It turns out that the intersection of the airhole and the tobacco chamber was not a problem at all. I merely had to deepen the tobacco hole so that it ended at the bottom of the airhole. Its perfect, and I'll post a pic of it when the pipe is more presentable.

The pipe will not be dissimialr to the one in Van Gogh's painting "Peasant with a pipe in 1884." Pipe 4, as I think I mentioned is rustic in appearance due to its shape and its texture. The texture is a result of the carving process not an attempt to hide a flaw in the biar

That is to say, it was not "rusticated" intentionlly. The texture adds a great feel and look to the wood so I decided to leave it. It is in fact a straight grain piece of plateau, T shape per the Pimo Guide to Pipe Crafting. I purchased the briar from Pimo several years ago. I have great hopes for this peasant pipe which i am presently carving.

Thats it for now. Be sure to check out the Ser Jacopo website at http://www.serjacopo.com. Giancarlo Guidi has reached the top most echelon of his craft and truely serves as an inspiration to me. Off to the workshop:

Tom.

Posted by thos.martin at 11:25 AM EDT

Updated: Sunday, 26 November 2006 5:08 PM EST

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...a bit about the Captain BlackAromatic. Seems Lane Industries has changed mixes/recipes/processes since when I used to like it. People have described it as smelling like bleach. I agree, sort of, I don't get bleach, but its defineately not up to snuff...

...a bit about Borkum Riff. Picked me up a pack today. I wonder why if it Virginas and burley's and Tennesse whiskey why is it from Denmark?

... a bit about Venturi pipes. I like them. I am not a purist in anything, so if I like it, thats what matters to me. So, it makes a good everyday pipe because since it is non-absorbent, non-porous, it works well if my tobacco is a bit on the dry saide. Also a good pipe for kicking around in the Car...

Coping Skills:

I'm not going to write much about "the process" today. As you can see, Pipe 4 is coming to life. This pic shows the first slice with a coping saw which I am finding to work for me as a great shaping tool.

The picture below shows where it is at now after a couple of hours on Saturday. Its not finished, but its a start.  As you can see it is resting on the the Ser Jacopo section in The Pipe Companion. It is from the "Picata" series. Each pipe is fashioned after pipes appearing in Van Gogh's painting.

I was originally inspired by acorns, saw the Ser Jacoba ( Giancarlo Guidi) and while carving this pipe , I defineately felt the Van Gogh influence. Defineately rusic. I have literally been carvinf this pipe with a skew/draw/ knife. "Chipping" might be a better word, but its taking a long time but I'm enjoying the process, and resultingly, I think whoever ends up with this pipe will be glad.

Tom

Posted by thos.martin at 7:12 PM EDT

Updated: Sunday, 29 October 2006 11:59 AM EDT

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OK, so this is the second or third bowl of this I've smoke with much dissapointment, thinking how I remembered it fondly. Ahhh, perhaps my tastes are more discriminating. Nope. I looked everywhere for the cherry and couldn't find it. I forgot that I got the Royal out of desperation. I need to find a quality cherry aromatic. Any recommendations are welcomed. Ifyou would like to trade for a pipe cleaning that's be good too. See http://thos.martin.tripod.com for more info on that...

Concerning The Ladd o1. Anyone with information on pipe nomencalture, please step forward. I had a document from somewhere but can not find it. I also had a printout which I can not find....

In carving Pipe 4, I find myself over analyzing it a bit but will not be crippled with fear! I'm also findingthat any discussion on pipes is like the Pirates Code. As Captain Barbosa said in the Pirates of the Carribean said, "I like to think of them more as guidelines. RRRRrrr. Pimo's Guide to Pipe Crafting (PGPC) refers to the stummel as:

1. Pipe heads- Bowl and Shank.
2. The German word for "stump."
3. That part of the pipe that is not the shank or the stem...

Maybe, in the case of a home craftsman like myself, the word doesn't apply. PGPC notes that it is tpically used in reference to industrial pipes. Hmmm 

 Despite potential of analyisis by paralysis paralysis by analysis, I will be in the shop tommorow weathering a storm; a classic Nor' Easter.

 Share your exeriences with Pipe crafting at home here! If you feel you have guidance and advice to offer, I'll put it in my pipe and smoke it!

    Thanks,

    Tom

p.s. I forgot to mention the craving for Borkum Riff.When I was a kid,my friends father would pick me up for hockey practice around 5 in the morning. It'd be dark and freezing, and the van'd be fll of pipe smoke. I liked it (just not at 5 A.M.)

Thos. Martin

Posted by thos.martin at 7:56 PM EDT

Updated: Sunday, 29 October 2006 2:07 PM EDT

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A note on pipe three which you can see at a study in pipemaking, I mentioned that I had no briar, so I made it of Ash. I could only find one other mention of ash pipe on the internet and the maker wrote that it imposed an off flavor to his tobacco. He believe that was due to ash smelling bad when burned. So, I experimented and burned some. It smelled like marijuana, and I wasn't put off by this at all. Although I don't smoke pot, it seemed a natural smell for a pipe.

After smoking the first bowl, before cake was even formed, I detected little or no discernable "off" flavors being imparted to a burley I had beensmoking all week long out of briar. So, just tonight I smelled the ash bowl and it smelled almost exactly like pot! Now I'm starting to wonder about that "Burley" of mine and the sudden urges to for Doritos. Anyway, now about Pipe 4.

Pipe 4 is being carved from found briar; that is to say, I don't know I had it (which is why I carved Pipe 3 of Ash.) I'm owl, going for a sort of acorn shape for the bowl and am keeping it small. In this pic you'll see where the tobacco hole intersects with the top edge of the air hole. I haven't finished drilling it deep enough yet, but before I went too far, I have asked the opinion of a Danish pipemaker who has agreed to correspond if I:

• Ask SPECIFIC questions
• Work diligently in my basement for a good 5 years.
• and, consider a one-year apprenticeship.

Also notice in the second pic of this pipe-in process, that the shoulder on the end of the shank is slightly discolored. This is where I propose to remove some wood to better match the shoulder of the stem. Again, I queired Denmark for his general opinion... how best to make this "joint."

I notice in Pimo's Guide to Pipe Crafting at Home (PGPCH) that they have all sorts of jigs, for all aspects of the process. I did in fact use their adjustable tenon turning tool for the stummel but alas, having no money, I am retro fitting anorphan stem for this pipe. This is actually more difficult (for me) than starting from scratch. (I think)

I also asked Denmark about how to incorporate the lathe into the process. PGPCH has a chapter on that too. I'll need to better study the Pimo guide BEFORE botheringanyone. Lesson learned. Thanks for reading. I spent far too much time setting up this blog, and the only time today spent in the shop was taking the two pics. Thank you for reading "Shaping The Stummels."

Waxing Briar,

     Tom

Posted by thos.martin at 9:56 PM EDT

Updated: Friday, 27 October 2006 8:10 PM EDT

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