A secret world....

A quiet day. I gathered a group of my pipes and a few bits in progress. The pipes you find in many shops are, these days, mostly made by machine in bulk. The finish is good, the styles are fairly standard. I have, in my usual way, gone in another direction. This is known in the trade as “Freehand.” The maker uses his skills and imagination to create what he or she sees in the wood, hence the green whale and the lump that is red with much of the original burr left on the upper side; unusually I have enclosed much of the stem, pearl and brown Lucite within the base of the pipe. 
Usually you will see black stems, these are Vulcanised rubber and are much easier to drill, lathe etc. Most stem materials may be bent by applying heat from a heat gun or flame. The interesting thing about vulcanised rubber is that it has a memory. Take an ancient stem and gently apply heat, it will gradually return to a straight stem. 
In the main image is a piece of untouched Briar Burr. It is worth a lot of money. The bark is still attached, so I sit quietly with one of my pocket knives and gently pry the bark off, beneath is a wonderful landscape of wood, reminiscent of an aerial photograph of mountain ranges in miniature. The tops are rough and prickly, a gentle sanding takes off the edges and leaves a tactile form that you may see in the extras, plus the way the lucite has been drilled and chamfered into place. 
People have remarked to this lump of humanity that they are surprised that I can “see” what the wood contains, hidden from most. I have a deep dark secret; still in my possession is a Grade 1 Art “O” Level. Ta da!!!
Our daughter had dinner with us last night, she is ex-RN, and has been brought up with this raging nutter of a father so has my insane sense of humour. Sent off on HMS Invincible to the Gulf she was placed on night shifts in the hangar working on Sea Kings and Lynx. Matelots and Bootnecks play silly games at sea, usually just a piece of “innocent” fun, as you may read in my previous Blip. It was her first time on a War Canoe, after two weeks at sea she observed a naked male running around the ship wearing a respirator and flash hood. This chap thought he would never be caught but the next morning his identity was known to all and sundry. As their journey progressed others would attempt the secret run. She always knew who it was and the ship knew in short time. 
Eventually the Chief and others asked her how she knew who it was, their sordid minds thought about male appendages. She curled up in laughter and pointed at them, “You are all so bloody clever, wearing respirators and hoods, but you are so easily identified, most of you have a tattoo.” 
Brilliant , I love her to bits, never fazed, never backing down. My girl.