Correct way of holding stem between teeth?

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lankfordjl

Part of the Furniture Now
Sep 29, 2011
611
2
Texas
I have a very basic question. First being new to pipe smoking, I am starting with a Missouri Corn Cob pipe. I'm starting with this pipe since I know I'll probably be rough with it as I'm learning, and I don't want to make havoc of an expensive pipe. After holding the pipe in my mouth for some time now, I've noticed extensive teeth marks forming on the stem. Is this normal? I must have exceptionally sharp teeth or something. Most of the estate pipes that I've viewed on ebay had minimal teeth marks. If I don't bite down I can not hold the pipe stable in my mouth. Any suggestions?

 

nathaniel

Part of the Furniture Now
Jan 4, 2011
788
484
what marc said... also there is a company called Walker Briar Works I think, which sells Forever Stems. They are nice vulcanite or acrylic stems for MM cobs. I think most go for like 18 bucks or something. A lot of folks use em. Another great option is to contact our very own Uncle Arthur here on the forum. He whips em up for a nice price as well... and it's custom made!

 
Jun 26, 2011
2,011
2
Pacific Northwest USA
Howdy lankford

Your going to get tooth marks on most any bit. The plastic bits on the current MM's for sure, vulcanite definitely will mark in time and even acrylic will show marks in time.
Yep, if your gonna clench your gonna get marks.

Nope, nuthin' wrong on your part. Just the nature o' the beast.
The only way this would be of a concern to me is if I was smoking a pipe that I REALLY wanted to keep pristine for future sale.

Personally, I don't anything like that. (-;

 

lankfordjl

Part of the Furniture Now
Sep 29, 2011
611
2
Texas
Hey olderthandirt!
Hello romeowood, how do you use the shrink tubing? I followed your link and it looks interesting. Is it safe to use and is there any kind of after taste using it?

 

ichbinmuede

Part of the Furniture Now
Feb 17, 2011
643
1
+1 on the heat shrink. All you do is cut a length of protection you'd like for the end of your stem, push it on, and give it a quick hit with a lighter. Well the proper way would be with a heat gun but I find that a lighter used carefully is just fine. I put mine just past the lip and push it down around while it's still warm. Not blocking the airway at all but just to protect it.

I use it on many of my own pipes. No flavour that I can detect, nice and thin (I really hate how thick and uncomfortable the softie bits are for me) while still providing a goodly amount of protection, and they're nice and soft on the teeth. I'll never even consider buying softie bits again.

 

juni

Lifer
Mar 9, 2010
1,184
11
I never clench either, I don't want marks on my stems. But now I'm going to try that tubing. Thank you for the link. :)

 

ichbinmuede

Part of the Furniture Now
Feb 17, 2011
643
1
Am I odd that I never hold the pipe with my mouth? I almost always keep my hand on the bowl.
When I first started (Hah a little over a year ago) I never really bothered to try, but as I dropped cigarettes and it became a more regular thing I found many an occasion to be clenching and thus started doing it more often. Right now for example when I want to be typing AND puffing or when I'm restoring a pipe and I want to be restoring AND...well you get the idea.
In short no you are not odd at all. You may find yourself doing it in time though to free up your hands if you need 'em. Sometimes the situation just calls for it.

 

jankomatic

Starting to Get Obsessed
Sep 12, 2010
167
0
Tampa, FL
When I first started smoking a pipe I never clenched either. I always held it in my hand. Now I find myself clenching about half the time and holding the other half. The one thing I have not been able to do that other people mention is work outside or do anything else while smoking my pipe. This is because when I bend over or tilt my head even slightly forward while clenching the drool production goes into overdrive for some reason.

 
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