Acrylic vs Vulcanite

[Wellington]

Besides crappy plastic stems on my cobs, my pipes have vulcanite stems, I've actually never smoked an acrylic stem before and am a little uneducated on them.
Thought I'd make a thread for discussion and/or debate of the pros and cons of each of these types of stems and what you prefer for your pipe smoking.

 

[Wellington]

Oh I'm not saying they're uncomfortable, my cob stems (I use straight cob stems) are FAR more comfortable than one particular $70 pipe of mine that has a vulcanite stem. I just hate the crappy plastic, they don't last, I hate chewed of bits. I have 5 new stems coming in the mail just because I replace them somewhat regularly.

 

[Wellington]

I pay $10 here in Canada for them, so since the stems are $0.65 or something like that, I threw 5 in my last tobacco order. I can definitely use my stems much longer than I do, I don't wear through them, I just hate the feel of a chewed bit.

 

[Wellington]

Never tried that, I'll have to give it a shot.

 

[madmurdoc]

The only acrylic stem I have is on my churchwarden, so I don't really notice a difference, since I don't clench a churchwarden in my teeth. But from what I gather, acrylic is harder, and far more uncomfortable, but more durable than vulcanite, and resistant to oxidation.

 

[doctorthoss]

I'm a huge fan of acrylic stems, in part because they don't oxidize and in part because I actually find them to be more comfortable than vulcanite despite the fact I'm a heavy clincher. Vulcanite is softer, but for some reason I prefer the feel of vulcanite in my mouth. I also really appreciate the fact that acrylic stems don't show bite marks easily. I actually bit clean through a vulcanite stem once, but most of acrylic stems have only minor tooth marks, if anything at all.

 

[mso489]

I just replaced my MM cob stems with the standard stems (I bought from SPC for 64 cents each), one for my

filter cob, and another for my non-filter -- these are different size stems. I went from standard black to

standard clear amber, to see if there is any difference in durability. Before this, I had a softie on one of them,

the filter pipe. I saved the two black stems (and the softie) in a baggie, since they take up zero room. At

some point I may invest in a vucanite stem for one or more cob.
I do feel vulcanite is slightly more comfortable, though I'm not a clencher. I think (this may sound improbable)

that vuclanite is not quite so cold when you put it in your mouth. But I like the low maintenance on acrylic, and

don't find it hard on my teeth. In buying a pipe, it is not a consideration.

 

[4dotsasieni]

"I think (this may sound improbable) that vuclanite is not quite so cold when you put it in your mouth. "
No, you're absolutely right, acrylic does feel cold compared to vulcanite.
But, from an appearance standpoint, most of my 40+ year old pipes with acrylic stems look brand new and shiny compared to those with vulcanite.

 

[kashmir]

After 30+ yrs. dicking around with vulcanite stems, I've called it quits. Ain't got no more elbow grease. Of my herd of 65, those pipes carrying Lucite stems are my favorites. Recently I've commissioned a couple carvers to make me Lucite stems cut from blanks I bought at exoticblanks.com, with Delrin tenons. First of four due next week. I'll soon have a set of black Lucite stems cut for my Comoy collection, complete with the three part Comoy stem inlay. I clench, but do so using thin rings cut from rubber Tygon tubing. So I don't notice the hardness of Lucite.

 

[kashmir]

Yeah, I've got a couple carvers milling stems for me as we speak. Prices varry. Prices for hand cut stems from self supplied rods range from a low of $30 to a high of $85. Gotta shop the market. I'm trying three at the moment. First crop comes in next week. I'll post pictures.

 

[john218]

I wish there was a stem with the best qualities of both. I guess we all do.
I prefer vulcanite stems for the mouth feel, even though they require some work to keep them shiny.
Acrylic stems may resist teeth marks better and stay shiny, but as a clencher, the comfort of a vulcanite stem wins out for me. However, it didn't stop me from buying a few pipes with acrylic stems that have a reputation for being good smokers.

 

[cigrmaster]

I love my high quality German vualcanite stems. They require little to no maintenance and I find them to be so much more comfortable than acrylic. The older British sulfur laden vulcanite stems are a major pain in the ass in many cases, but they are the softest of all the vulcanite stems I have run across. They get beat up pretty easily as compared to the German stuff. I only own a few of those and the only one I will buy in the future is my birth year Dunhill.
I do not like the Ashtonite stem at all. It is just as hard as acrylic to my teeth.

 

[kashmir]

It's funny, while we're on this topic, last year I bought a case of six unsmoked Comoy Blue Ribands. Since then, they've become my favorite smoking pipes. Just great pipes. When I got the case the vulcanite was pristine, glossy new. This, despite decades of storage in the case. However, after a year of smoking the stems are highly prone to oxidation. Some more so than others. Presumably this is due to high sulfur content vulcanite. I'm now planning on having new Lucite stems made with the three part C logo for these. I've also had Dunhills from various years show pronounced tendencies for oxidation. Thank goodness there are skilled craftsmen who can duplicate the originals in Lucite.

 

[john218]

I guess Ashtonite comes close to having the qualities of both vulcanite and acrylic, but it's a proprietary material, as far as I know, and is available only on Ashton pipes.