Return

I was away from the shop for most of last week, spending time with relatives in the city. Since returning things have been confused but now pipe 93 is approaching completion. Yesterday afternoon the 1000-grit sanding was completed, the marking was done, and the final stain applied. What remains is two grit-levels of sanding and final polishing.

For my own taste, if it finishes out as it appears, it will be perhaps the best looking that I've made. The lines are clean and crisp, the shape almost art-deco, both masculine and elegant without either giving in to the other. The grain is what it is, the bottom of the bowl has some of the nicest "swirlies" that I've seen in some time.

There are many carvers in the world. We all bring different things. Some bring speed, some bring shape, some bring finish, and then there are combinations of things. Smokers have many pipes to choose from. Economics enters into everything.

There are many things that I must do before winter begins, so many that I sometimes sit confused over which must be done first.

Our lives change in ways we could never guess, for reasons unfathomable.