Really Hate Vulcanite Now

[workman]

I prefer acrylic stems. If they are well crafted they are good clenchers. I hate unnecessary maintenance and that's the main reason for me to not like vulcanite. Coincidentally, the few vulcanite stems I have are worse for clenching than my best acrylic bits. Craftsmanship is everything.

 

[npod]

I go back and forth. It's love/hate for both materials. Both have advantages and disadvantages.

 

[cosmicfolklore]

This all sounds nothing like my experiences with Vulcanite. I "have" used wax and oils on my stems sporadically, but I really don't make a routine of this at all, rarely ever use it. I just make sure to hand buff my stems a little before putting them back in the rack. They set in the windshield of my truck for hours at a time in the blazing Alabama sun, and get rinsed with water almost everytime I use them. According to forum lore, my stems should be green and matte. I don't have any answers as to why some people seem to have worse luck with vulcanite than others. But, if this had been a vulcanite-wide problem, I don't think pipes would have remained a "thing" for hundreds of years. Keep in mind that buffers were not a thing that men could just buy back in first of last century, nor was "obsidian oil".

 

[pappymac]

I have several pipes with vulcanite stems but I generally just wipe them down good after use and store in my pipe cabinet. The only one I have a problem with oxidation is my newest, a Peterson Fermoy, I got in January. It worked on it for two days before I got the deep oxidation removed and I have to hand buff it after use and I keep it in the pipe sock it came with.
Most oxidation concerns I've read about is the exposure to daylight. I've often wondered about how the differences in body chemistry affects the vulcanite stems also.

 

[krizzose]

I’m a hard clencher, so I use softy bits on any stem, vulcanite or acrylic. I prefer acrylic to avoid the extra maintenance. That being said, I also avoid extra maintenance with my vulcanite stems by just not doing the extra maintenance. A little oxidation gives those pipes a nice broken in look. Or I’m just lazy

 

[hawky454]

That puke greenish color is the natural state of vulcanite. Shinning and polishing it only keeps it from its natural state temporarily but it will always, eventually return to its natural state, some grades of vulcanite take longer than other grades. Yeah, you can work it and buff it and polish it constantly to keep it from its natural state but it’s a pita and I’m with ya, I’d rather just go Acrylic and avoid that nasty puke green color all together. I like my pipes like I like my woman, low maintenance. :mrgreen

 

[cigrmaster]

All of my artisan made pipes have high quality German vulcanite and they are not a problem. After smoking I use a little Obidisian stem oil and they all stay nice. I have 2 pipes that have the older sulfur laden vulcanite stems that oxidize if I look at them funny. One is an older Upshall the other is a Lane Era Charatan. If all my pipes had that cheaper vulcanite, I would never have them all. They are a pain in the ass and I can see how people would not want to bother with them.

 

[mso489]

Most pipers who have a few or more pipes have run into excessively oxidized Vulcanite. I sure have. But the first pipe I ever bought, which I still have, has a Vulcanite stem, and like most of my Vulcanite stems, this one after forty years is still in good shape, not perfect but responsive to a good polishing. I've had one or two others that got gritty with oxidation after every smoke and I replaced one with complete satisfaction, with tortoise shell acrylic. But at least half my pipes have Vulcanite stems that are a little softer than acrylic, durable, and a pleasure to smoke.

 

[didimauw]

I bought a university pipe a few years ago, it was aged briar from 30? Years ago or so they say, that had a vulcanite stem on it. I haven't had issues with the coloring on it, but I almost chewed a hole through it in a week. I have had a couple vintage pipes that there stems are turning green. I don't even wanna put the work into making them black again.

 

[tulsagentleman]

Many of my older pipes have vulcanite stems and I do like the feel of the bite. I clench part of the time and think they have a better "feel". But they do tend to oxidize. If they are clean they feel smooth and feel OK but are a bit unsightly. It doesn't really bother me but I have some that I want to sell and should get these looking nice. I have done the Oxiclean and sanding pad treatment which works but is a lot of trouble. I recently bought a two-part kit from Walker Pipes that shows promise but the jury is still out on that. Is there a magic way to clean an oxidized vulcanite stem that does not require an hour's worth of elbow grease?

 

[cosmicfolklore]

In working on the worst green Estate pipe stems, I have never had to give more than 15 minutes with micro-mesh under running water. I think the bleach and oxiclean stuff sounds a little too labor intensive for me.
On the micromesh pads, I don't start with the most abrasive, but about four pads from the finest, and start there.

 

[PaulTheScandinavian]

Over the years I have had some brand new Petersons with vulcanite stems which started turning dull and coloring right after few smokes,also some of older estate Savinellis gave me constant battle with oxidation, whereas German Vulcanite proved to be the very best.