A Question About Acrylic vs Vulcanite

[zack24]

I’m a big fan of the Ebonite produced by SEM in Germany- they have some amazing variations on colors- I always pick up some of their limited edition colors in Chicago. The Japanese material doesn’t come close. My understanding of the biggest difference between vulcanite and Ebonite is the amount of sulphur in the material. About the only acrylic I use is the amber/tortoise color which looks really good on replacement stems on old meerschaums...

 

[lasttango]

I prefer the ebonite/vulcanite also. My teeth are somewhat sensitive and I like to clench. With Italian pipes, I understand Il Duca prefers vulcanite or ebonite.
Some acrylic stems do seem better/softer than others. I can definitely tell the difference between the cheapie plastic one with sharp edges on my Mr. Brog from the smooth seemingly softer one on my Boswell.
I have one pipe made by Julius Vesz that has a real amber stem. What's the deal with real/natural amber? It's actually the pipe I am smoking in my avatar.

 

[PaulTheScandinavian]

Some valuable information here,thank you,I just managed to snap the tenon of my Savinelli Bings favorite cumberland stem,the tenon itself was made of some kind softer plastic like material and it broke apart when twisted it out from the bowl mortise(despite the fact that pipe was sufficiently cooled down)now this pipe is on its way to Germany for resteming (German made vulcanite)and today this Bings favorite is becoming one of my most expensive pipe taken the consideration the fact it was ordered from U.S with all import duties and overseas shippings,but I couldn't leave it at that.Obviously I'm Still learning from my repeated mistakes.

 

[popeofpiping]

I much prefer vulcanite. More enjoyable to clench imho

 

[jpmcwjr]

Question: Say you have an acrylic stem that's simply bulky.... How can one trim it down safely?

 

[menuhin]

I have a love and hate relationship with my pipes with acrylic stems.
I love to look at my pipes with acrylic stems. They are beautiful and give me peace of mind - almost maintenance free. However, the moment I put a pipe in my mouth, especially when I may want to clench it, I want it to be vulcanite / ebonite.

 

[Chasing Embers]

Question: Say you have an acrylic stem that's simply bulky.... How can one trim it down safely?

The button or the whole stem? If just the button, I would use fine files.

 

[npod]

Harris, I have had a similar journey as yours. I love my Italian pipes, but the older I get the more I find comfort in artisan Vulcanite/ebonite stems. In the past 2 years I have had lots of dental work and since then the Acrylic does in fact hurt my teeth. So now I enjoy my Italian pipes hand held only.
I almost considered selling off my Acrylic stem pipes to transition to only to pipes with Vulcanite/ebonite and weighing less than 45 grams, my sweet spot.
Artisan ebonite vs Castello Acrylic. Very different beasts.

 

[georged]

Question: Say you have an acrylic stem that's simply bulky.... How can one trim it down safely?

Just treat it like it came only 99% complete from the original maker, and remove the final 1% of material yourself.
When given the same amount of shaping attention, there's no difference in comfort between Lucite and vulcanite in my experience. Many smokers THINK there is because they've only known blocky, thick, chunky ones.
That's more an artifact of circumstance than anything else, imo: the companies that introduced acrylic after WWII happened to be cost-conscious ones that only produced low-effort stems WITH the new material.
If Dunhill had introduced it, in other words, we probably wouldn't be having this conversation.

 

[cigrmaster]

npod, that pic you posted is a perfect example. The artisan stem on the left is so much thinner and shaped so it is perfect for clenching.
George, so you are saying that if someone were to put the time in to create an acrylic stem like on npod's, I would be fine clenching it?

 

[npod]

if someone were to put the time in to create an acrylic stem like on npod's, I would be fine clenching it?

I've been told by various pipe makers that the laws of physics prevent Acrylic from being too thin without risk of cracking and breaking easily. There is a certain "minimum standard" to Acrylic that doesn't apply to Vulcanite/Ebonite.
For me it is often more about the large buttons on Acrylic stems. Yuck.
Here is a very (very) small Castello at only 29 grams. Very small Acrylic stem. But it still feels like a brick in my mouth compared to artisan stems when fully clenched (like when walking around hands free, etc). And yet, I love her so.

 

[cigrmaster]

Here is my Occhio Di Pernice. The stem isn't that thick, yet it still hurts. The pipe weighs around 40 grams.

I only bought it because I had always wanted an Occhio( plus I stole it) and I thought I could handle the acrylic on a fairly light pipe.

 

[georged]

George, so you are saying that if someone were to put the time in to create an acrylic stem like on npod's, I would be fine clenching it?

