stinger vs no stinger

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philous

Lurker
Jul 30, 2016
8
1
i'd like to know if there is a big difference between smoking with a pipe with a condenser and without it

 

mso489

Lifer
Feb 21, 2013
41,210
60,433
If people vote with their wallets, the stinger went out of fashion in earlier decades. Stingers are still installed in pipes, and people buy stinger pipes as estate pipes all the time, and some of the stingers are not easily removable, like the Kaywoodie Drinkless where the stinger is part of the screw-on stem. Many people who buy pipes that turn out to have stingers just slide them out if they are easily removable. I have never found stingers to be particularly useful; I don't notice much or any difference except that you have to pull the pipe apart each smoke and wipe off the stinger to properly clean the pipe, which seems like needless wear and tear. Stingers might help smokers who always generate a lot of moister by choice of blend or a lot of saliva entering the airway. Most of us don't have those problems so much. I'd recommend not buying pipes with stinger if you have a choice. All that said, my one Kaywoodie Drinkless smokes nicely and may be a very slightly dryer smoke, but demands the usual trouble of unscrewing the stem and wiping it out after each smoke. When I have pulled the stingers from two or three pipes, I label them and store them in case of an unlikely sale later.

 

ashdigger

Lifer
Jul 30, 2016
11,379
70,060
60
Vegas Baby!!!
Since I collect only Kaywoodies I'll chime in.
Kaywoodies that are pre-1950 (4-digit and some 2-digit) the stingers are generally a large ball with 4 holes. These smoke just fine.
Kaywoodies post 1950 (all 2 digit) have either a three hole stinger or small ball with four holes....these smoke terribly and need to be chopped.
My opinion...your mileage may vary
The very best Kaywoodies with stingers are the push stem version which was produced from roughly 1926-1929 (while these are 2 digit it's obvious they're not the trash 2 digit)

 

pagan

Lifer
May 6, 2016
5,963
28
West Texas
I have both pipes with and without and I cant tell a difference between smoking with a pipe with a stinger

 

jpmcwjr

Moderator
Staff member
May 12, 2015
24,570
27,080
Carmel Valley, CA
I remove all stingers immediately: Don't want extra stuff to clean, and I like running a pipe cleaner through in one go. Taste diff? Probably not.

 

mawnansmiff

Lifer
Oct 14, 2015
7,385
7,295
Sunny Cornwall, UK.
Hi Phil, welcome to the forum. As well as the advice above you might want to consider the fact that most stingers will not allow a pipecleaner to pass fully into the bowl. This is important if your pipe 'gurgles' due to over moist tobacco or poor smoking technique.
Regards,
Jay.

 

tmb152

Can't Leave
Apr 26, 2016
392
5
I have several estate pipes with stingers. As to what mso said, I wonder if it was a voting with wallet thing or whether manufacturers simply gravitated away from using them due to cost or some other factor? All I can say is that all of my stingers are different in design, most are easily removed if desired, I leave them in place, find them very little trouble to keep clean and the pipes all smoke great. As most of them are stubby bulldogs, I had assumed it was a barrier to any juices or things.
Kaywoodies post 1950 (all 2 digit) have either a three hole stinger or small ball with four holes....these smoke terribly and need to be chopped.
I have a Kaywoodie that I believe falls into your latter category, it is a model 96, but only has ONE hole, and it smokes just fine. I am neither attracted by nor repelled by the stinger--- if the pipe has it, fine, I assume the manufacturer put it there for a reason. In theory, they should work. All I can say is that any pipe I have ever had with a juice problem or other undesired matter getting to my mouth, was WITHOUT a stinger. I tend to see them as a "filter" that works without actual filtration.

 

tuold

Lifer
Oct 15, 2013
2,133
165
Beaverton,Oregon
From a collector's standpoint, you want to keep the stinger on the pipe or if it's removable keep it in case you someday decide to sell it.
From a practical standpoint it seems to be a personal preference. Most of the time I prefer no filter. A metal stinger is fine unless there are issues with inhibiting the draw, but that's rare. There's nothing worse than getting a bit of bitter tasting tobacco or ash when doing the first light. A stinger will prevent that.

