Each briar block is going to be unique in its own right, regardless of grade you never know the final out come. Some pipes will come out with an amazing tight straight grain or a spectacular birds eye. Other times you will have a block that is better suited to a blast as the ring grain that lies within it will yield a very cool blast. However I can order and sort my briar to what I feel will cater to a sharper blast or overall better finish, you start to identify the characteristics with the more briar block you work with making your odds better out of the gates.
However briar always holds a large unkown, many times you will open up a small pit or small imperfection that can easily be removed if you are to only shape it slightly undersize, add a larger bowl bevel etc. These small changes can yield the difference between having a good pipe and having a great pipe, as in my eyes quality is in the smallest of details. You will see with many factory pipes where a run of pipes will be a carbon copy of the one before it, these pipes will very often have the pits and imperfections gouged out and filled with filler then stained and finished over top. I refuse to use filler and I will not leave an ugly imperfection in any one of my pipes if it is as simple as changing that pipes shank length, slight diameter..etc. I am to build the best pipe with what the wood will allow, this is why it is so important to start with the highest quality briar and what makes an artisan pipe unique in the craftsmanship that has been placed in ever pipe.
Will you be receiving a pipe built to the design and style of the chosen BOTL style and finish? Yes.
Will you be getting a carbon copy of the pipe before it or the pipe after it? Hell no...very similar but not identical.
Will you be receiving a pipe unique to you, finished to the highest quality possible from that individual block of briar? Hell ya!
*Having said that no blocks with any major flaws yielding a less then acceptable product will be sent out.