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Posted: 7/29/2017 5:25:33 PM EDT
I started making pipes as a hobby about six months ago. I've always had a few pipes (brought some with me from Denmark when I moved to the US over 25 years ago). I started smoking them again more regularly about a year ago, and figured it might be fun to try my hand at making some. Because I am a huge cheapskate, it was also a way to maybe own some nice designs that I could never justify buying.
I wanted to post some pictures of some of the pipes I have made, and get y'alls feedback. I've made 32 pipes so far, so I am still very much learning and figuring things out. I buy my briar (and occasional morta or olive wood) from Vermont Freehand. I bought a small band saw to do the initial shaping, and then I do the rest with sanding - mostly with a dremel and by hand. I got a cheap WEN drill press to do the needed drilling. I stain with aniline dyes (dissolved in alcohol) and then polish with carnuba wax (also using a dremel). I buy stems from Vermont Freehand as well, and then shape/polish them - and I got their (somewhat expensive) tenon turning tool. Eventually, I'd like to make the stems from raw rods, but I don't think I have the skills for that yet. 
Anyway, here are some picture of different shapes I have tried. 
This is is morta (or "bog oak"): 
This one is among my wife's favorites. She likes exposed plateau, and she likes the amber stem I used (found some old but unused ones on eBay) 
These next ones are probably my favorites, and are shameless copies of styles made by Kei-Ichi Gotoh. I think of them as a homage rather than blatant theft of his designs. 
This is my latest. Perhaps inspired by Gotoh, but very much my own: 
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Posted: 7/29/2017 5:29:19 PM EDT
[#1]
Geez...I was expecting dic-pics
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Posted: 7/29/2017 5:29:35 PM EDT
[#2]
Nice work DK!
I'm no stranger to smoking the briar. |
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Posted: 7/29/2017 5:34:49 PM EDT
[#3]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
Geez...I was expecting dic-pics This forum is much too refined for that. |
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Posted: 7/29/2017 5:34:49 PM EDT
[#4]
Nice work. Are you over on pipesmokersforum.com? That's a good bunch over there, if you want to get idea for future projects or just BS.
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Posted: 7/29/2017 5:36:46 PM EDT
[#5]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
Nice work DK! I'm no stranger to smoking the briar. 
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Posted: 7/29/2017 5:45:12 PM EDT
[#6]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
Nice work. Are you over on pipesmokersforum.com? That's a good bunch over there, if you want to get idea for future projects or just BS. |
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Posted: 7/29/2017 5:50:19 PM EDT
[#7]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
Great idea! Thanks. Quote HistoryQuoted:
Quoted:
Nice work. Are you over on pipesmokersforum.com? That's a good bunch over there, if you want to get idea for future projects or just BS. |
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Posted: 7/29/2017 6:02:13 PM EDT
[#8]
Very nice work! This may motivate me to dig out the half finished briar project I shelved 10 years ago.
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Posted: 7/29/2017 6:03:31 PM EDT
[#9]
Those are some nice looking pipes.
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Posted: 7/29/2017 6:06:42 PM EDT
[#10]
I'm not a pipe smoker, but those look really nice. Sweet collection professor.
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Posted: 7/29/2017 6:30:53 PM EDT
[#11]
Amazing work DK. I love the ones with the burl (I hope that's the right term).
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Posted: 7/29/2017 6:52:25 PM EDT
[#12]
Excellent work! I need to get a bandsaw too!
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Posted: 7/29/2017 7:06:16 PM EDT
[#13]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
Nice work. Are you over on pipesmokersforum.com? That's a good bunch over there, if you want to get idea for future projects or just BS. Yours are very nice, but I am partial to the classic shapes. |
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Posted: 7/29/2017 7:18:47 PM EDT
[#14]
I like the one after the bog oak one - where do you get the inspiration for your shapes? I had to Google Gotoh, but only came up with pics of guitar machine heads of one sort or another. Although, it does kinda look like a tuning key...
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Posted: 7/29/2017 8:16:22 PM EDT
[#15]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
I like the one after the bog oak one - where do you get the inspiration for your shapes? I had to Google Gotoh, but only came up with pics of guitar machine heads of one sort or another. Although, it does kinda look like a tuning key... Sometimes I would see that that I really liked, and would try to replicate it - if it worked, then I had something I liked, and if not, then I learned a lot of what to do and what not or do. Other times, I'd find design styles I like (like blowfish and volcano) and used that as a general guideline when making something myself. Other times I would just start on a piece of wood with no plan whatsoever, and just see where it took me.
