Topic: Pipe 7: NOV06 -SOLD-
Lucky Pipe 7 did rise from the ashes. (pictured is a jacket I embroidered (Monday night Football in reflection)) I ended up filing it, and the shaping it with 80 grit (or "grind" as the Dutch say), then sanding it all the way down to 1000 grit. Really. I stained it to expose the grain. It is perfectly in tune with the layout of design. If it were a guitar it would be called blame grained, or burst. In pipe parlance it is a straight grain I think.
After about every 2-3 stages of sanding, I would stain it, which would raise the grain, and then sand it down. I did it the first time so that I could see the "depressions" in the wod. It worked, so basically, as in the 5th pipe when I rusticated, unrusticated, and re-rusticated. This pipe I sained, unstained, and re-stained.
It was impressed upon me by David Field, that the stem is half the pipe so therefore you should spend half your time on it. Who would have thought. I did devote a lot off time on the stem but noticed I need to spend even more because of scratches. About the stem: It is very thin. At the peg, it is not much wider than the mortise. and, it is oddly shaped; rounded like the belly of a guppy onthe bottom. The top rocks. I maintained the diamond shape and merged it well with the pipe.
The stummel is like a worry stone. You can't help but pick it up. It has an energy about it that will make you not want to put it down, like a worry stone gone warm, or a beautiful chesnut. Beacuseof the thin stem and the sort of pod-like, thistle shaped volcano, it lokos very botanical. The grain is burled or Birdseye as my friend Nelson from the Pipe Club calls it. The face is also birdseye. the sides of course are striped.
If you do in fact put this pipe down, it rests beautifully on the tabe. There is an oh so slight up-ward cant to the stem, which works well for this pipe. If you look at the bottom of the pipe you might be reminded of a golf club; a wood to be exact. you might not though.
What makes this pipe special is that if your a small guy like myself, you might not like big 'ole freehhand. My pipes are becoming slight as they tend toward the classic shapes, but maintain the freehand creativity and respect for the wood. Here are som pics. The final picture will be posted tommorow.
