I have crafted several pipes. It is very much enjoyable. As many above posting have clearly shown their craftsmanship, I love to see what everyone builds. Not sure how to upload photos on this site as I am relatively new here. I don't have a lot of fancy tools, just a drill press and some belt sanders. All of my stuff is "free hand" but I find that with proper drilling, the shaping is secondary, obviously my opinion only..Good briar and break in techniques make for an absolute fabulous pipe. They can rival the best!
Ahh.......just seen the image insert icon. Some are yet to be finished, as you will see.
The first image is still to be complete while the second two are now the 5th pipe that I have made and smoke as good as my Dunhill's.........
I use Mimmo Grade 2 plateau briar from Steve Norse at Vermont Freehand. It is top notch! He also has an incredible selection of all pipe making supplies.
A few years ago, with the aid of a dremel, I dabbled in carving an ebauchon, with a few questionable cracks. It quickly became apparent to me, that there is much skill and patience involved in crafting a wood pipe. Especially so, for those who take it to the next level, and spend as much or more time in crafting a superior stem.
For the time being, I will have to resign myself to smoking rather than carving, and I have the utmost respect for those who have a natural talent for bringing out the best in a block of briar.
If you only knew how many hours some of the masters have invested in carving these works of art, you wouldn't think their asking prices were at all unreasonable. In fact, you might feel fortunate to be able to smoke one of their offerings, especially so considering the other possibilities they could be exploring with their talents.
The reality is, that some of the best carvers, have the ability to engineer many other works of art, that can make your jaw hit the floor. For those guys, it is a labor of love, and most are fascinated with crafting briar for the personal satisfaction.
Yep, I just started this past month. The first two were pearwood kits from Amazon. They turned out surprisingly well. The next two I called J.H Lowe and talked to Tim West . He set me up with two Plateau simi bent. They smoke amazing! I'm going to try Vermont freehand next, but I really like the Briar from Tim
@PappyJoe, Mark Tinsky is also a great resource for learning to carve. Several successful high profile pipe makers have credited Mark, with helping them over and around the bumps in the road, early on in their pipe careers. Rad Davis learned to carve under the tutelage of Mark Tinsky, and he turned out to be one of the best. He also has a reputation for being outgoing, friendly, and easy to talk to.
Here is a link to Brian Levine's latest interview with Mark, if anyone is interested-
I have not made my own but I would like to customize the ones I already have! I want to get some better looking stems for my briar pipes and wouldn't mind a few silver bands (is that the right term?) for where shank and stem meet. Problem is none of the stems I am seeing online have the tenon on it, the description says "unmachined stems". I don't have a machine to do this nor would I spend the time to find a tobacconist to do it, the pipes I have smoke just fine but I would like to customize them if it wouldn't cost too much. Am I just looking at the wrong websites? I was under the impression that a 6mm pipe would have a universal tenon size, is that incorrect?
I've done some customizing on Cherry Pipes, they were free from Wally Franks with a purchase of one of my favorite tobaccos. I sent a picture of one that I did an Owl's head on.
I have, I just recently started smoking from pipe 2mnths ago. I have never bought a pipe. I have created 3 in the past 2mnths. I am attaching pics, the fancy one is the first one I've ever made. I think I found my hobby, I enjoy making them very much. I'm hoping I can eventually make a name for myself. I do my own woodworking company I just started less than a year ago. just got an idea one day to make one, so I did.
This one was a reject. A flaw on the other side of the bowl showed up while sanding rendering it un-sellable. So it became mine. Bocote wood trim ring. Acrylic stem.
This one was a test piece of some Tuscan briar I purchased. I wanted to see how it smoked before I made any pipes for sale. Smokes just fine, except for a little longer break-in. Plus, it allowed me to practice and further refine the classic billiard shape. As simple as it looks, it's a very difficult shape to get right. Faux horn trim with cumberland style acrylic stem.
Comments
Acrylic stem w/ elk antler trim. Straight grain all around the bowl, a few sand pits. I got lucky.
The first image is still to be complete while the second two are now the 5th pipe that I have made and smoke as good as my Dunhill's.........
heres one I put together with mesquite.
one of my first tries.
Had to add a better picture of the "flaw" in it. I think it adds a lot of character to the pipe.
A few years ago, with the aid of a dremel, I dabbled in carving an ebauchon, with a few questionable cracks. It quickly became apparent to me, that there is much skill and patience involved in crafting a wood pipe. Especially so, for those who take it to the next level, and spend as much or more time in crafting a superior stem.
For the time being, I will have to resign myself to smoking rather than carving, and I have the utmost respect for those who have a natural talent for bringing out the best in a block of briar.
If you only knew how many hours some of the masters have invested in carving these works of art, you wouldn't think their asking prices were at all unreasonable. In fact, you might feel fortunate to be able to smoke one of their offerings, especially so considering the other possibilities they could be exploring with their talents.
The reality is, that some of the best carvers, have the ability to engineer many other works of art, that can make your jaw hit the floor. For those guys, it is a labor of love, and most are fascinated with crafting briar for the personal satisfaction.
@PappyJoe, Mark Tinsky is also a great resource for learning to carve. Several successful high profile pipe makers have credited Mark, with helping them over and around the bumps in the road, early on in their pipe careers. Rad Davis learned to carve under the tutelage of Mark Tinsky, and he turned out to be one of the best. He also has a reputation for being outgoing, friendly, and easy to talk to.
Here is a link to Brian Levine's latest interview with Mark, if anyone is interested-
http://pipesmagazine.com/blog/radio-talk-show/the-pipes-magazine-radio-show-episode-213/
Smokes just fine, except for a little longer break-in. Plus, it allowed me to practice and further refine the classic billiard shape. As simple as it looks, it's a very difficult shape to get right. Faux horn trim with cumberland style acrylic stem.