Here's a link to some of Gotoh's work: ... Chidori and Leaf & Moon are the two styles I really love. https://www.smokingpipes.com/pipes/new/gotoh/ |
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Posted: 7/29/2017 9:16:55 PM EDT
[#16]
Those look pretty cool! You should do a build thread on your next one.
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Posted: 7/29/2017 9:37:15 PM EDT
[#17]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
Those look pretty cool! You should do a build thread on your next one. 
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Posted: 7/29/2017 10:28:03 PM EDT
[#18]
SO cool! just getting into pipes. Been cigar guy for a long time.
Would cherry, apple or grape wood make good pipes? Oh and thank you Denmark for Orlik, good stuff. |
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Posted: 7/29/2017 10:32:45 PM EDT
[#19]
DK, good work! I dig the volcanos, especially.
Have you seen Scott Thile's work? He occaisionally has some for sale on smokingpipes.com. He is also mandolinist Chris Thile's Dad. |
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Posted: 7/29/2017 10:38:52 PM EDT
[#20]
The shapes are interesting. I like the styling. Have you tried doing some classic shapes?
I also like the volcano shaped one. |
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Posted: 7/29/2017 10:48:08 PM EDT
[#21]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
SO cool! just getting into pipes. Been cigar guy for a long time. Would cherry, apple or grape wood make good pipes? Oh and thank you Denmark for Orlik, good stuff. There probably are other exotic hard woods that would make good pipe material, but I am not sure. Sorry - I really am not a pipe expert.
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Posted: 7/29/2017 10:49:44 PM EDT
[#22]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
DK, good work! I dig the volcanos, especially. Have you seen Scott Thile's work? He occaisionally has some for sale on smokingpipes.com. He is also mandolinist Chris Thile's Dad.
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Posted: 7/29/2017 10:51:39 PM EDT
[#23]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
The shapes are interesting. I like the styling. Have you tried doing some classic shapes? I also like the volcano shaped one. Also, most of the pipes I own that I purchased are very classic in their shapes, so I don't feel a need for more of them. |
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Posted: 7/29/2017 11:35:08 PM EDT
[#24]
Interested in selling one?
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Posted: 7/30/2017 12:21:06 AM EDT
[#25]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
Interested in selling one? I had to put up a new shelf in my library (now renamed my "smoking lounge" since I put in French doors and an exhaust fan  ) just to have a place to put them all, and I'm now running out of space there.
My wife says that I should definitely start selling some - but you know, being my wife, she is blind to reality and thinks I am talented and that people would buy them, whereas I look at all of the kick-ass pipe makers out there, and think mine look ridiculously clumsy and amateurish in comparison. Some of my executive MBA students did say they wanted to develop a business plan for my pipe business, but I assume it was said tongue in cheek, because we were drinking and smoking cigars at the time, That said, I am thinking about setting up a LLC or regular corp, and a website, etc (or maybe just an etsy page), and giving it a shot. Not as a money-making thing or a serious business, but at least I could tax-deduct some expenses. Plus, my wife would like that. Actually, her idea is that wealthy pretentious hipsters in D.C. might buy fancy pipes to smoke their (now legal) pot in.
Maybe I could eventually start selling on the E.E. and become an industry partner, selling "tactical" pipes, stained in olive drab or desert tan!
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Posted: 7/30/2017 12:52:30 AM EDT
[#26]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
Possibly. I had to put up a new shelf in my library (now renamed my "smoking lounge" since I put in French doors and an exhaust fan ) just to have a place to put them all, and I'm now running out of space there.
My wife says that I should definitely start selling some - but you know, being my wife, she is blind to reality and thinks I am talented and that people would buy them, whereas I look at all of the kick-ass pipe makers out there, and think mine look ridiculously clumsy and amateurish in comparison. Some of my executive MBA students did say they wanted to develop a business plan for my pipe business, but I assume it was said tongue in cheek, because we were drinking and smoking cigars at the time, That said, I am thinking about setting up a LLC or regular corp, and a website, etc (or maybe just an etsy page), and giving it a shot. Not as a money-making thing or a serious business, but at least I could tax-deduct some expenses. Plus, my wife would like that. Actually, her idea is that wealthy pretentious hipsters in D.C. might buy fancy pipes to smoke their (now legal) pot in.
