The stinger

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bluto

Part of the Furniture Now
Aug 24, 2018
737
8
I don’t really know if the stinger found in some older pipes works or not , but my question is
what exactly is it supposed to do in theory ?
It looks like baffles on a car muffler , which is designed to slow exhaust gases and thus deaden sound , but this sucker looks like it just sits in the pipe and creates a minor drag and does little else..

 

tslex

Lifer
Jun 23, 2011
1,482
13
The idea, as I understand it, was to create a place (a small heat sink, essentially) where moisture would condense out before reaching the bit.

 

bluto

Part of the Furniture Now
Aug 24, 2018
737
8
Ahhh ... moisture
Which then collects in the bowl

 

jazz

Part of the Furniture Now
Feb 17, 2014
813
65
UK
In theory, it's meant to do as the other chaps mention but in practice it's purpose serves only to irritate and frustrate the smoker by causing blockages and gurgles that can't be removed by stuffing a pipe cleaner down the pipe. Well, in my experience anyway. I hate the wretched things and won't ever go near another pipe with one :D

 

mso489

Lifer
Feb 21, 2013
41,210
60,433
Yeah, what the first posts said. I have one stinger pipe, and one or two where I've pulled the stinger. The one is a Kaywoodie Drinkless and smokes pretty well, and is easy to unscrew and clean after each smoke, no problem. Stingers came into fashion in the Twentieth Century, around 1920 to 1960, but have hung on in the market until the last few years. They originated when pipe sales were highly competitive to lay claim to a competitive advantage, basically to sell pipes. My good stinger pipe doesn't smoke any better than all of my other pipes without stingers, so that settles the question for me.

 

willisk

Starting to Get Obsessed
Aug 27, 2018
105
0
I have a 50s I think Medico that had a stinger and I removed it very promptly I had a cheap pipe from the tobacco store that had one and it only served the puppy’s if creating moisture I the stem especially as a new smoker who had not found this community and new nothing about drying tobacco or even quality tobacco!!

 

tslex

Lifer
Jun 23, 2011
1,482
13
For the record, I loathe stingers. Won't own one.
I have a couple of pipes that tend to get a little moisture/gurgle. When that happen I cover the bowl with the meat of my palm then snap my wrist a couple of times, driving that moisture out the end of the bit. That doesn't work on a pipe with a stinger.
For the most part, if you have the right tobacco, the right technique and a good pipe, there's never an issue. But, in my experience -- limited the past 25 years or so as I just stopped owning stinger pipes then -- stingers only make everything worse.
YMMV.

 
Jul 28, 2016
7,565
36,060
Finland-Scandinavia-EU
I have several French made,otherwise good lithe pipes by Jeantet, but they all did come with quite long removable 3 to 4 mm stringers, and I hate those ,often times if it was 4mm metal stringer,I'd pull it out replacing it with denicotea paper filter or without any,Can't stop wondering why this very manufacturer still seems prefer to adding these devices on them pipes.

 

JimInks

Sultan of Smoke
Aug 31, 2012
60,863
554,105
I dislike them, too. I was happy to see Bluto make the "baffles" analogy. I knew a couple old time pipe smokers who called stingers that, and I wondered why they did. Now, I know. Thanks.

 

bnichols23

Lifer
Mar 13, 2018
4,131
9,554
SC Piedmont
I know some people swear that if a pipe comes with a stinger you should leave it there, since that was obviously what the manufacturer intended.**
I'm not one of those people. If I buy one & the thingy comes in it, it doesn't stay there.
[** -- SOME of the people described above say it just to throw people off & see how far they can lead the suckers. I'm not one of those people either. ... Well, OK, some days I am, but never *thoroughly* evyl....]

 

eggrollpiper

Can't Leave
Jul 27, 2018
378
38
I guess besides being a condenser and all around annoyance they keep pieces of tobacco and excess juices out of your mouth. I never found them to be sn effective condenser though, not like a Kirsten ram rod anyway...

 

blendtobac

Lifer
Oct 16, 2009
1,237
213
They condense moisture because of temperature differential. The metal stinger is cooler than the smoke so the moisture condenses, but once the stinger heats up, it loses its effectiveness.
Russ

 

jpmcwjr

Moderator
Staff member
May 12, 2015
24,570
27,080
Carmel Valley, CA
I guess besides being a condenser and all around annoyance they keep pieces of tobacco and excess juices out of your mouth.
If you've created a pool of moisture in the chamber, I'd not rely on a stinger to keep it from draining into the mouth. Keeping the bowl lower than the stem is what works.

 
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