Investing in the future

Today I bought a new digicam from Nikon (Coolpix 5600) a kind of budget camera according to Leinad (who does a lot of digi-photo), but a major upgrade for me, who have been relying on either the Mustek or the SonyEricsson for my digital photo needs...

This gadget will hopefully allow me to make sharper and better pictures of, not the least, the pipes I hope to build from the briar I hope to bring from Athens.

Flaws forced the "book" shape in front. 

Finished! Stained with red wine, paraffine oil and polshed with Brebbia pipe polish. 

Almost finished pipe. Remains sanding, staining, oiling and poliching 

Starting to chop away with the saw. 

Pipe<1> finished

Spent Friday afternoon and good parts of both Saturday and Sunday finishing the first pipe ever. The lump of briar (ebauchon) did hide a few flaws that forced me into different solutions than i had planned.

I intended to make a high tankardlike pipe but had to cut down a centimeter or so of the top of the head. Also in the front which I had intended to be a convex oval had to be turned concave on both sides due to sandpockkets and dark soft spots.

All in all it became a slightly weird freeform pipe that feels very good to the touch.

Cutmarks and pencil lead lines 

Shape is starting to take place. Tankardlike freeform, skewed perspective and squarish. 

Heres the raw material and initial sketches.  

Block pipe

Bought a pipe block from the Turks yesterday. Started sketching last night.

Workshop tools

Today I realized that I will not only need a piece of Plateux Briar and a stem to make a pipe, but also some tools and stuff. I went down to ClarreBarre together with T, my main man when it comes to buying stuff from ClarreBarre.

I was out for some type of clamp or vice where I could fasten my Dremel copy drill/multitool, but T recommended I buy a totally new drill with flexilink and the lot.

So I did. Together with a multi-angle vice and drill clamp which can be screwed on top of any table. And a set of needlefiles. And a polish sponge thingy x-tra fine grade.

Now all I need is the pipe-briar and stem. M advised me to by a cheap starter kit and get started just for practice. It seems like a good idea... I might just do a Tankard sittee as my first project ... or a billiard... or a prince ... or ...

We'll see. At least I know now that Project Volcanito will not be the first pipe out of my shop.

Pipe Dreams V - Volcanito

Inspired by the success of Project Alptraum I intend to make my own pipe! I have the working name "Volcanito" reserved for it due to the shape I am dreaming up.

It's going to be a sittee, shaped like a small volcano, and I will try to find a metal stem or at least a metal ring, spigot or something silvery for the stem.

M has promised to show me his firstling works tomorrow and give me a few tips.
Stay updated for the next eruption of creativity!

Alptraum Project Finished!

This weekend I've been busy with the Alptraum Project. I came into a "flow" on friday night and sat for two hours straight in my little corner, drilling and glueing. I was quite pleased with the result, my own Alptraum Pipestand!
(See pictures below!)

Close-up Alptraum full frontal with all the stuff! 

The finished Alptraum (compare with the materials in the piture below 

My escape pod, my corner, my pipes, my instruments, my chair ...  

Pipe Care

Bought a pipe paste which is to be used on old pipes, oxidized stems etc. Also bought a new pouch of Stanwell melange tobacco and got a new free sample of another Stanwell called Full Aroma. I long to get home and try them in my HC churchwarden...

Pipe Dreams - Alptraum

After having bought and found my three pipes the thought slowly landed on me that I should have somewhere to put them. Right now they are lying around in my flyfishing cabinet which is a kind of display case in my bookshelf. I use it to display my reels and fly boxes in the winter together with some pocket flasks and other necessary fishing paraphernalia.

I looked aorund on the Internet but most stuff was kinda dull. Or extremly expensive. Or both. By chance I happened to stumble across some souvenirs from the Alps in a Salvation Army jumble sale. After some thinking I bought them and a glue gun and some type of metal wedding crown(see picture below).

From this I intend to build a pipestand that will stun the world! I have baptized the project Alptraum which I thought was extremely fitting (go check it up in your German dictionary)!

Keep a lookout for progress in Project Alptraum on this blog!

Alptraum material 

Pipe Dreams III

I discovered my old GigiCollection vestpocket pipe in my flyfishing vest.
I immediately started using it outdoors (see picture below)!

pipe dreaming 

PipeDreams II

After a very nice lunch with a cup of macchiato at Centro I went with M to Brobergs again. He "needed" a new pipe and suddenly (it was the day after payday) I felt a strong urge to buy a churchwarden.

There was a lovely Stanwell HC Andersen III which came with two stems for only 850 SEK (app. 80 €)which I had to buy.

I also bought a new slightly darker tobacco from W.Ö. Larsen, which was OK but its room note wasn't quite as pleasant as the Stanwell tobacco that I got a free sample 5g pouch of with the pipe. I'll smoke it outdoors from now on. And I'll buy the Stanwell or possibly the Caledonian Melange 10 tobacco for smoking in my favourite chair in "the library" at home.

Pipe Dreams

I have taken up smoking. Again.
Only this time in a much more manly manner. Pipes!
I bought myself a pipe this spring when I passed by Brobergs. Something just called out to me after I had passed the store so I turned back. Only to find this Brebbia First extremely elegant spigot apple pipe sitting in a display case.
The woman in the shop told me it was the last day of their sales so I could have the pipe for 600 SEK (about 65€). I bought it with a can of Caledonia Melange no 10 and some tools necessary for the cleaning of the pipe.
I went home and smoked it. It was lovely with the melange and when K came back home her first question after sniffing in the hallway was:"Have you done the laundry? It smells so fresh!" After that I´ve slowly been smoking away the can.