If looked after, your pipes will outlive you.
I, as well as several members on these forums, have pipes that are well over 100years old. The majority of those pipes have vulcanite stems.
Just saying.
Is it Safe to Leave Oxidation on Vulcanite?
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I, as well as several members on these forums, have pipes that are well over 100years old. The majority of those pipes have vulcanite stems.
Just saying.
I smoke indoors and outdoors and wipe my stems down with a jeweler's cloth.
I've had this one since '92. I clean my pipes after each smoke and none of my newly purchased ones have oxidized.
I had the same problem and simply sanded the tenon down to size.
It is somewhat surprising that the interweb pipe pages don't warn against cleaning acrylic stems with alcohol. I use only dish detergent and hot water on my acrylic stems.
The same interweb pipe pages also don't warn against keeping rubber stems in the light. My earliest pipes with vulcanite stems would look a lot better today if I had known that 20 years ago.
The same goes for amber.
I learned about the acrylic/alcohol issue on another forum from a member who is either a chemist or materials engineer (can't remember which). The problem is that the information goes out and then disappears as threads recede in time.
Add to that that many people in the population have limited knowledge beyond pipe brands and tobaccos. A fancy new pipe is a lot sexier than information on how to maintain it.
People love to display their collections. They're less interested in hearing anything that might diminish or complicate that pleasure. They'll screen out information that they don't want to hear.
When the first batch of C&D Carolina Red Flake was discovered to be severely contaminated with mold, C&D asked for buyers to ship their tins back to C&D for a full refund. It was a full recall of the release. A lot of smokers didn't want to hear that, didn't want to believe what they were told about the toxicity of tobacco molds, and because it wasn't what they wanted to hear, they kept the tins to smoke. Also, some kept the tins because they thought that it would be rare and therefore more valuable on the secondary market.
Many pipe smokers aren't interested in caring for their pipes beyond minimal basic care. The pipes are tools for getting a nicotine buzz, not collectibles, not object d'art. When they've worn, into the trash they go.
For the last 5-6 years I have been washing/rinsing off vulcanite stems with hot water. After drying I apply a tiny/minute coat of mineral oil. I cannot see any degradation over this period on about 50 pipes nor smell any odor.
What will happen when you first do this, when drying, they will look terrible. Some quite grey. But it always gets restored to what it was before.
Unless there is no oxidation present. Washing them removes any wax or oil that was masking it.
Quite right! Most of my pipes have oxidation present, visible only when cleaned of oil or wax.
I am not one to want highly shined stems, just so they look very good. Mileage varies as to how high a luster anyone wants.
Are you using a jewelers cloth that has the "rouge" on it or just a regular polishing cloth?
Safe, yes usually, but you may detect some degradation in how much you enjoy your pipe from then on.
No matter how I protect my vulcanite, I have a few pipes with stems that detest sunlight. There will always be some who will respond that they do not have this problem. So be it, they do not have these pipes. The two main offenders are both Charatan’s Make.
At 135 dollars if this pipe (savinelli) turns colors in the first 30 days the price will be hard to justify. I got a ks and plan on sitting the sun and using it as a daily without rotation.
Older vulcanite on some brands can be temperamental. Savinelli tends to use acrylic
Sadly even on their newer Giubileo d'Oros. That's why I mostly only collected them from the '70s and earlier.