Maybe I could eventually start selling on the E.E. and become an industry partner, selling "tactical" pipes, stained in olive drab or desert tan! 
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Posted: 7/30/2017 1:16:47 AM EDT
[#27]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
I don't know how much you would charge for one, but I'd be interested in adding one to my collection...
Shoot me an IM before I have to warn myself for advertising/selling outside the EE.
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Posted: 7/30/2017 1:46:24 AM EDT
[#28]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
I don't know how much you would charge for one, but I'd be interested in adding one to my collection... ETA: I think they look great. I typically like more traditional looks, but I enjoyed something in all of the ones you posted above. Plus it would be cool to have a pipe made by an Arfcommer. |
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Posted: 7/30/2017 3:18:28 AM EDT
[#29]
I really like #2 and #12.
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Posted: 7/30/2017 9:26:29 AM EDT
[#30]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
Possibly. I had to put up a new shelf in my library (now renamed my "smoking lounge" since I put in French doors and an exhaust fan ) just to have a place to put them all, and I'm now running out of space there.
My wife says that I should definitely start selling some - but you know, being my wife, she is blind to reality and thinks I am talented and that people would buy them, whereas I look at all of the kick-ass pipe makers out there, and think mine look ridiculously clumsy and amateurish in comparison. Some of my executive MBA students did say they wanted to develop a business plan for my pipe business, but I assume it was said tongue in cheek, because we were drinking and smoking cigars at the time, That said, I am thinking about setting up a LLC or regular corp, and a website, etc (or maybe just an etsy page), and giving it a shot. Not as a money-making thing or a serious business, but at least I could tax-deduct some expenses. Plus, my wife would like that. Actually, her idea is that wealthy pretentious hipsters in D.C. might buy fancy pipes to smoke their (now legal) pot in.
Maybe I could eventually start selling on the E.E. and become an industry partner, selling "tactical" pipes, stained in olive drab or desert tan! |
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Posted: 7/30/2017 10:08:02 AM EDT
[#31]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
Have you also considered meerschaum as a material? The Baki meers are highly prized and you can really do some nice designs. I once tried to have Dan Chlebove make a pipe that looked like my NT4 suppressor...he said it was too industrial a look. I think meerschaum would be a good material to do tactical shapes.
But no, I a, not really interested in meerschaum. I really like wood, and the feel of it, and the almost "organic" shapes I can make that look good, but the level of carving (especially in terms of detail) that typically goes into meerschaum pipes will be forever beyond my skill set. |
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Posted: 7/31/2017 8:01:04 PM EDT
[#32]
Can you tell me more about your soaking lounge exhaust fan setup? I need one of these.
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Posted: 7/31/2017 8:38:42 PM EDT
[#33]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
Can you tell me more about your soaking lounge exhaust fan setup? I need one of these.
Fortunately, I had easy attic access, so it was pretty simple. I bought a relatively quiet (but still powerful) exhaust fan off amazon. Installation was a matter of buying some ducting, cutting a hole in the drywall between two joists, and then running it off a live wire I found up there and dropping a switch down and cutting a hole for that. Even for someone like me, who is all thumbs, it only took me a couple of hours.
It works spectacularly well. I can sit in there and smoke a couple of pipes (or a cigar) in an evening, and just leave the fan on and the door shut overnight, and the next morning you cannot even smell it in the room. Gradually over time, the room is taking on a very nice subtle smell - but NOWHERE in the house can you tell, even right outside. So it's been very effective. My brother-in-law and his family just visited a few weeks ago, and he was so impressed that he has done the same thing in a room in his house, so he doesn't have to go outside to smoke all the time. I'll go snag a couple of picture - brb. |
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Posted: 7/31/2017 8:48:37 PM EDT
[#34]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
A soaking lounge sounds awesome! But I assume you mean my smoking lounge.
Fortunately, I had easy attic access, so it was pretty simple. I bought a relatively quiet (but still powerful) exhaust fan off amazon. Installation was a matter of buying some ducting, cutting a hole in the drywall between two joists, and then running it off a live wire I found up there and dropping a switch down and cutting a hole for that. Even for someone like me, who is all thumbs, it only took me a couple of hours.
