How to Maintain Vulcanite Stems Easy and Safe?

[elnoblecigarro]

EDIT: Fixed Capitalization in Title (See Rule 9)

Hello,
here is a picture of my pipe stems showing some oxidation. I have smoked these pipes for four years and never done any oxidation removal. I can't taste any odd taste coming from them. I don't have access to specialty chemicals like Oxiclean and I am hesitant to use harsh chemicals like bleach (the stem goes to my mouth after all). I've read that people use baking soda and olive oil? How does one do this? Should the baking soda be mixed with water and rubbed on stem and then just apply olive oil? Is this enough?

Also is oxidation just an aesthetic issue or does it actually ruin the pipe when it gets to a certain point? I really don't care about the appearance of my pipes, but want to keep them as working tools to enjoy tobacco. I highly prefer vulcanite stems to acrylic so I will stick with vulcanite.

Pipes from left to right: Peterson Tankard, Peterson Tyrone 80s (before this summer I thought this one had acrylic stem, but apparently not) and on the right Savinelli Unfinished (Series III, I believe).




Thanks in advance. This is my first post by the way so hello to everyone

 

[hoosierpipeguy]

I'm no expert but I believe it is a cosmetic issue, not a smoking issue. If you don't care about the looks, I wouldn't worry about it. However, they're relatively easy to clean with some very fine sandpaper or even a polishing wheel and some polishing compound. There are several bottles of chemicals you can get from places like smoking pipes that will help prevent nonoccurence once you would get them clean.

 

[Chasing Embers]

On newly purchased pipes I've kept them clean and applied Obsidian Oil to them after each use. On estate purchases I remove the oxidation with a lighter and a wet paper towel then thumb buff with toothpaste.

 

[elnoblecigarro]

Obsidian oil is hard to obtain where I'm from (I'm in Europe and I would likely have to order it from some other country), so I would rather try to find a substitute that can be found in any store. Reason I'm worried about the oxidation is because I read online that it can start to taste sour and smell bad. But then again people online swear that they can taste Zippo fluid....

@chasingembers
How do you use a lighter to remove it? Those pipes look great.

By the way, I'm sure that using whisky to clean my pipes has contributed to the oxidation. I wiped the mouthpiece of my Savinelli the other day with single malt whisky, and it looked worse after it.

 

[PaulTheScandinavian]

Obsidian oil is hard to obtain where I'm from (I'm in Europe and I would likely have to order it from some other country), so I would rather try to find a substitute that can be found in any store. Reason I'm worried about the oxidation is because I read online that it can start to taste sour and smell bad. But then again people online swear that they can taste Zippo fluid....

@chasingembers
How do you use a lighter to remove it? Those pipes look great.

By the way, I'm sure that using whisky to clean my pipes has contributed to the oxidation. I wiped the mouthpiece of my Savinelli the other day with single malt whisky, and it looked worse after it.

standard refined mineral(aka parafine) oil at pharmacy has the same benefits as obsidian does yet some folks here seem to use what they call Lipsticks, Carmex and brands alike

 

[hoosierpipeguy]

Google is your friend. Smoking Pipes Europe Obsidian Oil

 

[Casual]

Does anyone also maintain the airway in their stems with obsidian oil? When wiping down the outside, it occurs to me that the inside also gets pretty wet, which could lead to quick oxidation.

I was thinking of a drop of obsidian oil on a cleaner to run through as a last step.

 

[donjgiles]

I would recommend a drinkable alcohol for the inside of the stem.
Usually the inside does not oxidize. Most oxidization comes from the stem being in direct sunlight.

 

[sandollars]

Obsidian oils is expensive and unnecessary IMHO.

I use Almond oil (just because I have it around for my woodwind and other ebony instruments) but any nut oil will do.

As others have mentioned, some like to use paraffin based products.

You have to start with a clean slate. Oils or waxes will not bring back a oxidized stem. You have to sand off (with very fine paper) the oxidation then buff it back out.

Use Bon Ami cleanser powder to bring out the shine. It's super cheap and non toxic.

 

[BROBS]

Obsidian Snake Oil. I’ll sell you some if you’d like. I can pour some of my butcher block oil into a tiny bottle.

 

[BROBS]

any nut oil will do.

? ? ?

 

[Richmond B. Funkenhouser]

The lighter method that Chasingembers mentioned has worked well for me.

 

[BROBS]

The lighter method that Chasingembers mentioned has worked well for me.

I damn near burned a stem and straightened another. ?

 

[cigrmaster]

The high quality German Ebonite is really easy with Obidisian. I have not found anything as good and I always look.

 

[Richmond B. Funkenhouser]

I damn near burned a stem and straightened another. ?

I don't like the way It feels.. I say the idea is to damn near burn it. I tried it last night and It worked.. I could see somebody ruining their pipe stem, but I have seen it work. Using magic erasers and sand paper takes FOREVER. So I'm going to try and master the art.. I will say I tried it on my shittiest pipe.

 

[lawdawg]

You dedicated vulcanite guys will hate this, but the easiest way to maintain a stem in good condition is for it to be acrylic

I have a slight preference for vulcanite myself, but I’ve found it’s the shape of the button that matters most to my smoking experience as far as the stem goes. I just accept that there will be a certain amount of oxidization over time on my vulcanite stems. I put a little mineral oil on them periodically, and will polish them once in a blue moon once the oxidazation starts to really show. I’d prefer to avoid overpolishing them - they’ll eventually start to loose their shape.

 

[tfdickson]

I use the candle/lighter method to remove light teeth marks but for general oxidation removal micromesh sanding pads have worked best for me. The pack I bought years ago ranges from 1500 grit to 12000. I’ve never used the coarsest pads. I start at 3600 and then work my way up- 4000, 6000, 8000, and 12000. 3600, 4000, and 6000 I do wet- over the sink, water running, rinsing the stem every so often. The guiding principle here is to remove as little material as possible- oxidation is bad but a step down at the stem/shank joint is a disaster in my opinion. Once I go through the micromesh pads I finish it with Halcyon Wax. I do this on maybe 4 stems a year out of a collection of 60 plus (okay 80 plus) pipes. Usually the whole thing takes about 30 minutes.

 

[BROBS]

I don't like the way It feels.. I say the idea is to damn near burn it. I tried it last night and It worked.. I could see somebody ruining their pipe stem, but I have seen it work. Using magic erasers and sand paper takes FOREVER. So I'm going to try and master the art.. I will say I tried it on my shittiest pipe.

Yeah for sure. I didn’t ruin them but there’s a fine line between it doing jack schit, and burning your stem.

 

[jpmcwjr]

Mineral Oil is way cheaper than mineral oil with black die and possibly some UV blockers, and available at your Chemist's, Drug Store, Hardware store, maybe even gas station.

I'd first just rub the stem down with just a drop or two of mineral oil, see how they look. They may pass your inspection. Other more rigorous treatment can then happen if they aren't shiny or black enough for you.

Please post photos!

 

[trubka2]

Those stems don't look that bad to me. I'd just rub them down with coarse toothpaste and put some mineral or nut oil on them to start. That might be good enough, and not a big pain in the neck.