Stem Material

[OzPiper]

A large number of my pipes are old Brit woods, and so vulcanite or Amber or horn stems is in keeping with the era of those pipes.
I have a Stanwell which I bought new in the '70s with a horribly oxidised vulcanite stem which I replaced with a new acrylic stem. I did have a choice of a new vulcanite stem, but not knowing the quality of the material offered, I thought acrylic was the more practical option.

 

[OzPiper]

Why, I have a 60 year old LP with no scratches and it's just as shiny as the day I bought it. Digital, smigital I say. Analog just feels better. Something is lost with music that is made up of 1s and 0s. When I can't get any more LPs I am going to stop listening to music.

My best friend at university was very interested in hi-fi. His over-indulgent mother gifted him expensive toys eg a Transcriptor turntable (as featured in the film"A Clockwork Orange"), electrostatic speakers, Quad amplifiers etc. the first time Ihe invited me over to hear his gear, he spent a good 15 mins fiddling with his equipment and almost as much time placing a chair In the optimum listening position. Then he switched on his equipment to the sound of silence. When I suggested that he had forgotten to put a record on, his response was " don't you love the utter silence - the lack of hiss&crackle and feedback" !
He gifted a whole stack of LPs that I'd borrowed from him, because having been played on my cheap, basic equipment, those records were forever "scarred" and not worthy of his fine instruments.

Our search for perfection can take us down some strange paths. Just saying

 

[mingc]

When I suggested that he had forgotten to put a record on, his response was " don't you love the utter silence - the lack of hiss&crackle and feedback" !

That's really funny!

Unfortunately, I can't tell you. But I can show you what 140 year old Vulcanite stem looks like before restoration:

As well as 116 year old unmaintained Vulcanite:

But as for 40 year old Vulcanite, can't help you there.

There is acrylic material available that has the give of top quality Vulcanite and cheap acrylic that is super brittle and shatters. There's cheap Vulcanite that discolors in the blink of an eye, is hard with no give, and not a little gritty, and higher quality Vulcanite that resists discoloration fairly well as long as it's not left in direct sulight by a slobbering moron. I've just had a Lee Von Erck pipe restemmed by George Dibos using a rare acrylic rod stock bought from Butera that feels like Vucanite.

There is a wider range of materials available than many members here seem to realize.

Those Barling stems prove that they perfected the recipe for Vulcanite more than 100 years ago, but then either lost it or the bean-counters tossed it.