It works spectacularly well. I can sit in there and smoke a couple of pipes (or a cigar) in an evening, and just leave the fan on and the door shut overnight, and the next morning you cannot even smell it in the room. Gradually over time, the room is taking on a very nice subtle smell - but NOWHERE in the house can you tell, even right outside. So it's been very effective. My brother-in-law and his family just visited a few weeks ago, and he was so impressed that he has done the same thing in a room in his house, so he doesn't have to go outside to smoke all the time. I'll go snag a couple of picture - brb. Did you vent it out of the roof then? I would hate to cut a hole in the side of the house. I would be venting a first story office/soaking room. |
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Posted: 7/31/2017 9:00:29 PM EDT
[#35]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
I'm not going lie, I have been thinking about a hot tub! Did you vent it out of the roof then? I would hate to cut a hole in the side of the house. I would be venting a first story office/soaking room.
I thought about the hassle of cutting through the wall and installing whatever those outlet vent fixtures are called - but we've got all of these vent holes in the eaves (or whatever the term is), as well as larger vents for the attic in the gable - so I just put the conduit over to that, and it seems to work fine. I never smell any smoke in the attic. Anyway, here's a picture that shows the vent in the ceiling, and the switch on the wall next to the door. It's pretty unobtrusive, and the noise is a gentle white noise instead of a loud hum. The regular exhaust fans in our bathrooms are literally like ten times louder. 
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Posted: 7/31/2017 9:11:00 PM EDT
[#36]
Got it, good work and thank you for the picture. I might be able to use a smoke eater but they are a little pricey for the good ones. Anywho, sorry for the highjack and nice looking pipes!
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Posted: 8/1/2017 6:51:06 AM EDT
[#37]
What is a good, cheap, buffer to get? Would Horror Fright ones work?
I snagged a Craftsman 10" bandsaw the other day on sale! Also, a word on materials for some of the other posters. Meerschaum. As far as I am aware, the Turks hold on to their raw material now, so it is VERY hard to get a block of it. It is so they can keep the market cornered. Honestly, so long as they keep the prices reasonable, not the worst thing, because the conditions for mining that make coal mining look like a Sunday picnic. They can have it and keep their carving traditions alive, while I sit comfortably in America, ordering online. Woods. As you said, briar is really the best way to go. It is very hard, burn resistant and chemically pretty neutral. Some other fruit woods have been used. I would strongly recommend against using exotics. Jungle woods may have some excellent qualities, but they also have lots of chemicals and resins in them for the rough jungle life. Heat can bring those out and they can cause some really shitty reactions. My father had to sell off a bunch of his exotic woods, because the sawdust along would give him contact dermatitis and if he got any passed his mask or in his eyes, boom.. Reaction. |
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Posted: 8/1/2017 4:44:23 PM EDT
[#38]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
What is a good, cheap, buffer to get? Would Horror Fright ones work? I snagged a Craftsman 10" bandsaw the other day on sale! Unfortunately, I don't know anything about buffers, because I don't know how to use them properly. I do my buffing and polishing with the dremel, which is VERY timeconsuming and inefficient.
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Posted: 8/1/2017 4:54:05 PM EDT
[#39]
Bunch of enablers, that's what you all are.
This thread - and the positive reactions many of you have had - has spurred me to finally get my act together and set things in motion for a "business." In reality, it will just be a way to continue the hobby, and also be able to tax deduct stuff that I buy. And hey, if some people want to occasionally buy a pipe from me, that's awesome!! The fact that one of you actually wanted to buy one of the pipes is what really pushed me over the edge. Thanks alphabravo.  If he decides he wants to keep the pipe and sends me money, then I'll have to frame the bill (yes, I am that cheesy!)
Thanks to the generous graphic artists on the site, who helped me out, I now have a cool logo to go with the company name I had been thinking about (when my wife suggested I should set up a small side business). I've also bought the web domain I want for the business, set up a Limited Liability Corp. in VA, and filed to register the trademark. (ETA: I also ordered some cheap business cards). |
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Posted: 8/1/2017 6:48:52 PM EDT
[#40]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
Bunch of enablers, that's what you all are. 
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Posted: 8/17/2017 7:36:37 PM EDT
[#41]
Well, I ordered a 5" disc / 1" x 30" belt sander. Bought a Rikon 1750 RPM long shaft bench buffer. Associated sand paper, carnuba wax.