 

shutterbugg

Lifer
Nov 18, 2013
1,451
21
I've had pipes with stingers and they don't do diddly. What they do is prevent passing a pipe cleaner, so when (not if) condensation forms, it either causes the pipe to gurgle or the smoker suck the yuck into their mouth. So I yanked the stingers and threw them away. The only stinger pipe I currently own is a vintage Comoy's pot, stinger long gone.
if your pipe 'gurgles' due to over moist tobacco or poor smoking technique.
Happy you added "if", because 95% of the time pipes gurgle because of poor-quality manufacture...improper drilling or a gap between where the front of the tenon bottoms out in the stummel.

 

ssjones

Moderator
Staff member
May 11, 2011
18,323
11,093
Maryland
postimg.cc
If the pipe is not collectible, I'd probably cut or remove the stinger. I smoke 3 and 4 hole Kaywoodies and can't find much of a difference (actually, none). With a screw in Kaywoodie, you can of course remove the stem in mid-smoke to run a cleaner into the bowl, but I've never found that necessary.

 

ahmadothman

Part of the Furniture Now
Apr 26, 2016
751
7
Egypt
All my pipes are without a stinger, except for one Pierre Morel..It has a ball stinger with a screw like body.. and it smokes awful.. I tried removing it and it smoked better

 

noquarter

Starting to Get Obsessed
Jan 18, 2015
104
0
Have a few 2-digit Kaywoodies and they smoke just fine. I often times remove the stem mid smoke to wipe it off,no big deal. I smoke for an hour doing nothing so cleaning a stinger for another extra 30 seconds is just fine for me. I also don't mind prepping flakes/plugs for 5 minutes before smoking it.

 

newbroom

Lifer
Jul 11, 2014
6,088
6,414
Florida
I've discovered that I now enjoy many pipes with these sorts of extensions. (stingers/condensers) and have replace a couple in pipes that I'd removed them from.

I've become more adept at smoking a pipe and now appreciate the difference these can make in the draw and how they help keep shanks cleaner.

I have a couple of Kaywoodie's and these may be the most difficult of stingers to master as those holes tend to cause gurgle when wet or clogged. Cadence is all important.

 

michiganlover

Can't Leave
May 10, 2014
336
3
I have one Kaywoodie, smoked terrible with the stinger, a little less terrible with the stinger clipped; gurgles too much even with the stinger clipped, and is thus smoked very infrequently.
I've got several vintage Dr Grabows, and I always smoke them without the stinger.
In my opinion stingers are useless, and create the problem they were created to avoid: gurgle and a wet smoke.
It speaks volumes, that artisan pipes, and most non-budget factory pipes were not made with stingers.
Even the longest holdout for stingers, Kaywoodie, no longer makes a pipe with a stinger; all new production Kaywoodies no longer have the stinger. So even they didn't think they were necessary!

 

ssjones

Moderator
Staff member
May 11, 2011
18,323
11,093
Maryland
postimg.cc
Actually when those four and three hole Kaywoodies were made, almost every major manufacturer used some form of a stinger - Dunhill, Comoys and even later Castello. Not all Kaywoodies smoke well, particularly the later, low-end lines.

 

aristokles

Can't Leave
Jan 18, 2011
399
0
ashdigger's response mirrors my Kaywoodie experience almost perfectly.
I found the early production, large ball, 4-hole stingers to perform the best, although sometimes the screw mechanism can leak, an unpleasant effect. The latter production 3-hole, smaller ball ones are rather lame and not worth buying. I concentrate on shopping for, and sometimes even buying, pre-1955 KWs
I have a Hyde Park billiard with push tenon and a stinger identical to the old KWs except that the large ball has NO holes. It smokes great, better than the KWs.
A corollary question might be "What is a stinger?". My old Parker has a metal tube which extends all the way through the airway. Good smoker, no issues, and I appreciate the cleaner airway and ease of cleaning. Conversely a Brebbia I have sports a similar tube but it is BAFFLED. Yes it works but is a pain in the butt to clean.
{Yes, I like animated avatars; mine shows me as a flighty old hound dog - which my wife claims I am. Besides, my ugly mug is in my profile. That's enough.}

 

crashthegrey

Lifer
Dec 18, 2015
3,812
3,589
41
Cobleskill, NY
www.greywoodie.com
If anyone wants to cut the stinger on a Kaywoodie, let's talk about sending me that pipe first. I love Kaywoodie pipes, but I definitely agree that there is a huge difference between the 4 hole stinger and the later ones. Nearly all of mine are early 4 hole stingers. I have a 5116 that is likely from 1932 and it is one of the finest pipes I've ever smoked.

 
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