I wonder how many amber stems started out looking like this one.....
Amber Stems Could Be So Much Better.
- Thread starter didimauw
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I wonder how many amber stems started out looking like this one.....
Don't stop at bugs...
www.geologyin.com
Smallest-ever Fossil Dinosaur Found Trapped in Amber
The head of Oculudentavis khaungraae, the world's tiniest dinosaur, preserved in amber. The world’s smallest dinosaur was discovered, ...
What a way to go; drowned in pine resin.
See now picture that with a mosquito in it or something. How cool would that be?
I'd love it. Usually though the amber used for stems was melted down into more manageable shapes for carving.See now picture that with a mosquito in it or something. How cool would that be?
Everyone knows where this thread is going, of course.
What happens in amber should stay in amber...
Did we learn nothing?
What happens in amber should stay in amber...
Did we learn nothing?
I'd watch that if it were a full length movie! Hahahaha
So, if you were to get a pipe with a genuine amber stem you have to be concerned about a dinosaur being in it??
Exactly.
And if you avoid being eaten by it, you'll have the chance to get rich by starting an amusement park of live dinosaurs on an island!
It doesn't get more exciting than that.
In all seriousness
, I don't know how many times I've been smoking my only pipe with an amber stem, (I know because I had to restore it). While doing so it smelled very much so like tree sap. I'm no expert (yet), but I haven't smelled any vulcanite, acrylic, or cumberland that smelled the same. I wonder how much some of our 100+ year pipes have seen (I know, I know, they don't have eyes, but they have seen some $@&%). What they have seen and such is why I like older pipes. Sorry for the rant 99 
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On the topic of clear stems with things inside them, I'm surprised we don't see more of that. For example, like a clear stem with gold flakes in it or something.
They could do a collab with Goldschlager!
I don't think I have ever seen a stem with a trapped fly or such like in the amber. I have given a few pipes away over the years with massive amber stems but they are all the same color and hue of yellow. I have seen flies and pollen in Victorian cigar holders but I think @Chasing Embers is correct in that that they used to grind the stuff up and heat it to make it more malleable.
Years ago amber made very nice stems. But with the invention of modern plastics we can now do much better.
I have a meerschaum that's almost 100 years old with an amber stem. I used to smoke it occasionally but have retired it. The last few times I smoked it I noticed tiny slivers of amber in my mouth... and I'm a guy who has been smoking some of my pipes for over 50 years and they don't so any teeth marks, so I don't think the problem is me. Bottom line is... amber can become brittle. I suspect weather conditions have something to do with it. It's looks cools, but in the end, it doesn't make for a very good or lasting stem.
I have a meerschaum that's almost 100 years old with an amber stem. I used to smoke it occasionally but have retired it. The last few times I smoked it I noticed tiny slivers of amber in my mouth... and I'm a guy who has been smoking some of my pipes for over 50 years and they don't so any teeth marks, so I don't think the problem is me. Bottom line is... amber can become brittle. I suspect weather conditions have something to do with it. It's looks cools, but in the end, it doesn't make for a very good or lasting stem.