I love them all. If it has a beautiful grain with good birds eye or flames I love the look, but too many pipes are only ehhh in my opinion especially when they use fills and such and keep it smooth. I normally hold my pipes as I found I like to chew on the stems if I try to clench, and I like monster sized pipes, so I prefer texture. I love sandblast and wish more people would sandblast their pipes. I also like rusticated but I like the randomness that comes from sandblasting and rustication can end up to patterned, but not consistently, and that drives me nuts. As much as I love my Peterson pipes, and generally have been collecting their holiday pipes since I started smoking, their older pipes had a nice craggy rustication but their newer pipes are just a wavy pattern (which is a pattern) carved into the pipe and doesn't look as nice, personally. I know rustication can be used to cover up flaws in the briar but I don't want to know its a cover up.
All my pipes but one are smooth, but I have one sandblasted full bent that I am just in love with. With my smooth pipes I feel a certain nervousness when handeling and smoking them, not wanting to add any scratches or scuffs to the surface. I do not feel this way about my sandblast.
@subtilis87 I agree with how you feel about smooth bowled pipes. I'd rather not ding them up but sandblast and rusticated I have a tendancy to be a little more rough with.
I tend to love smooth more than anything, but carved can be pretty sweet! Don't get me wrong, I love the idea of sandblasted pipes, but I have only seen 1 or 2 that I have liked in practicality.
My pipes are either smooth or sandblast, I never found rusticated pipes appealing but if I came across one I liked I wouldn't pass it up on finish alone. When I first started smoking pipes I only purchased smooth pipes, but at an unknown point I turned to sandblasts. Now it is rare that I buy a smooth pipe, I find the texture and depth of a good sandblast hard to beat.
I like the grain in smooth pipes but here recently I've been more drawn too sandblasted, and I like the appeal of not worrying about dinging a rusticated. so I see the up side to all of them.
I love nice grain of a smooth but I would really love to have one of Cannoy Suede blast pipes. I have quite a few of smooth, rusticated, and a couple blast. My first pipe was a Grabow Collector 2003 rusticated. I recently purchased my first artisan pipe, a blasted Sloth Acorn that is a amazing pipe.
It really depends on the pipe. I prefer smooth when smooth will take full advantage of the grain. I also prefer a smooth rim, because it's much easier to keep the rim clean.
Some folks always prefer sandblast over rusticated, but if the sandblast it not craggy enough to accentuate a good ring grain, then the blast can just look washed out. I have actually seen some carvers who have unique rustication techniques, that actually look far more eye catching than their sandblasts.
Until this question, I rarely gave this subject one bit of thought. Now that I have reflected, I realized as far as finish is concerned, I really don't care. It is REALLY I just don't care one way or another.
My thing with pipes is all about the shape. I am drawn to certain bowl configurations and bowl/stem combinations...Prince, billiard and billiard-based shapes (the GBD "Grecian Urn" as an example) and apple. Stem preference is half-or three-quarter bent...
Yah know, sometimes, it takes a simple question to prompt a bit of introspection...thanks for the asking...
While I like the grain pattern that a smooth pipe shows I find it hard sometimes to choose between smooth and blasted. A really good blast will show the grain as well as give a nice relief and tactile feel in the hand that a smooth doesn't. If anyone has seen a J.T. Cooke pipe I think they will know what I mean. I wish that I owned one of his pipes they are amazing to look at and have an incredible feel.
PappyJoe
Master
Comments
I lean more towards rusticated but I have all in my collection
It really depends on the pipe. I prefer smooth when smooth will take full advantage of the grain. I also prefer a smooth rim, because it's much easier to keep the rim clean.
Some folks always prefer sandblast over rusticated, but if the sandblast it not craggy enough to accentuate a good ring grain, then the blast can just look washed out. I have actually seen some carvers who have unique rustication techniques, that actually look far more eye catching than their sandblasts.