Looking for some advice about the above. 61g, sweet S-curve, 5.5". Would it balance as well as the same length straight? I clench almost exclusively.
Thanks for your replies.
Thanks for your replies.
Clenching a 1/2 Bent
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I think I got a "C" in high school physics, so there's my disclaimer. I think the leverage vector would be figured on the distance from the bit to the outer edge of the bowl, not the diagonal but straight out from the bit, so it wouldn't be as long as the same shank and stem done straight, so the leverage wouldn't be as great. Full bent would be still a shorter distance so would apply even less pressure from leverage. Does that make any sense? Okay, technical people; put me right. (I was shyly trying to flirt with the girl who was my physics lab partner, and she wasn't having it, so that probably didn't help my physics grade either. She was very smart and very droll.)
Salt, I smoke Peterson shape 999 (just search Peterson 999 to see them on eBay) a ll the time and I'm a full time clencher. I smoke straight pipes almost exclusively unless I smoke this style. Btw, they might be 1/4 bent but that's subjective.
I don't believe it makes much of a difference unless it's a full bent, in which case the center of gravity is closer to you and therefore closer to your teeth. Think about lifting a heavy box and holding it at arms length as opposed to holding it close to your chest, at which point it's much easier to hold for a lengthy period of time. At arms length, further from your body, that box is going to get heavy and your arms and back and shoulders are going to tire rapidly. Same with a pipe. Quarter bent pipes are going to behave more like a straight pipe as it's barely bent. Full bent, close to face, easier to clench.
Ha ha, MSO, I took four years of high school French before I realized Amy Ross probably wasn’t going to think I was any cooler for copying her French homework on the bus.
Is there a picture in this post? But, bent pipes tend to clench well... just not my preference.
Is there a picture in this post? But, bent pipes tend to clench well... just not my preference.
Smoke bents, to some degree or another, exclusively. My question is how do you clench. My style is using the rear molars and the bit mostly rests there with the jaw slack. I tend to clamp a bit harder when doing physical work. Balance isn't all that important for me so, your prospective pipe would "clench" just fine I think.
I clench the same regardless of bend. Hang the bit on your front bottom teeth and close your jaw enough for your top teeth to just come down on the bit enough to keep the pipe from falling out.
Independent of the shape of the mouthpiece, I would think ease of clinching would be defined as the amount of force you have to apply with your teeth to keep the pipe in your mouth. An Oom Paul would be the easiest pipe to clinch as the weight would mostly be pulling straight down. It wouldn't require much force from the upper teeth. Conversely, a straight pipe of similar length would be the most difficult to clinch. If length is the same, the greater the bend, the easier the pipe would be to clinch. Of course, a thinner, wider mouthpiece is going to be easiest to clinch as well.
banjo talks about the clench that is really a hang. I tried but the pipe never felt secure. I'll try it again.
I don't use my front teeth because of a bit of an overbite. A comfortable clench is dependent on jaw shape, dental structure, etc. Not everyone can find a comfortable pipe or clench position. I find thicker, less delicate bits easier to clench. For thin, finely crafted bits I have to add a "softy" or use more pressure than I'm comfortable with.
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