Plastic Tube in Stem- Vauen Churchwarden

[ItsKarl]

I just noticed that Vauen has a plastic tube lining the stems of their Shire churchwardens, for ease of cleaning. From their own site: "The stem is out of beech wood with integrated plastic tube for a hygienic cleaning."

Is this usual? I got a little concerned when I read the review on this pipe over on tobaccopipes.com:

"I paid a lot of money for this pipe as you can see. After 2 weeks of owning the stem started to swell in one spot and the outside is cracking. There’s supposed to be a plastic tube in the middle?? I smoke maybe at the most once every other day and really clean after each use. For this amount of money this never should have happened. This is such a great looking pipe. Very upset."

So did this poor fellow try to smelt iron in his pipe, or is it a not-so-good design?

 

[Waning Embers]

So did this poor fellow try to smelt iron in his pipe, or is it a not-so-good design?

Sounds like he needs to learn how to smoke a pipe. I've had three and smoked just fine. You can get them a lot cheaper directly from Germany though.

VAUEN Auenland The Shire Gilg Pfeife - glatt grau braun poliert Premium Set | eBay

Acrylstück am Stielende für hygienisches Rauchen. Modell : glatt poliert. + gratis Paket extra lange Reiniger. Sie können diese aus den besten und hochwertigsten Materialien. Gewicht ca. 80 Gramm. Stiel aus Buchenholz mit integriertem Kunststoffröhrchen.

www.ebay.com

 

[ItsKarl]

I know, I bought my Hugg from Danish Pipe Shop at about half the price of tobaccopipes. It smokes like a dream. But I confess I was struck by a hint of panic when I read that review.

So this guy, did he consistently smoke his pipe too hot, or did he remove/replace the stem while the pipe was still warm? Or... other? I'd like to avoid the same fate myself.

 

[Waning Embers]

I know, I bought my Hugg from Danish Pipe Shop at about half the price of tobaccopipes. It smokes like a dream. But I confess I was struck by a hint of panic when I read that review.

So this guy, did he consistently smoke his pipe too hot, or did he remove/replace the stem while the pipe was still warm? Or... other? I'd like to avoid the same fate myself.

Just sounds like he smoked it too hot.

 

[jpmcwjr]

Another possibility: He punctured the inner tube while cleaning and moisture leaked in that spot and swelled the wood.

 

[Waning Embers]

Another possibility: He punctured the inner tube while cleaning and moisture leaked in that spot and swelled the wood.

He'd really have to be aggressive to do that, it's a fairly thick acrylic tube. Even if that were the case, his issues were operator error.

 

[ItsKarl]

I got to say, though, the stem really feels like a tight fit for cleaning. I can only manage to pass the bristle cleaners all the way through - the more bendable soft cleaners just go in 3-4 inches before I can't push them in anymore.