Bent Stems More Comfortable?

newbroom · Mar 29, 2015

I seem to find that bent stems or bent bowls are more comfortable to clench and just easier for me to use.

I had a couple of bent stemmed MM cobs that always gave me trouble with passing a cleaner due to the crink in their bends so, I lit up a tea candle and modified them to my delight.

That gave me the idea to look around at my rotation and I found some candidates for the treatment that were either lucite or ebonite, probably some of each.

So, I went one for two initially, because I broke the second one by not heating it enough before I pressured it.

Now, though, I've got another four pipes with a nice little bend where they were straight before and they're much nicer to use.

I did have one other 'failure' but it didn't completely ruin the stem. It seems a yello-bole brylon stem is rather impervious to heat except to bubble.

cobguy · Mar 29, 2015

Hey Mike ... sounds like a fun pipe project day was had!

The bent vs straight choice is mood driven for me.
While reading or playing online poker, I will usually grab a bent.
Otherwise, it's just what the hand reaches for after the brain picks a tobacco! : puffy

:

sparrowhawk · Mar 29, 2015

I started with both bent and straight, and discovered I like the straight pipe more. However, when I started to cletch my pipe, I found bent ones more comfortable and natural in my mouth. Piping is an journey of discovery in likes and dislikes: I always thought I would like or prefer long, straight, narrow pipes, but discovered I preferred the chunky, shorter form of pipes like Peterson. The 107 straight Peterson is my favorite straight billiard; the 221 bent Peterson is my favorite bent pipe, and in addition more comfortable to clench, because the weight of the bowl is closer to the mouth.

phil67 · Mar 29, 2015

I have only two straight pipes which happens to be a Sav. Oscar Tiger and a MM cob. I also tend to clench more often than not so straight pipes don't sit at all well with me and I only purchase bents. Yes, you're right that the bent stems on MM cobs are quite ridiculous as they are simply given a sharp bend (something I'll never understand) which is a royal PITA. I have one that I put up with, but most of my MM cobs are fitted with bent Forever Stems.

newbroom · Mar 29, 2015

Yes, cobguy, it was kinda fun and a learning experience too. I always feel like I should do more to my stems to maintain them, but this was just something I bounded into while trying to make my bent cob stems less obstructive.

I still need to set up 'shop' with a wheel and what not to motivate me to do better stemwork.

newbroom · Mar 29, 2015

I preferred the chunky, shorter form of pipes

There's a batch fitting that description on the auction site. Nice looking pipes. Likely 50's era stubbies from Roger's and Weber. 5 of those and a nice Danish canted billiard for $100.00/$15.00 shipping...very tempting little deal right there.

jkrug · Mar 29, 2015

Most of my pipes are bent stems too. I am only an occasional clencher but I just find them to be more pleasing to my eye and more comfortable in hand. : puffy

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phil67 · Mar 29, 2015

The same applies to me, albeit it's hard to define. I guess it's just a simply a matter of not finding straight pipes pleasing to my eye, aside from finding them unpleasant/uncomfortable to clench. That's not to say the ones I have don't smoke well, but I rarely reach for them.

xrundog · Mar 29, 2015

I have more straight pipes by far. I need a very particular bend for it to be comfortable. But I have some that fit and I like 'em.

Chasing Embers · Mar 29, 2015

Never thought about it before reading this thread, but I actually do not own a completely straight pipe. Not a frequent clencher, but the bents I own always clench comfortably.

anthonyrosenthal74 · Mar 30, 2015

Although I prefer bent pipes, which are more pleasing to my eye, I rarely clench. So for those few times I do clench, it depends on the pipe's length and weight.

allan · Mar 30, 2015

Here I thought I was one of the few bent pipe lovers! LOL
The only straight pipes I own are very light, say about 35 grams or so. Otherwise every one is bent from a 1/8 to a full Dunhill Oom Paul
Long live the bents!

lordofthepiperings · Mar 30, 2015

I think out of my 35 pipes I have 4 straights. The rest are all bent to some degree. I do find the bents a bit easier to clench. Typically when I'm enjoying a bowl I'm listening to the Pipes Magazine Radio Show #ShamelessPlug or surfing the net on the laptop and I find the bents make it easier to clench and type.

mso489 · Mar 31, 2015

It's simple leverage. Bent pipes don't put as much weight bearing on your teeth. The heavier a pipe, the more being bent matters. I think about a third of my pipes are straight, and another third are only somewhat bent. I like the straightforward look of straight pipes, the ease of cleaning them, and the way it puts lighting the pipe right in front of me. But bent pipes have a pleasing casual look.

joshb83 · Mar 31, 2015

I love the bents! But for the ease of cleaning like MSO said, straights are a bit easier to find and clean. I enjoy the bent for the clench as well as the look, just a great overall look. Glad I'm not the only one

brass · Mar 31, 2015

I buy bents almost exclusively. If I look at a straight pipe, I'll want it to be 50 grams or under.
Pax

elbert · Mar 31, 2015

Bent stems are certainly more comfortable to clench, but a clenched straight billiard is a classic and striking look--For those of us who go in for that sort of thing. 8)
I came around to straight stems after I realized I was tired of arbitrating disputes between my bent Peterson and my pipe cleaners. Can't you two just get along!?

sparrowhawk · Mar 31, 2015

mso mirrors my feeling on bent vs straight, although I find straights a little better-looking. Why? I have no idea, except the straight pipe is simpler, and I tend to link things simple. (This is the reason my art work is black and white: I love the simplicity of black ink on white paper.)

newbroom · Mar 31, 2015

The 'bends' I'm putting onto my billiards are gentle and are done with a cleaner installed to the bowl. Just a gentle curve is all it takes to take that baby out of my sight line and to reduce the weight at my teeth, sorta.

elbert · Mar 31, 2015

I agree that there's a 'sweet spot' there. My first pipe was that fully bent Peterson that I picked up at a local-ish b&m, with few other options (i.e. a churchwarden and a few basked pipes). When it came time to buy a second, I spent days looking over the Internet for the 'right' pipe--what I originally thought a pipe should be. What I finally settled on was a Stanwell Silke Brun 179--a lightly bent stem with an apple shaped bowl. It was a WORLD of difference passing a pipe cleaner. Now it's my dedicated Latakia pipe.

Bent Stems More Comfortable?

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