I had a Pipex 3 pipe with no good grain and a big dark mark on the left side so one day i decide to make her rustic so those things wouldn't be visible.



Unfortunately due to my pc problem last year many photos are gone and i never manage to retrieve them so i haven't got the ''left side'' photos to see the bad grain and the dark mark.



This is the final result and to be honest i am not happy. I have done some experiments with ''duo tone'' contrast and i am not satisfied with the results.
What's your opinion?

You can see the procedure with step by step photos here: https://pipe-smoke.blogspot.com/2010/02/8.html
The pipe code is: M8-3

or in a video with music:
Ladies & Gentlemen thank you for watching!

@Sid.Stavros, as usual your workmanship is meticulous. But I agree with you. Somehow there is not enough contrast between the lighter and darker stain. Very pretty pipe nevertheless.

Its good work @Sid.Stavros

Nice work Sid and it does look much nicer. The contrast seems kind of subtle but is still a nice touch

random capitalization courtesy of gboard

I like the subtlety about it, I think it might be difficult to get more ‘pop’ out of it simply because of the nature of Briar.

Thank you Gentlemen for your advises!