Finishes?

[Tim_Haggerty]

Just curious, since there's a topic open about the size of pipe you prefer.

But do you seem to gravitate towards certain stains or finishes? I seem to have a preponderance of black rusticated and blasted pipes in my racks -- nothing systematic about it, but over the course of purchasing pipes, I've just always enjoyed the fell of a rough finish in my hand, and like darker bowls.

 

[Rob_In_MO]

Tim - i'm also a fan of the rougher finishes. My favorite is a good sandblast, but a natural finish - no stain. I think it's more interesting to let the pipe color on it's own over time and see how it turns out. But that's just me...

 

[Dutch]

Tim, as most of the bretheren know, rustication was originally used to cover flaws, however nowdays, craftsman have found techniques that make sandblasted and rusticated pipes downright gorgeous. While a beautiful straight grain or flame grain will always catch my eye, rusticated and sandblasted pipes have so many possibilities.

Case in point. Check out the detail on my Rolando Negotia Cutty.

 

[Smoker99]

Favorite right now is a blast with a light stain, or no stain.

 

[shootist51]

It seems, to me, that there are much more choices in stained finished pipes than in un-stained. This may be due to the increasing rarity of flawless briar or, maybe, consumer preference, I don't know.

I like the feel of a rusticated bowl, but also like the looks of grain in a smooth finish.

I also like an unstained bowl for the coloring it acquires over the years of enjoyment.

My "collection" runs about 50/50 stained to unstained, and several of my old Charatans that were very light colored at purchase are now almost black!

 

[LIPIPE]

My preference is for a smooth briar with a bright stain that really highlights the grain.

 

[Harlock999]

The older Sea Rock finish is my favorite right now. Amazingly detailed rustication on some of the vintage Castello's.
Sandblasted natural vergin is another one I really like.

 

[Zeno Marx]

finish: rusticated > sandblast > smooth. My idea of a great rustication is uniformity, not designs through tooling (looks amateurish to me, no matter how well practiced). Caminetto Business. Castello Sea Rock. I'm simple like that.

color: tend to gravitate towards lighter stains, but it isn't something I care about much when getting a pipe. the good smokers all end up being darker anyway.

dislikes: CANNOT stand more than a single finish on a pipe. DO NOT WANT a smooth rim on a rusticated pipe. DO NOT WANT a smooth shank on a rusticated bowl. DO NOT WANT patches of this and patches of that. DO NOT WANT more than one rustication technique on a pipe (hello, Ardor, you hideous briar defiler, you).

 

[monbla256]

Most smooth finishes in the lighter more natural shades in new pipes as they tend to darken over the years in a more interesting way than all over dark stained pipes IMHO
As for "rustification" vs sandblast I prefer the traditional sandblast as was done by Charatan, Dunhill, GBD et all back in the day as they say these days. I've a friend who smokes his father's 1930's Dunhill Shells which have some of the most FANTASTIC blasting I've seen ever
I'm NOT a fan of many of the color stained pipes such as the Green Pete's and many of the real Red shades some makers use as they all turn a reall muddy not very attractive color far different than they start with after about a decade of steady use. Not attractive at all :roll:

 

[Hermit]

By far, my favorite is sandblast.
Rad and Brian Ruthenberg are my favorite blasters.

 

[Zeno Marx]

By far, my favorite is sandblast.
Rad and Brian Ruthenberg are my favorite blasters.

What do you think of JT Cooke's? Most of the time I find them jaw-dropping, but he had one for sale this week that seemed too obvious that he blasted the grain into the pipe. It didn't look naturally-occurring at all. Made it ugly to my eyes.

 

[idbowman]

I prefer smooth pipes with light stain, although lately I'm becoming a fan of the partially rusticated look. Ironically, my favorite pipe to smoke is actually a fully rusticated Pete, but that's more because of how it feels and smokes than how it looks.

Generally speaking, the sandblasted look does very little for me.

 

[flytyer]

I prefer rusticated pipes in black or brown, they just feel better in my hand.

 

[Anonymous]

Fifteen pipes in use. All smooths.

:face:

 

[Ocelot55]

One of the reasons I got into this hobby was the natural beauty of briar. I remember being mezmorized by the birdseye on my first Peterson. For that reason I prefer smooths and sandblasts.

That said, some rustication techniques can be incredibly cool looking, however I prefer the natural beauty of briar over man-made textures and rustication. Castello being a good example of great rustication, Peterson being and example of very poor rustication, IMHO.

 

[Hermit]

By far, my favorite is sandblast.
Rad and Brian Ruthenberg are my favorite blasters.

What do you think of JT Cooke's? Most of the time I find them jaw-dropping, but he had one for sale this week that seemed too obvious that he blasted the grain into the pipe. It didn't look naturally-occurring at all. Made it ugly to my eyes.

OK, I'm a heretic, but I really don't like Cooke's blasts.
I find em overdone. Like you said, not natural looking.
(Lucky for me...I won't have to pop for the outrageous prices they go for.) :lol:

 

[Ocelot55]

I love Cooke's insanely blasted pipes. What sells me is that all of that texture is just the natural texture of the briar accentuated. No two pipes will be the same. They each have a unique and natural "finger print."

 

[KevinM]

Smooth, dark "cherry-ish" stain, but not so dark it hides grain. And I like the "moderate" blasts in a dark brown stain. I don't much care for the kinda jagged blasts -- Is that rustic? The nomenclature seems to mean different things to different folks -- the texture of which I find to be an impediment to finding a comfortable holding spot. I've acquired a dark reddish smooth Sav that has a fairly unique shape including a flat spot on the lower front of the bowl, allowing it to be set down in a "stem up" position. It has an orange lucite bit. Not everyone's cup o' tea, but I like it.

 

[Zeno Marx]

I love Cooke's insanely blasted pipes. What sells me is that all of that texture is just the natural texture of the briar accentuated. No two pipes will be the same. They each have a unique and natural "finger print."

See, I'm beginning to think differently, and I started from the same place you're describing. When you do something as unique as he does, and when you're dealing with a limited set of variables, one of the possible consequences is they all start to look the same. Why doesn't every Charatan Free Hand Relief fall under the same scrutiny? I'm not sure. My eye is trained to see a lot of blasts like that, so I'm not viewing them from a similar angle to how I view Cooke's pipes. I'm looking at Cooke's unusual pipes and reflexing, "That looks just like the last pipe he made." They stop being unique, though they obviously are very unique. Maybe it could be as simple as thinking this last pipe he sold looked completely manipulated and entirely unnatural. It wasn't because the grain was so astounding that it wasn't believable, either. The grain looked fake.

I still find them one of the most attractive pipes being made, but in the recent past, I've been less and less impressed with the ones I've seen.

 

[Harlock999]

By far, my favorite is sandblast.
Rad and Brian Ruthenberg are my favorite blasters.

What do you think of JT Cooke's? Most of the time I find them jaw-dropping, but he had one for sale this week that seemed too obvious that he blasted the grain into the pipe. It didn't look naturally-occurring at all. Made it ugly to my eyes.

OK, I'm a heretic, but I really don't like Cooke's blasts.
I find em overdone. Like you said, not natural looking.
(Lucky for me...I won't have to pop for the outrageous prices they go for.) :lol:

I"m impressed by Mr. Cooke's work, even though I don't like every pipe he makes. I agree that some of the blasts are overdone, especially when the overall shape suffers from the amount of wood that was shed to achieve the resulting "ring grain". It's also easy to overlook the amazing stem work that he does when all the focus is on the sandblast. Here's one that looks weird to me, as too much wood was lost in the process:

And one that looks killer: