Pipe C1

My first pipe of 2004. Nice freehand with good grain and an unusual stem. There is a lot going on with this pipe so I will start at the top of the bowl and work my way back. Bowl top is carved and sanded smooth and actually ended up looking somewhat like a flower when viewed from above. The large shank is carved with the rippled look I love. I then took that look a step further and actually fitted a piece of briar to the stem and carved it to match the shank. It took some doing but I even matched the grain of the shank to that on the stem. The only drawback is since the stem briar and the stummel are not from the same block they did not color the same. I stained each in the same way but the stem piece still came out a little lighter in color and with a little warmer tone. That's just the way briar is.  Pipe is 7 inches long and weighs 78 grams. Tobacco hole is 1 3/4 inches deep and 7/8 inch across. Stem is handmade from ebonite.

1-6-2004