Having smoked meerschaums for a few years these have become my favorite. As long as removed in a clockwise rotation the threads in the meerschaum are well protected. I have had several old bone tenons converted over by Ric. I dissemble my pipes and clean after every smoke. Due to the dimensional stability of the nylon and the self lubrication of the Delrin I have never experienced a problem. I had a couple that seemed to have a difficult draw - after drilling the tenon out to 5/32" they are perfect.