I'm saying only that the two materials cut to identical dimensions could rarely (if ever) be told apart by most smokers if they were unaware which was which. (If told, something called "confirmation bias" kicks in: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Confirmation_bias ).
Whether or not YOU would be fine with npod's stem is a different question. Lots of variables involved with liking/disliking a stem. I'm saying that if a stem was right for you in every other way, it wouldn't matter whether it was made of acrylic or vulcanite.

 

[cigrmaster]

George,

I'm saying that if a stem was right for you in every other way, it wouldn't matter whether it was made of acrylic or vulcanite.

Here is a Mike Butera that I have owned for a while now and the shape and button are pretty good, and very similar to my other artisan made pipes. He uses acrylic and I can definitely tell the difference. I will say that it is more comfortable than my Castello acrylic stem.

 

[georged]

I've been told by various pipe makers that the laws of physics prevent Acrylic from being too thin without risk of cracking and breaking easily. There is a certain "minimum standard" to Acrylic that doesn't apply to Vulcanite/Ebonite.

I think what kick-started that story was the same companies which wanted to save money by stopping short of "complete" shaping (resulting in thick, clunky stems), also sourced inexpensive/low quality material. Cost accountants rule the world, right? :evil:
The truth is acrylic can be insanely tough. It's what bullet-proof "glass" is actually made of. Ditto the "glass" canopies of jet fighters.
If high quality material is used, it has the same dimensional limitations as hard rubber. I've made hundreds of the things, and have yet to hear back that a single one has broken.
The pipe in the following pic is one of my own. An acrylic-stemmed Dunhill Tanshell that I posted a couple months ago in this thread:
http://pipesmagazine.com/forums/topic/dunhill-tanshell-59-amp-peterson-1905-billiard-replica
Notice the reading on the caliper --- .140" (3.556 mm) That's significantly thinner than most pipe makers recommend for vulcanite.
I'm a clencher, the pipe is a favorite, and the stem is about seven years old.
.

 

[menuhin]

...I'm saying only that the two materials cut to identical dimensions could rarely (if ever) be told apart by most smokers if they were unaware which was which...

Hi georged, I thought about your hypothesis, and the idea can be examined empirically with pipe smokers blindfolded testing out stems with identical specs. For the test, if acrylic stems cannot be filed down so easily, vulcanite or ebonite stems can be shaped thicker to the size of acrylic stems.
Before such an experiment is conducted by anybody, my intuition is acrylic stems can be more comfortable for clenching if the pipe is down to a certain weight which varies across smokers, e.g. a very light Stanwell POTY 2010 in Bing shape made clenching quite bearable. However, my intuition is also that acrylic is harder and therefore less comfortable. This is my personal judgement with my clenching attempts on stems made of different materials, including nylon (Falcon, and some corn cobs I believe) and clay etc. According to (my own personal) clenching comfort I will rate the stem materials as follow:
Nylon > Ebonite / Vulcanite = Horn > Amber > Acrylic > Clay / Ceramic
As example, for a heavier pipe, or due to its shape e.g. a straight pipe, I have to clench on the side with my molars/premolars - and I have to hang onto it harder. With a pipe with ebonite stem, my thinking goes like, "I may make some bite marks onto it, so I have to be easier on it"; in the case of acrylic stem, it is usually like, "hmm.. it is getting painful, I don't want to see my dentist and have her telling me that I chipped my teeth...".

 

[menuhin]

It is eye-opening to me about the better than original replacement acrylic-stem on the Dunhill Tanshell, and of course with an indistinguishable white-dot. :clap:

 

[cigrmaster]

George, very interesting. You make me want to send you my Castello to verify you can make me a comfortable acrylic stem. That would be kind of fun if you could do it. I could start buying Castello's again, which would actually be a bad thing, I don't need more pipes, but damn I miss smoking Castello's.

 

[danish]

Very interesting thread, since for me, the stem is maybe the most important part of a pipe and I doubt the feeling of softness is biased, although I would prefer liking all stems Softness of stems may actually be measurable? I have strong teeth but never liked acrylic stems so much, no matter thickness, buttons etc. and also can feel the difference, apart from stem design, between ebonite/vulcanite used by different manufacturers in the past.

 

[kola]

A few taps of a stem on my teeth and I can definitely tell the difference between plastic and vulcanite. And it be easier if I took a clench or two on them. Even a thin well-sculpted plastic stem wouldn't fool me into thinking is was vulcanite. I flat-out despise plastic stems and refuse to call them "acrylic". They are PLASTIC. Cheap plastic, dolled up with pretty swirls and colors.
I have a few very nice pipes with plastic stems and have thought about having ebonite/cumberland stems custom made for them. I never smoke them.