I just put a softy bit on the end of my cob’s shank. Best draw ever.
A Whinge on Forever Stems!
- Thread starter alhf94
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If you've only ever smoked MM Cobs, as Rustie said...
This is what I would put my money on. Probably the forever stems aren't too restrictive, you're just not accustomed to how 99% of pipes draw because your only experience is with MM cobs with OEM stems without a filter.
Pipe cleaners aren't all made the same either. I find the Brigham pipe cleaners are a little thicker and harder to pass than BJ Longs, particularly mid smoke when the pipe is warmed up (airway becomes marginally more restricted). There should be some resistance when trying to pass a pipe cleaner, but shouldn't be like super hard to get one through. If it can pass a Brigham pipe cleaner without TOO much effort, it's probably not too restrictive, you're just not used to it.
This is what I would put my money on. Probably the forever stems aren't too restrictive, you're just not accustomed to how 99% of pipes draw because your only experience is with MM cobs with OEM stems without a filter.
Pipe cleaners aren't all made the same either. I find the Brigham pipe cleaners are a little thicker and harder to pass than BJ Longs, particularly mid smoke when the pipe is warmed up (airway becomes marginally more restricted). There should be some resistance when trying to pass a pipe cleaner, but shouldn't be like super hard to get one through. If it can pass a Brigham pipe cleaner without TOO much effort, it's probably not too restrictive, you're just not used to it.
Yes. I think it's just my inexperience.
I tried something new a moment ago. When lighting my pipe, I took much deeper inhales than I did prior to create a deeper and stronger ember.
Creating way more smoke than I did earlier. I think this is the way to go. I was able to keep the pipe lit for longer this way with the forever stem.
With the reduced airflow in my draws from the forever stem my pipe kept going out more quickly compared to the original stem.
I think the forever stem highlighted an issue with my technique, I wasn't creating an optimal ember.
This is what I do and would recommend as well. The forever stems were necessary at one point because there were almost no MM cobs that came with acrylic stems 8-10 years ago. There are so many MM cobs now that come with acrylic stems with wide open draws.
That's exactly how Popeye smoked his. He was part of this forum actually until his passing.
You mention some of the newer cobs now come with a nicer acrylic stem. I thought the cheaper cops also had an acrylic stem? In terms of materials the stems are made from the same thing?
Cobs either have acrylic stems or plastic stems. It explicitly says on their website which model has which. For example a Legend has a plastic stem. An Emerald cob has an acrylic stem.
Oh right. I should have got a cob with an acrylic stem. Is it possible to buy one the cob acrylic stems to fit a country gentleman?
You would have to use a forever stem made for a filtered pipe to use a forever stem on a country gentleman. I would suggest looking for an unfiltered cob with an acrylic stem sold by MM and I think you'll be satisfied with the draw.
That's a good suggestion. Unfortunately I've got 5 of these country gentleman's now.
Yeah the bite zones on the forever stems are absolute honkers. I want to file down the ones I own but am not interested in owning any more.
I find that the acrylic stems from MM are still too thick for my liking though.
I swapped out two of my MM cob plastic stems for the Forever 'upgrades'. Sure, the Forever stems are nicer quality material but I've never had my cobs gurgle before putting them on. Perhaps their narrower airway is to blame?
The same here. My cobs never gurgled with the original stem but do with the forever stem
That was my issue too.
I put forever stems on 2 cobs, and I just realized I haven't used either of them since June.
It could be due to the massive air hole coming to a dead end with the flat tenonface. Try countersinking/chamfering them to have a smoother airflow.
Yeah mine rarely get used for leisure these days, only yard work.
Get a 5/32" drill bit, lock it into a pair of vise grips and hand turn the bit through the stem