Intermission and Exit

And now for something completely different! After the flood of Talbert Briars lately, here is a little brief intermission, a side project I've been working on during times when I was waiting for epoxy to dry, stain to set, etc. I spotted this very promising stummel among the LB billiard stock and had set it aside for special attention. One does not often find unstained natural smooth pipes for 160 €! At least, not without fills, and this beastie is 100% fill-free, and showcases some quite nice grain too.

It's a grade 4 LB, and probably around Dunhill group 4-5 in size. It is SOLD. Please note that the 160 € price is sans tax, and EU residents must also pay VAT.

The reason I put "exit" in the title is because this is also the last LB that will be made with the twin-dot stem logo. Yep, I know, changing again! But, I'd forgotten what a total pain it was to mix and pour and set those dots - I could easily have made another 60% of a pipe during the time I wasted screwing around with mixing and drying and bubble-fixing and all. The silver crescent is powdered metal, while the black dot is ground morta. They make an interesting, unique, but unfortunately uneconomical logo - What I really need is a simple stick logo like everyone else uses, but I've never found a maker or style that I've liked. And the alternative, stamping an LB in the stem and whiting it in with paint, just doesn't appeal to me since those sorts of logos always buff right off during the first polishing.

I guess it's back to the drawing board...