Care and craftsmanship is what goes into each piece, which is individually made one at a time! Nowadays I am sanding the pipes, or cups out to a super fine polished 10,000 grit!
The finish is smooth and it feels great in your hands.
The pipe bowl has been poured with “Liquid meerschaum”. This is a creation I came up with to make a different one of a kind pipe bowl both beautiful and practical. Produced from meerschaum carving scraps and other pieces of solid block meerschaum that have been ground to a powder and mixed with hydrocal to proctect the antler or horn from burning. The color is common food coloring.
Today, semi-retired, (I made antler chandeliers for the past 25 years) I love making beautiful custom antler and horn pipes! ….And spending my time gardening.
A friend of mine gave me my first antler pipe when I was about 18. I was a full time taxidermy shop owner at the time and also was was making various antler things.
I always liked my little antler pipe and it has since become the inspiration for what you now see me making!
It’s funny how I now live within five miles of the taxidermy/museum and gift shop that was once ran by the late Robert Mullen of Troy, Montana.
The first time we passed through Montana on vacation when I was a boy, my Dad bought me some antlers from his gift shop.....they truly have led me on a life long journey, and it seems ironic how I now I am where I’m at.... living just around the corner from there!
I would have to say that the individual uniqueness of every antler, no matter if it is a large Alaskan moose or a tiny Coues deer White tail deer antler. Every one is as similar yet its own personality....kind of like every one of us!