Having a ball

So it's been a while. Life seems to move quickly and I can hardly keep up and since I haven't made a pipe in three weeks I thought I'ld roll this baby out. The woods are Wenge in the middle, Cherry on each end all on a poplar dowel. The finish is  a tung oil. This ball for contact juggling was quite a lot of fun to turn, even though you can't smoke it. 

The New Dominion

The two tobacco pipes of The New Dominion were commissioned by a friend of mine (upon whose name dominion is a bit of a play) for himself and his brother. This has been the first set of pipes I have made. The two pipes are similar but with significant differences. I had given them three options to choose between and both brothers asked for the same thing but one wanted a churchwarden stem. I am thrilled  with the outcome. The shields with the initials in them came out particularly well. 

The Trying Triad

I continue to read up on pipes and have noticed two major controversies. The effects of finish on the pipe and the effects of the size of the airway. It is these two hotly debated topics that the Trying Triad tobacco pipes are comparing. All three pipes are within a half inch in length with each other, with similar bowl sizes and exterior thicknesses. All three are Italian Briar with german Vulcanite stems. 

This first pipe has the airway that I normally use and a carnauba wax finish which is also my most typical finish.

The next pipe has an enlarged airway but than has a Buffed Oil finish which I have heard causes the pipe to stop breathing. 

This last pipe also has the enlarged airway but the finish is a Spray Lacquer. 

So this is by no means a scientific test but I am smoking the same tobacco out of these there pipes to see if I can detect a difference in the way they perform. I will keep you up to date on the results. 

The Wizard's Horn

The Wizard's Horn tobacco pipe is a very different pipe. I am not entirely sure how well I like it. Visually it is beautiful. The straight grain of the plateaux briar is stunning and I have been improving on the way I use the dyes which have given this pipe an amazing finish and the rough outside of the root burl is always fascinating. What I am not happy about is the curve, and how that has effected the way it sits in the mouth. This is not a lazy pipe, all the weight is out at the end and the stem doesn't displace any of the weight from out to down. Still it is smokable and looks amazing, you just might want to build up your biceps before smoking this one.

I want to give a return shout out to Catholic Stuff Podcast created by the willing minds of Fr. John, Fr. Peter, Fr. Mike, Joe Doman, and, last but certainly not least, the esteemed Nathan Goebel. Joe recently lead a podcast on our own St. John Kemble and encouraged the listeners to check out this site, so thank you gents over at Catholic Stuff. Listen to this podcast, they have some amazing topics and deal with them thoughtfully and enjoyably. 

The Lucky WIzard

It's been a while now since I've created a wizard pipe. I  decided to combine the idea of my lucky pipe with the my freehand wizard design and thus was created the Lucky wizard. this pipe has substantially thicker walls on the bowl than the lucky pipe which became a concern of mine the more I looked at it. I do like freehand pipes but they quickly become very similar and as I am trying to stay on the more unique side of pipe designs I don't want to wear out a good thing to quickly. I did want to try the green Dye again and it looks great on the italian brair. This is most certainly my last St. Patrick's day inspired pipe of the year. I am hoping to turn my eyes back toward the Lord of the Rings Travel pipes soon, strong, sturdy pipes with wooden stems.

The Irish Potato

I like the potato pipes and this one sports a lucite stem. They are basic pipes but the eyes give each one it's own flavor. I know that Irish potatoes are one of the most over used stereotypes and this stereotype is only made more fascinating by the fact that potatoes, like tobacco, are a new world plant. So no one really knows what the Irish ate before Columbus discovered America.  Enjoy.

The Lucky Pipe

I've made a couple pipes in honor of the upcoming St. Patrick's day. This tobacco pipe is the first that I am posting. The most striking feature is obviously the bowl shape. After having experimented with square bowls I feel pretty confident in using other shapes. So this is my first attempt at a four leaf clover. It might also remind one of a bubble pipe design which we all had as children. 

This Pipe also has a green hue which is the result of using both a blue dye and a light walnut dye. I removed more dye than I usually do, allowing the grain to really shine through and there is some beautiful grain to show off.