Middle Earth Ranger Forum

Hi all,

I have a MacQueen dwarf pipe for sale. It has never been used and has only been out of the pack for inspection. I am asking 35.00, shipping included in CONUS. PM if interested. Thanks.

Sale pending!

Very nice... too bad neither of us smokes.

Kiriana wrote:Very nice... too bad neither of us smokes.

I wouldn't say "too bad", as smoking is one of the worst things you can do to yourself. Pipe smoking is a little different though, because you can just pull the smoke into your mouth and enjoy the flavor. Of course, you don't get that buzz you do with inhaling, but you also don't get poison in your lungs, nor do you get addicted. It's a trade-off, but they do make some heavenly smelling pipe tobacco. All in all, pipe smoking is one of those things you can "play" at. You could smoke a pipe at a Ranger moot, and not have the urge to smoke it at any other time. I wish I wasn't strapped so tight right now, because Ken and Morielda are selling several things I want.

Ah, rats. I'd have loved to have been a bit faster off the bowstring, I've been on the lookout an all-wood churchwarden pipe for the last month.

And while I agree with Kaelln that smoking is pretty awful for you, I do enjoy the occasional pipe bowl or cigar - particularly when the weather's nice.

I certainly understand the feeling, Kaelin. Good times will come for us all again. For the record, I don't smoke at all, but I do have the Ranger pipe that MacQueen offers and I carry it with my Ranger kit with a bit of pipeweed. Just goes with the territory LOL

By the way, my first option buyer had to bow out, so the pipe is again available! Takers?

*TWANG!*

Pm sent.

psst.. pipe smoking is still bad for causing mouth and throat cancer even if you DON'T inhale. But yeah, it definately isn't as bad as cigarets.

Kiriana wrote:psst.. pipe smoking is still bad for causing mouth and throat cancer even if you DON'T inhale. But yeah, it definately isn't as bad as cigarets.

Agreed - if you're smoking on a regular basis. If, on the other hand you're only smoking once in a blue moon, no big deal. For example, if you only smoke a pipe or two at the yearly Ranger moot, and don't inhale so there is no danger of getting addicted, you're not likely to get cancer. But, and a BIG but, you're completely right. It's far, far better never to smoke at all.

I still love the pipe though.. Erich and I both thought of getting one mostly for looks as neither of us smoke. But it would still be kool just to have one.

I promised Mirimaran some pictures of me smoking, unfortunately I haven't managed to snap any since I decided to make a few modifications to the pipe after receiving it. I received the pipe promptly, of course, with a little extra surprise from Mirimaran you can spot in the pictures below.

The pipe was rather lovely, I just got a wild hair to try and make some modifications for no good reason at all. I guess I was feeling crafty.

First I sanded the existing stain and finish off. It didn't take much work, switching between a 150 and 320 grit took perhaps an hour's worth of work. Then the real fun began - carving. I don't have any experience carving, but I decided early on that a ranger's pipe probably wasn't a refined piece of art, so my crude attempt would probably be right at home in a Dunedain's kit. I went with some very simple line-based designs I spotted in one of my Osprey books that had been rather crudely rendered on a Galloglaich sparth axe. I first drew the lines in with a pencil, then carved them out, developing on the slightest margin of technique as I went. Even a rudimentary design like this proved to take about three or fours hours, once I'd burned the designs in with a soldering iron. I went back over the bowl with some more sanding and started thinking about how to stain this sucker.

My original thought was to have the burnt carvings be darker than the stain applied, but I knew I wanted a dark stain as well. I did some research on stains used by pipe makers and settled on a water soluble based powder from TransFast. I was originally leaning towards a red mahogany shade, but ended up settling on a dark walnut. I also needed to figure out what my top coat would be. After a few hours on the internet I found that most DIY pipe makers finish their pipes off with carnuba wax, but wanting something a bit more plausible for a ranger I decided on a food grade beeswax pre-blended with oil for easy application. After a few months of letting life get in the way I finally mixed up my powder stain solution and started throwing it on the pipe. WOW was it dark - after getting a nice even coat the pipe pretty much turned black, so much for burning the carving! The dark color has really grown on me, though, and I'm pleased with it. It gives the pipe an old oily look that makes you think it just recently escaped from a mantle on Hobbiton. Once the stain had dried I rubbed in a coat of beeswax, let sit for 5 minutes and then buffed the wax out with a cloth. The pipe ended up with a nice satin shine that's smooth to the touch and has a well-loved/used vibe to it.


As received:


After sanding:


The carving and burning:



The finished product:

Very nice! Well done.

Looks great.

Excellent work! I love the color; you're right...it has a very nice, well-used look.

Ever since a certain canine got hold of my McQueen "Fable", I've been putting off doing an overhaul, including taking a belt sander to the bowl and doing some serious re-shaping, as well as some woodburning, much along the lines of what you've done here. The project, of course, has come back to my thoughts, and may very well get started this week courtesy of you!

Granted, that also means that having this other project to work on is all your fault...*chuckles*

I'll throw up completed pics when I get around to it. What brand of that beeswax/oil blend did you use, and where'd you find it? I'd love to coat mine with such an appropriate finish.

Again, excellent work! The burnt/carved lines are very angular and rune-esque, which is very much characteristic of dwarven art...it came together very nicely. Bravo.