One Kinky Question

[aldecaker]

Believe it or not, I used to smoke a pipe so rarely that I survived for about 20 years with only one MM Legend. It was the straight version; if I wanted to smoke a bent pipe, I would use my trusty old Dr. Grabow Savoy. When I started pipe smoking full time, I checked out MM's again. To my surprise, their bent stems were no longer bent, they were kinked! The upshot is, every bent cob I have bought in the last few years has the stock kinked stem thrown away, and replaced with a straight stem that I have bent properly.
Can anyone tell me when MM started kinking instead of bending? 20-plus years ago, I don't remember them being that way, or is my memory just crapping out?

 

[warren]

For the definitive answer, email and ask Missouri Meerschaum. I don't remember or else never paid heed to a change in the bend. I'm supposing I never noticed any change in smoking characteristics when the change was made. Though I'd prefer a gently arc, I buy cobs for the utilitarian value and "smokability", not the looks.

 

[aldecaker]

Yeah, I buy them for utilitarian reasons too. The sharp bend rests on my lower lip in a way I don't care for, though, whereas the gentle bend doesn't. (I also have a little OCD thing for having the button end of the stem parallel to the top of the bowl.)

 

[warren]

I admire a man that sees a problem and then fixes it to his satisfaction. "Local manufacture" is a lost art.