Amber Orific Stems

[verporchting]

Is there a certain date that orific stems stopped being made or at least commonly produced?

I just acquired a couple older estates with such stems and it just got me curious.

Any care and feeding tips for cleaning the stems? Especially the grotty bone tenons??

 

[Chasing Embers]

Is there a certain date that orific stems stopped being made or at least commonly produced?

Around 1920.

Any care and feeding tips for cleaning the stems?

Don't expose them to much sunlight. Makes them brittle.

 

[sablebrush52]

there's no specific date that defines the end of the use of orific bits, but they generally went the way of the dodo in the late 1920's.

 

[kcghost]

The experts have spoken.

 

[verporchting]

I’m really happy with the two little pipes I got, perfect size for a vest pocket and seemingly well cared after. The bone tenons on both have a fair amount of tar and gunk but I don’t want to bugger up anything by too aggressively cleaning. The airways seem clean so I’m thinking just lukewarm water and soft cleaners but not sure if alcohol is a good idea or not, even on the tenons?

 

[sablebrush52]

I’m really happy with the two little pipes I got, perfect size for a vest pocket and seemingly well cared after. The bone tenons on both have a fair amount of tar and gunk but I don’t want to bugger up anything by too aggressively cleaning. The airways seem clean so I’m thinking just lukewarm water and soft cleaners but not sure if alcohol is a good idea or not, even on the tenons?

Screw in bone tenons suggest an earlier period, 1890's through the teens. Bone tenons were pretty much history by 1920.
Amber and bone should be OK with water and a minute bit of unscented dish washing soap.

 

[verporchting]

The bulldog seems newer than the little billiard. The only markings on it are “French Briar” and “Real Amber”.

The billiard says Superior and ABC but I will need magnification to read the hallmarks and something else on the silver band. It seems a lot older. Just guessing at this point but you know how it goes.

 

[OzPiper]

Old amber can be very brittle and chip/flake/snap easily.
Handle with kid gloves and don't dismantle unless necessary
Happy smokes

 

[sablebrush52]

The billiard is probably older. I’m not sure that the stem on the bulldog is actually amber. It looks like redmanol, which is a type of plastic that became popular in the teens and twenties.

 

[verporchting]

The billiard is probably older. I’m not sure that the stem on the bulldog is actually amber. It looks like redmanol, which is a type of plastic that became popular in the teens and twenties.

I kinda wondered about that too, because it looks and feels significantly different from the older billiard stem. The stamp on the briar does say genuine amber, but that’s no guarantee.

 

[xrundog]

The bulldog seems newer than the little billiard. The only markings on it are “French Briar” and “Real Amber”.

The billiard says Superior and ABC but I will need magnification to read the hallmarks and something else on the silver band. It seems a lot older. Just guessing at this point but you know how it goes.

The French Briar and Real Amber stamps are typically on American pipes like WDC or CPF to name a couple. Probably late 19th early 20th century. Amber was a relative term for those guys. Sometimes it was amber, sometimes it was an amber like material. The bulldog stem could be amberloid which is a synthetic material predating Bakelite. The stuff broke frequently and it’s common to see red Bakelite replacement stems dating from the teens-20s. Yours looks like the original stem in good condition. It isn’t red enough for Bakelite to my eye. It would be dark ruby red. Round. hole at the bit?