A straight forward answer from Dan, the 4th sign of the apocalypse.
Thanks, I was afraid it came down to experience. Hence the reason I tend to stay away from the higher end briars until I get a better feel. I have seen recently that even a highly respected custom carver can't bat .1000, and that scares the .... out of me.
Guess all I can do is smoke more....
Thanks again, and have a great holiday yourself, sir.