Pipe design!
Friday, March 23, 2012 at 12:25PM Most of you who have visited this blog have figured out that I'm a pipe smoker whose enthusiasm for the world of artisanal pipes has tipped into a bit of an obsession. Okay, that's an oxymoron - it's either an obsession or it's not, right? But so far, I've managed to stay away from actually trying to make a pipe myself. My standards are too high and I know that I'd probably really get sucked into it and I just can't justify the time, not to mention get away with acquiring the necessary equipment - lathe, drill press, band saw, scroll saw, sandblasting cabinet, air compresser, and installing them along with 220 service, a dust collection system, and all the other trappings of a real pipemaking setup in the old sanctuary of our converted church home. Certain members of my family (probably all of them) would wisely disown me.
However, that hasn't stopped me from thinking about the design of pipes, the way that I can't help thinking about the design of any category of object or environment that captures my fancy. So several days ago as I was driving across Lancaster county to Premier Custom-Built, (the cabinet manufacturer who has produced the lion's share of my designs since I started collaborating with them in 1997), my eye strayed to the pipe I was smoking as I took it out of my mouth. It was a Rhodesian variant, a shape that I (along with much of the rest of the pipe smoking world) am fond of; this particular one made by my friend and favorite pipe maker, Rad Davis, who is famous for his riffs on the style. The pipe's smooth finished cap or rim, a narrow vertical polished ring that transitions to a shallow dome, defined by a single groove just below the edge of the rim, is an especially nice feature of this and another of Rad's Rhodesian interpretations that I have in my little collection of his work.
Suddenly a picture flashed across my imagination, and as I was in fast moving traffic on the Route 30 by-pass just north of Lancaster city, I couldn't stop to do a sketch. But it's still legal in Pennsylvania to use a cell phone while driving, so I punched up Rad's number, which he foolishly shared with me awhile back. Getting his recorded message prompt, (he was probably working on another of his excellent sandblasts at the time) I told him that I had this idea . . . He called back and I was in a design review for my real work, but a couple hours later back in the studio, I did a quick sketch, scanned and emailed it to him, with this message:
So it's like one of your normal Rhodesian variants, but with a
dished/chamfered top instead of a low domed top. Bowl shaped like half of an
upside down chicken's egg.
and connected on the phone.
"That's kinda cool!" he said in his southern drawl from his shop in Foley, Alabama. "Ah like it. Ah'll send ya a picture when I'm done". Something like that. Well, a couple of days later, I got an email from him with a bunch of pictures attached, with the message, "Whaddya think?"
photo courtesy of Rad Davis
photo courtesy of Rad Davis
photo courtesy of Rad Davis
photo courtesy of Rad Davis
I won't print my first response (there were more than one) in its entirety, because I used some BAD WORDS, and although they were to emphasize my strong approval, I try to maintain at least some old fashioned decorum here. But here is one of the follow ups:
I just looked through the photos again. Very strong piece of work, Rad. It could have easily turned out clumsy or overdone. That incised ring just inside the edge of the rim was brilliant. Just about all of your work is excellent, but this one is more than that. You took an interesting idea and turned it into art.
then this to my friend and far more experienced pipe aficionado Neill Roan:
This is one of the best overall variant shape pieces I’ve seen from him. The shape and proportions are so close to being stubby and clunky, yet they’re not, which makes it both daring and impossible to categorize. The width of the ebonite bands on either side of the masur birch echo the width of the narrow smooth band above the bowl circumference groove, and their fine proportion is beautifully in scale with the rings in the blast. Together, they are a strong unifying element. The combination of perfect basic shapes – an egg sliced just below the equator and a slightly bent cylinder with its subtle flare - pull together into a confident geometry. The restraint of the very shallow concave smooth brings a marvelous tension to the composition, and the concentric incised ring is a witty and brilliant turn on the typical double ring on more traditional Rhodesians. All in all, it leaves the mental imprint of an iconic shape. It way surpasses the sketch I did. And the blast is REALLY good, the birdseye is fabulous, and the contrast stain is a perfect choice.
Well, I'll stop before I lose any more of you than those who've already said, "When is this ramble going to end?!!" But I before I get back to work, I want to say that it was great fun and a real honor to collaborate unexpectedly, in my small way, with one of the best pipe makers out there, and I'm tickled that the prototype turned out so well. Heck, who knows - maybe it will find its way into my collection of Rads someday. And in parting, this: Rad apparently enjoyed it enough that he immediately made another, a little closer to the original sketch. It sold as soon as he put it on his website last night.
photo courtesy of Rad Davis
Reader Comments (3)
There is nothing more interesting, from my perspective, than the exploration of the complete potential of great design.
Very nice to see this process play out as you described it and your very lucky to have Rad as a friend, who welcomes such commentary/ideas from outside his shop, especially with such seemingly immense enthusiasm.
Fun project.
Really a great way of designing pipe. I might say it looks very unique and elegant.
That's so cool. I love that telephone pipe design. That's something new and very unique.