Also ordered two predrilled briar blanks with bent stems. If these work out, I may get the drill bits, bowl bits and tenon bit. DK, what blades and Dremel bits are you using for your detailed designs? |
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Posted: 8/17/2017 10:10:23 PM EDT
[#42]
Those are some nice looking pipes
Well done! |
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Posted: 8/17/2017 10:11:35 PM EDT
[#43]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
Possibly. I had to put up a new shelf in my library (now renamed my "smoking lounge" since I put in French doors and an exhaust fan ) just to have a place to put them all, and I'm now running out of space there.
My wife says that I should definitely start selling some - but you know, being my wife, she is blind to reality and thinks I am talented and that people would buy them, whereas I look at all of the kick-ass pipe makers out there, and think mine look ridiculously clumsy and amateurish in comparison. Some of my executive MBA students did say they wanted to develop a business plan for my pipe business, but I assume it was said tongue in cheek, because we were drinking and smoking cigars at the time, That said, I am thinking about setting up a LLC or regular corp, and a website, etc (or maybe just an etsy page), and giving it a shot. Not as a money-making thing or a serious business, but at least I could tax-deduct some expenses. Plus, my wife would like that. Actually, her idea is that wealthy pretentious hipsters in D.C. might buy fancy pipes to smoke their (now legal) pot in.
Maybe I could eventually start selling on the E.E. and become an industry partner, selling "tactical" pipes, stained in olive drab or desert tan! |
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Posted: 8/17/2017 10:14:22 PM EDT
[#44]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
We have a sauna and a steam bath/shower downstairs, and it is fucking awesome! Once we get too old and lazy to bother to exercise, the plan is to get rid of all the exercise equipment and lifting rack, and put in a hot tub and maybe some kind of japanese soaking tub. Then it would truly be a soaking room!!
I thought about the hassle of cutting through the wall and installing whatever those outlet vent fixtures are called - but we've got all of these vent holes in the eaves (or whatever the term is), as well as larger vents for the attic in the gable - so I just put the conduit over to that, and it seems to work fine. I never smell any smoke in the attic. Anyway, here's a picture that shows the vent in the ceiling, and the switch on the wall next to the door. It's pretty unobtrusive, and the noise is a gentle white noise instead of a loud hum. The regular exhaust fans in our bathrooms are literally like ten times louder. https://www.AR15.Com/media/mediaFiles/1715/P1013009-268114.jpg
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Posted: 8/17/2017 11:03:20 PM EDT
[#45]
Ok, so I bought one of DK's pipes and I have to say, after the first smoke, I'm very impressed.
I've had it sitting on my bar for a couple weeks, and life's events have prevented me from relaxing on the porch long enough to light it up. Tonight, after ripping out my newly remodeled bathroom...  I sat outside and puffed on it a bit. VERY nice pipe.
I got the one that is in the fifth picture down. I can't tell if DK went abstract and it all worked out, or if he really put as much thought into the shape as the quality implies. This thing is super comfortable to hold in the hand, regardless of how or where you grip it. It's like it was formed to my hand specifically. The draw is perfect, and has just enough resistance to make a great smoke quality. Unlike some of my other good quality pipes, the temperature of the base never gets to a point that it is uncomfortable to hold, and the temperature of the smoke at the mouth piece excellent. Very happy with this one. Thanks DK! |
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Posted: 8/17/2017 11:40:43 PM EDT
[#46]
You are as gracious as you are generous in your description!
I am absolutely THRILLED that you like it. My wife thinks it's awesome. There will always be a soft spot in my heart for my first "customer" and the bill you sent me will be proudly framed. . Even if I never sell another pipe, I will be grateful to ARFCOM for egging me on. I've got a "back order" of about nine people (friend and colleagues, and a generous arfcommer who helped me with some graphic design) that I need to make pipes for.
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Posted: 10/22/2017 5:58:06 PM EDT
[#47]
Where did you find the bog oak? Nay of those for sale?
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Posted: 10/22/2017 10:43:41 PM EDT
[#48]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
Where did you find the bog oak? Nay of those for sale? I’ve only made one so far, and have smoked it, so it’s used and cannot be sold. I do have a couple of chunks of the wood, so I will definitely make a few more.
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