Peterson Rustication pictorial

[Briar Spirit]

I was asked if I would do a step-by-step run-down on my own rustication process, so I have rusticated my own Peterson bent bowl for this purpose.

So before we get going, let's see what the process will do to the bowl of the pipe:

The pipes bowl, the two chisels I use, my crappy pencil and the knife I use to perma-line the boundaries for the areas to be rusticated

Here we mark the rustication boundaries in pencil

Here we perma-mark the boundaries using a sharp knife to scratch out the lines

 

[Briar Spirit]

Notched out the shank boundary lines

Here's me notching the bowl rim boundaries

Notched the bowl rim boundary

Here I have started notching the bowl top

Heres the bowl top notched

Start of the base boundary knotches

The base boundary knotches are now done

This is where we are so far, getting there.

Start to notching the bowl rim edge

Finished notching the bowl rim edge

 

[Briar Spirit]

Here I have now notched the bowl top rim

Notching the bulk of the base interior

Here I have notched out the bulk of the bowl top rim interior

Here I have notched the remainder of the base interior

Here I am starting to remove the remaining surface finish with 180 wet and dry

Here the remaining finish is now removed, note i have made sure it looks distressed

Here I have now sanded the bowl smooth using 400, 600, 1200 wet and dry sand paper, note the effect is looking distressed

Here I have applied a dark brown stain, note it is a full and generous application

Here I have applied a dark red stain, again note the fullness of the coating

 

[Briar Spirit]

Now I have applied the final stain, a mid-brown, coverage is not so important with this one, a quick cover would do but I have opted for a full and generous application.

Now I have given the bowl an alcohol rub-down using a clean cloth and ISO, note I have almost wiped the stains away, but only 'almost'

I have now applied 2 very generous applications of tripoli using the buffer wheels, this stage is vital to the finish of the bowl

This is after I have brutalised the bowl on the buffer wheels to remove some staining to distress the bowl further

Here I have used White Diamond on the buffer wheels to remove the triploi much and shine the surface a little before the wax

Here I have applied the first coat of wax and carnauba

All done now, here is the final bowl re-attached to its polished stem.

 

[user 2031]

Wow! I really like that. The finished project is stunning! I am going to have to give that a go sometime. Thank you so much for sharing the process.

Jack

 

[Briar Spirit]

Heya Jack,

that's great, I would love to see what you do, use extra caution when using the chisels though and make sure they're really sharp, they slide like a barsteward on the Briar, I almost gouged myself numerous times.

 

[user 2031]

Heya Jack,

that's great, I would love to see what you do, use extra caution when using the chisels though and make sure they're really sharp, they slide like a barsteward on the Briar, I almost gouged myself numerous times.

I gotta find me an old pipe first that I don't mind experimenting with. Shouldn't be too hard to come up with one though. Yea, I've gouged myself before on other projects, hurts like the dickens! I'll take my time and be careful. As soon as I find a pipe and finish it I will post it for you to see.

 

[Briar Spirit]

I very much look forward to seeing your project.

 

[OvRnOut]

Thanks for sharing the project. It really lets one appreciate all of the work and detail that goes into this fine art.

Very nicely done sir.

 

[Kyle Weiss]

Kirk, I re-did this "Gefapip" for a buddy here on the forum, it came out pretty nice. I didn't sand off the original finish because I really liked the color. There was just far too many abusive knicks and scratches on the bottom, but I think it came out ace. Not something I'd do to a collectible or rare pipe, but it's fun on the cheapies.

8)

 

[user 2031]

Nice, Kyle! Did you rusticate it in the same fashion as Kirk?

 

[Kyle Weiss]

Not really, but kind of. Different tools and approach. I use electrical tape to mark off the zones to be rusticated (keeps the impatient hand from going outside the lines too much :lol: ) and I blackened the rusticated, raw briar with India Ink using a fine-tipped paint brush. It just comes down to consistency and steadiness with whatever tool; rustication is just how you mar the briar. Sometimes it comes out looking like a hack job, other times it is pleasing.

8)

 

[Briar Spirit]

You did an excellent job there Kyle, yes indeed, I would never even consider doing that to a pipe of value, cheap as chips pipe only, quite so.

 

[Richard Burley]

Nice job, Kirk. I like both your and Kyle's techniques better than the current Peterson carved offerings. For what it's worth, I would have kept going on both pipes. I have tried carving, but met with disaster in every way. I did come to the conclusion that I should wear a leather glove on the pipe-holding hand, and invert the bowl over a properly sized dowel clamped in a vise for rigidity. That's if I ever try it again, which isn't likely. I eBayed all my lower grade pipes and am not about to attack any of the remaining.

 

[Briar Spirit]

That's a shame you got shot of all your lower grade pipes, it's good fun being able to muck about with a pipe, I didn't actually really want to do this one but I was asked to do a pictorial and didn't have any other pipe suitable, thank you for your kind comment.

 

[bosun1]

I would have used blood to stain the finished pipe. Seriously, look around for a thing called a 'cut glove' which will save some unintentional wounds..

 

[Briar Spirit]

I would have used blood to stain the finished pipe. Seriously, look around for a thing called a 'cut glove' which will save some unintentional wounds..

I did a search for some protective gloves some time ago but couldn't actually find any that stated they would protect from stabbing, I found many to protect from cutting but the forces involved are quite different from a knife slipping to a chisel tabbing into the flesh. I emailed a couple of sites back then, one answered and said that 'all' of the cut safety gloves protected you from being cut, I just gave up as my point about chisels was entirely lost on the chap. :shock:

 

[riff raff]

Another creation that looks much more appealing now!

FWIW, we use "Wizard" brand safety gloves in the restaurants. I don't think it would protect one from a stab type wound. A leather work/garden glove would probably be your best bet.

 

[Briar Spirit]

Thanks for sharing the project. It really lets one appreciate all of the work and detail that goes into this fine art.

Very nicely done sir.

That's very kind of you to say Jason, thank you very much.

 

[Briar Spirit]

Another creation that looks much more appealing now!

FWIW, we use "Wizard" brand safety gloves in the restaurants. I don't think it would protect one from a stab type wound. A leather work/garden glove would probably be your best bet.

Thank you very much, so kind of you to say.

Yes, I search high and low for a suitable set of gloves, the only kind of gloves I could find that 'might' be okay were over £300, I'll have to rely on my own caution.