Stem Material
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The reasons for varying experiences with vulcanite are: 1) different formulations; 2) different storage environments; and 3) different smoker body chemistry
The reasons for varying experiences with acrylic are; 1) different formulations; 2) different smoker tooth sensitivity; and 3) most factory-made acrylic stems are poorly cut (meaning ergonomically)
Whatever your "take" or "stance" on the issue, examples can be found to back up your view of it. That's why it'll never be settled.
My preference? As long as it is TRULY well cut and made from premium material, an acrylic stem wins.
Poorly cut or made from that cheap glassy stuff? Fugeddaboudit. n f w
Proof: Here's a pipe I made for myself a few months ago that had no constraints. A "pure smoker." No brand to worry about, no one to please but myself. I chose acrylic. Why? Because I could select the material and shape it myself.
The reasons for varying experiences with acrylic are; 1) different formulations; 2) different smoker tooth sensitivity; and 3) most factory-made acrylic stems are poorly cut (meaning ergonomically)
Whatever your "take" or "stance" on the issue, examples can be found to back up your view of it. That's why it'll never be settled.
My preference? As long as it is TRULY well cut and made from premium material, an acrylic stem wins.
Poorly cut or made from that cheap glassy stuff? Fugeddaboudit. n f w
Proof: Here's a pipe I made for myself a few months ago that had no constraints. A "pure smoker." No brand to worry about, no one to please but myself. I chose acrylic. Why? Because I could select the material and shape it myself.
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I stick to acrylic generally, but I’ve bought a few estates with vulcanite just because I liked the pipe.
I am lazy as hell, and I just get irritated with the admittedly minimal maintenance required to keep vulcanite stems in order. I don’t mind regular pipe cleaning maintenance, however, so I can’t really explain it. Likewise washing dishes is no big deal to me, but vacuuming feels like a chore. ?
.
In any event, I hate the feel of any stem material between my teeth, so I use softy bits on both. Admittedly ugly, but I cut the buttons off and seat them right up against the back of the stem button for a lower profile.
The good thing is we all have the freedom to choose what we like and snicker at others who do it differently. Maybe this would be a good topic for a tedious panel discussion at the next pipe show, with feats of strength as the final arbiter.
I am lazy as hell, and I just get irritated with the admittedly minimal maintenance required to keep vulcanite stems in order. I don’t mind regular pipe cleaning maintenance, however, so I can’t really explain it. Likewise washing dishes is no big deal to me, but vacuuming feels like a chore. ?
.In any event, I hate the feel of any stem material between my teeth, so I use softy bits on both. Admittedly ugly, but I cut the buttons off and seat them right up against the back of the stem button for a lower profile.
The good thing is we all have the freedom to choose what we like and snicker at others who do it differently. Maybe this would be a good topic for a tedious panel discussion at the next pipe show, with feats of strength as the final arbiter.
Askwith uses a polyester stem material that I like almost as much as vulcanite.
All engineering solutions are compromises by definition. In fact, finding the optimal compromise for a given application/situation is a good definition of what engineering is.
Certain formulations of polyester can indeed make a good pipe stem. The catch being that it only works well when left straight. A full bend will not hold, and even a quarter bend is iffy and usually straightens over time.
Since bent pipes outnumber 2 to 1 in popularity---and have for 150 years---not many pipe makers want to paint themselves into a corner with it. (It also requires somewhat different fabrication techniques than rubber or acrylic, so has a learning curve.)
Chris has stuck with it, though, and now uses polyester for most of his pipes. He's become the artisan world's "go to" guy for it, in fact.
I have a Porsche design pipe with the most comfortable stem I've ever tried. It's a shiny black acrylic (according to Pipedia) that resists tooth marks but has a bit of give and resilience the makes it as comfortable to clench as vulcanite. The tenon is made of a different matte material that's softer and slipperier, like Teflon, that allows the stem to be removed safely when the pipe is hot. It fits snuggly in the mortise and slides easily in and out almost as if it were lubricated. Gotta love those German engineers.
I've thinking about stem material and how acrylic differes from vulcanite for me. The former is slicker and feels better. I don't clinch as a rule. That said, the restored stem in a newly acquired Kaywoodie 13B is vulcanite and is so nice. It feels very thin walled, but perhaps its just my perception. It took a few uses to get used to this shape, but used it Friday and had a good experience.
Do you think, over time, if you slowly replaced your acrylic stems you would get pipes you like into your rotation?
Do you smoke outside or inside where there are big windows that are not tinted against the sun? All my pipes except 2 have Ebonite stems made from high quality German vulcanite. None of that cheaper smelly shit that some of the carvers use to save money.
If you have a load of older high sulfur laden stems then you will stay on the oxidising train till you get rid of those.
I also use Obidisian on my stems and think it is a great product.
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.
I'm eager to try an Askwith polyester stemed morta I recently purchased. Definitely curious to see how it compares to vulcanite and acrylic. I will add the fact that Vulcanite formulas seems to vary greatly. Some of my pipes have very good vulcanite that denies oxidation. Others seem to attract it.
Not sure if I want to stick something in my mouth that looks like a piece of recycled cooking equipment ?
I'm partial to vulcanite when I can get it. The last two pipes I've ordered were spec'ed out as having vulcanite stems and were acrylic. I didn't complain because they're light weight and I don't object to it. But apparently there are some young retailers out there who don't know the difference when they're spec'ing the pipes for sale. I think more pipe makers are using acrylic more often.
Acrylic is just fine. Metal dashboards, push and pull button car radios, and tires and brakes that only got 20-30 K miles. Ball joints and old fashioned tie rods, and stylized steel fenders that rusted above the head lights. Steering wheels the size of bicycle tires. These oldies were not and are not my favorite things. My dad cursed at the demise of each of the above. Finally, at the age of 80 he replaced all of his vulcanite pipe stems with acrylic. I wonder why?
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.