Fancy Lucite Stems

[kashmir]

Having a bit of re-stemming done on my pipes. What better way to fall in love with your pipes all over again. Acrylic / Lucite to replace vulcanite. After 30 yrs. I'm done buffin' my stems shiny gloss black. Got tennis elbow. LOL.
Various stem carvers, but this set is done by Floyd Norwood, of Norwood Pipe Repairs, TN. Ain't none better than Floyd in my opinion. While I'm still waiting for others to do my first set of stems, why Floyd just cranks out a new pair for me every week. Can't say enough good things about Floyd Norwood. Awesome work.
Fancy Lucite blocks from exoticblanks.com. (Yep, my wife did a double take on the name when we got our bank statement last month. LOL).
Charatan 90x Lane era Relief Grain.

Comoy's #296 Canadian Silver Cloud.

Comoy's #296 Canadian Tradition.

Pair of Dunhill Shell #3103s (1980s).

 

[jonahtke]

those are awesome! I love lucite stems, and would put one on every pipe I have given the opportunity.

 

[redbeard]

Absolutely beautiful

 

[papipeguy]

So very cool. Great idea to dress up the old ones. You bought the stock and sent it to Floyd?

 

[kashmir]

Yeah, check out the Tru-stone pen blanks on exoticblabks.com. They come in 3/4 x 5 or 7/8 x 5 inch blocks. $5 to $10 each. Wild colors & inclusions.

 

[plateauguy]

I'll remember Floyd Norwood, of Norwood Pipe Repairs when I find an estate that needs "updating". Your pipes look brand new, without the break-in.

 

[peckinpahhombre]

You know, I was thinking about this the other day. Vulcanite is a pain in the ass. Was thinking about sending a bunch of my pipes with vulcanite stems out to have acrylic stems put on them. Did you supply the acrylic, or how did that work exactly?

 

[kashmir]

Peck - There are a number of different options. Mike Meyers will make black Lucite substitute stems for you with the Dunhill dot or Comoy three part C, or other stem logos. But he doesn't carve stems from scratch he tells me. Only works with premolded stem blanks cut to size. These blanks are available from Pipe Makers Emporium. Exoticblanks.com or Woodcraft Inc. are the places to go for exotic Lucite pen blanks. Tru-stone with mineral inclusions is the most impressive IMHO. Then you need to find someone willing to carve you the stems.

 

[drwatson]

That first blue one is one of the sweetest stems I've ever seen.

 

[hodirty]

Very nice. I love Lucite, just looks great. Enjoy ::

 

[dervis]

Fantastic

 

[mso489]

It's a whole different look from the usual pipe rack. I've acquired some nice patterned lucite stems over the

years, but they are all much more subdued than these. I think I like these especially since it is done in a kind

of motif that is all your own. It makes the pipes special as a group. But you've probably changed Forums

members ideas about what's appealing in lucite stems, and moved us all a little in the direction of acceptance

of bright colors and more unusual patterns.

 

[gisboro]

I really like the first blue stem, it is fantastic.

 

[kashmir]

Thanks gents. The challenge is matching colors to strumels. Black blasts are easier as both light and dark greens, blues and reds match well. On smooths, its more of a challenge matching colors. For instance blues and reds don't match natural wood, whereas greens do. I started on this after seeing what Larry Roush does with stem colors. He uses light blue and spring green bakelite to good effect. And JT Cooke's in-house swirled Lucite stems are ultracool. I don't mind the hardness of Lucite as compared to the softness of vulcanite because I use thin surgical tubing as bit protectors, which easily slip off before racking.

 

[mso489]

I don't use tubing or softies, but lucite seems okay with my particular teeth. Bits seem to be made a little wider in newer pipes,

and this seems to spread the weight around for me. But I know lots of people find lucite stems somewhat hard and uncomfortable.

 

[lordofthepiperings]

I'm a sucker for the interestingly designed/colored acrylic or Lucite stems.

 

[peckinpahhombre]

Here's Kashmir going to pick up his fancy stems:

 

[kashmir]

Yeah, I should rename this thread "Pimpin' my pipes".

 

[kashmir]

My favorite Lucite blanks at the moment. Floyd Norwood is re-stemming a pair of Ashton Pebble Grains at the moment, using these blanks. Due in next week.

 

[instymp]

Very nice Sir. You won't blend in with the crowd with those!