The work of native American pipecarvers takes many forms. Metal tools acquired from white traders in historic times facilitated more detailed carving, but even in many highly ornate effigy pipes the basic calumet shape is distinct. Today craftsmen use power saws and drills for speed and precision. Though tools are more sophisticated, the process is similar to that of the age when carving implements were made of stone and wood. Carving the bowl Using a sharpened rock, the carver outlines the bowl on a rectangle of pipestone about six inches long.
Excess stone is cut away.
At this stage the carver rounds the edges by scraping the bowl against stone perhaps a chunk of quartzite removed during quarrying. The shape is further refined by filing. Carvers sometime postpone filing until after drilling, since the boring process can split the stone. The hand drill shown is wooden with a flint bit and leather thong. After drilling, the bowl might be left plain, or decorated by carving it into a human or animal effigy or by inlaying bands of metal.