Once you are satisfied with the general shape of the bowl (no need to be perfect) the next section to begin forming is the shank. The best way of doing this is to stroke the clay in smoothing motions away from the bowl. This will thin out the clay and give this part of the pipe more of a “stem”-like look which is characteristic of tobacco pipes. Remember that the shank is the chamber through which the smoke travels, so it needs to be relatively straight. You may shape your shank into a long rectangle (as shown in the photograph), make it rounded, or get creative with any sort of pattern. The important thing is that it is thick enough for the end of your paintbrush to go through the center of the entire length of the shank without a likelihood of breaking through the clay on any side. When you are satisfied with the thickness and smoothness of your shank, compare your pipe to the image below and proceed to the next step.