Your guys' carve your owns?

[masked1]

So, I am going to be purchasing a "Carve your own" briar block in the near future. I feel somewhat restricted in design due to the shapes of the blocks. Do you guys have any pictures of your own that might give me inspirations? Only pipes made from a carve your own please.
Thanks!

-Cody Maske

 

[nsfisher]

if u've never carved before i suggest gittin some practice blocks of wood first. Even a block of pine is great for practicing, if ur not gonna smoke it that is

 

[kf5eqv]

Fisher has it right, practice on some cheap blocks first then move on to briar when your ready.
I'm just putting some finishing touches on mine. I should have something to post in a day or two.

 

[acme]

After you have drilled the holes, they are all carve your own.
anthony

 

[unclearthur]

Never done a predrilled block/All mine are from plain blocks.

 

[pentangle]

"Do you guys have any pictures of your own that might give me inspirations? Only pipes made from a carve your own please"
Explore the forum threads you'll find a lot of pipes carved our own

 

[hobojoe]

Masked1,

This is one of the things I do know. Start out with a free or

cheap piece of wood. Cut a limb off a fruit tree or non-pine sap tree.

That way you can get a feel of carving the wood if you have no experience or little

Patience has to be top priority. As my mentor on leather keeps telling me.

Before carving-stamping leather practice your stamping on scrap before working

on project. That way you get back the feel of the strokes and your first

strokes on project will be ok and not look awkward until you get back into the

pattern.

Let the wood work for you. there are no mistakes, just readjust. My pipes like my leather

work is non-traditional. Dilexit I ma.

Joe2shoes

 

[smokindawg]

I agree on practice and used pine to practice my drilling. But when it comes to shaping practice on a wood that can be smoked. That way you dont completely waste your time. I practiced on walnut before moving on to briar..
Briar has working qualities that no other wood can compare too and even two different briar blocks can work differently. I only ever made one pipe from a predilection block and it turned out like any of the ones I drill myself. Better pipes, for the most part, come with more practice rather than better would, although that also helps.
Taking a look at any new carvers work will help you with ideas and inspiration. There are plenty of recent postings from new carvers to draw from.

 

[smokindawg]

Wow did I ever make mistakes in that post above. The spelling especially. Guess that's what I get for posting from my phone.
Repost:
Briar has working qualities that no other wood can compare too and even two different briar blocks can work differently. I only ever made one pipe from a pre-drilled block and it turned out like any of the ones I drill myself. Better pipes, for the most part, come with more practice rather than better would, although that also helps.

 

[briarbird]

I definitely say if you can drill your own then I would strongly consider getting yourself a nice piece of briar and going for it. I think that the feeling of pride from doing all of the work yourself will make you much happier, and plus, it may give you the itch that I have and make you want to keep carving them! But either way, have fun with it, whether it be a kit or doing everything yourself. I think I enjoy creating pipes just as much as I do smoking them; very relaxing...