Chasing The Better Button

I have found I like my stems wider with a bit of a pronounced button. The one you fixed is very nice and more along the lines I like. Great job Zack.

I like the redesigned button far better. I am not an anal tightass like Harris when it comes to stems, but I do have a preference for a tighter button.

I guess I'm a 'tightass' too.
I love a pronounced button, preferrably a thinned out stem to a fishtail end. I have a one pipe that I should have sent to Walker or another pipe man. It came in very roundish and hard to clench so I thinned it out to be very comfortable for me, but because I didn't have the patience, there are wavy lines on the stem.
It clenches much better, though.
Allan

Wow. Great improvement. The button is such a critical part of the pipe for me. Great job Zack! Harris was a great person to talk to concerning this. The man definitely knows a comfortable button. Below are a few pics of a Rad Davis saddle bit. My saddle bit Rad's are by far the most comfortable of all stems I own.

Zack, that new stem looks so much better, well done. Next time I come over I will give it a go and see if I like it. To answer the original question, a stem is now hugely important to my smoking pleasure. The button needs to be very pronounced and the stem itself needs to be nice and flat. chris showed pics of his Rad which are my favorite stems. Another important aspect to a great stem is the inside needs to be polished so there is absolutely no turbulence.
roth makes a great point about comfort and practicality. Yes if too thin, bite thorough is a serious issue so the artisan must be very careful of that. I have been clenching my first Rad for almost a year and it shows no signs of wear or damage. I think he has it down to a science and I also believe the quality of the German vulcanite he uses has a lot to do with his ability to make them thin and durable.
I was perusing my copy of Newcombs book In Search of Pipe Dreams and he was discussing a time when he was talking to I believe Chonowitsch and he asked why the artisan made the pipes he sells have a thicker stem than the ones he smokes himself, and he answered that he knows how hard to clench and that he is not comfortable making them that thin for his customers for fear of bite through.

Second attempt way better. I would error on the side of thicker, as others have pointed out. Its amazing the bite strength some people have. I have a very old pipe with a bone stem and it has deep chatter. Imagine what that guy would have done to a vulcanite stem.
Zack, to be honest though, I would smoke the last pipe you posted about with a straw from my pantry. That thing was a beauty.

Next time I come over I will give it a go

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Dream on. Like Zack will ever have you over again after you drank all of his wine and mocked and ridiculed his buttons. I'm sure he hates you.

Ok, a technical question.
Does anyone know how much material is left on say, a Rad stem right before the button? On another maker's pipe that has a nice thin stem up until the button area? 1/2mm, less, more?
The reason I'm asking is whether or not I can polish with abandon (ok, too loose a word) to take off the bite marks I leave when I clench. Maybe bite marks are too strong a word; kind of scrape marks or dulling of the vulcanite, which after polishint, almost completely disappear.
Harris had suggested a while ago that too much polishing could make the stem ready to break through and so I've stopped polishing. Obsidian oil does nothing for me.
Allan

OK. If both Mike and Roth are correct, 3mm is alot of material. So, if I do light polishing on the tips, I can do it many times without any danger.
I can have a soft touch.
Thanks

Allan

Zach
Of course. I don't know what I was thinking (or not thinking). The amount of material is very small.
Thank you very much for the clarification.
When I polish, I will wave the stem a 1/2 inch away from the wheel
Allan

Rad drills 5/32nd draft holes so that is equivalent to 3.96875mm

peck, Zack was so grateful that I brought some of my artisan pipes that my wine glass was never near empty the entire time I was there, he just kept pouring and pouring and the next morning I felt it. We really did have a blast even though I almost lost a couple of crowns the first time I clenched a couple of his stems. LOL