What's the Deal With Rustication?

[romanza10]

I was looking at pipes over and P&C. They got some kind of special with GBD pipes. I was looking at them and noticed this pipe.

It's got that rustication thing going on. It looks pretty good on this pipe, and I've seen it done and look good on others. But on the other hand, I've seen it done and it looks just plain awful. Like some one gave a steady handed 3 year old a dremel and said go at it?
What's the idea behind this look? Is it to make the pipe look rustic? And how does that make it look rustic? Or is it supposed to be rusty? Please enlighten me.

 

[lonestar]

Rustication is usually done to cover up little imperfections in the surface of a finished pipe.

 

[wildcat]

I think most rustication comes into play as flaws/pits are found in the briar. The rustication "covers it up." But I'm sure some pipes are designed with rustication in mind from the start too. Nice pipe in the pic!

 

[tokerpipes]

Lonestar is correct. Although sometimes pipe makers use it to creat gripping or designs on the pipe. Nording has many that he uses it for designes as well as Boswell.

 

[papipeguy]

There are some members here who are quite artistic with their rustications. Like everything else, its a matter of taste.

 

[igloo]

It can be done for a tactile feel and the art of the rustifaction itself . Thats the best kind . :D

 

[spartan]

No one makes Smiley Face rustications though... /sigh
Or some nice lettering on the pipe. "**** You!"
I would buy that pipe...

 

[dukdalf]

Frankly, I don't think it looks all that great on this otherwise very nice GBD. I'd have given it back to said 3-year old and told him to do a bit more. Rustication is as lonestar and wildcat pointed out, almost always done to cover up imperfections. A pipe with a flawless surface will not only sell for more, it doesn't need any extra work. Rustication is an extra step in production that pays for itself by making an otherwise unsellable item into something attractive. Some pipemakers do their rustication by hand with a chisel, some use a motortool. It requires more attention and care than blasting: that's just a matter of putting your briar in the blasting chamber and have a coffee while the work is largely done for you.

 

[smokenscotch]

That's a great looking pipe, go for it.

 

[shawn]

I believe that rustication is all that the Bothers speak to. Although, I like my pipes in all finishes to include rustication. Now that said the rustication and pipe need to speak to me. Does it speak to you?

 

[ohin3]

I really like well done rustication and really dislike poorly done rustication. I am not a fan of spot rustication like on the pictured pipe. I absolutely love a high quality sand blasts and I really dig that real deep craggy Italian style of rustication. Rustication has to really catch my eye...like this:

or this:

or this:

Hmmm...those also happen to represent my very best English smokers...go figure.

 

[bigvan]

For years I always considered sandblasting to be a type of rustication; a subset. But when I attended the pipe making seminar at the Chicago Pipe Show for the first time a few years ago, the pro carvers all said that it was a separate skill set and category. So (according to them) there are smooth, there are rusticated and there are sand blasted pipes. Not that it matters all that much.
Personally I LOVE a good sand blast!

 

[bobby46]

I've been conditioned to think of rustication as "boo-boo" hiding.

If I were shopping for a really expensive pipe, I would go for smooth rather than a "Toasted Marshmallow".
A yard-sale find of any texture would however, be treasured.

 

[bentmike]

Years ago a had a Kings Cross Featherweight that was black/rusticated. One day I decided to turn it back into a smooth polished pipe and went at it with the sander. Once I had all the rustication removed I noticed all the huge voids and fills and the putty of course didn't match the surrounding wood. Basically I ruined a perfectly good pipe. Live and learn I guess.

 

[dukdalf]

That third pipe in Ohin's post... Very nice!

 

[mikemacrdlnds]

I bet Jim Cooke and Bruce Weaver are happy to find out that after all the years of learning to do sandblasting and attention to detail, that all they had to do was drop the pipes in their sandblasting machine and go have coffee. A Jim Cooke sandblast will set you back to the tune of $500 up, and a Bruce Weaver for about the same.

Lord, if it were that easy.

 

[olderthandirt]

Say ohin

Of the 3 pipes you've posted, the 1st and 3rd are blasts rather than rusticated aren't they?

 

[dukdalf]

Achieving a fine blast is as much of an art as is creating a well rusticated pipe. I am aware of that, and I'll choose my words more carefully next time.

 

[hnryclay]

Sand blasted pipes are my favorite, I have a lot of them, and prefer them to smooth finish pipes. Rusticated pipes are different, I have a few, and among them the Randy Wiley pipes I own are the best. The GBD above is rusticated to hide a flaw, as are most Petersons, and Savinellis. American Pipe makers are known for the use of rustication, and do it very well. Factory pipes use it to cover up flaws exclusively in my opinion.

 

[hobie1dog]

Rustication

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cDGlN6mluGA&feature=related