draft hole through the bowl and patch it with a briar dowel. As soon as I hit my goal of 30 pipes for the show, I'll carve something unique for myself- 19 more pipes to go!
A couple of posts I read on smoking horns said that they are not difficult to smoke...and are not prone to burning out on the top...

 

[foggymountain]

Beautiful work. Ebony is very difficult to work. I have never worked with briar. Does it chip off like ebony?

 

[zack24]

Briar is incredibly difficult to carve with hand tools. I usually use high speed carbide burrs to carve details. On the metal lathe, I use really sharp HSS tools to cut briar. It still takes a lot of sanding to get a smooth surface. I actually really like the way ebony works on the lathe- very consistent, takes a good finish and incredibly beautiful when polished. It's one reason I use ebony on the shank cap instead of ebonite- also the ebony makes a great mortise.

 

[dervis]

Very nice. Really like the natural look to it.

 

[lockdown199]

Very nice, would make a great display and conversation piece. But I would end up smoking it after awhile.

 

[allan]

Zach
That is a marvelous piece of craftsmanship. You are obviously very skilled in woodworking. The grain is beautiful on that one.
thanks for sharing
Allan

 

[zack24]

Thanks Allan,
If a sandy hillside in southern Italy grows me a nice piece of briar, the least I can do is not screw it up too badly...
It's funny- I didn't intend to do an offset hole, but a nasty sand pit turned up right in the middle of where the shank would normally have run. I think this might be a design I refine a little more. Kind of like the subtle "S" curve when viewed from the top...

 

[cigrmaster]

zack, it is a very pretty pipe, well done.