Stems and Mouthpieces

[Druffy42]

Greetings fellow pipe enthusiasts, any suggestions on where I can find replacement stems for an unfiltered crown brand pipe with an 8mm (5/16") shaft? Trying to find stems online is maddening. I've ordered from two different places and they don't fit. Previous mouthpiece was good for years and I snapped it tapping out on my shoe.

 

[buzkirk]

A good place to start would be Steve Norse @ Vermontfreehand

 

[chopper]

Tapping a pipe on anything is a bad habit IMO.
A metal pipe like a Falcon might probably be okay but if one keeps tapping a briar pipe, sooner or later many will crack or break.

It's not usually an efficient way to clean out a bowl anyway as there's usually dottle clinging on after a tap.
Get yourself half-a-dozen Czech pipe tools. They're really cheap.

I've got dozens of pipe tools and rather like antique ones like this lot that I won on ebay for $9.50.

 

[scloyd]

Another option is Ric at Briarville. He made me a new stem for a Savinelli at a reasonable price.

 

[bullet08]

Typically I hold on to the shank and tap on the heel of my hand. I'm not sure, but I doubt that will break the stummel. If you hold on to the stem and do that, I guess there is a chance the tenon will break after a lengthy period.

 

[mikestanley]

A hard lesson I learned back in the 1980s only in my case, it was the trash can at work, not my heel.


Mike S.

 

[supperthyme]

Seems unlikely that you'd find a suitable replacement buying generic stems. Like @scloyd did, you can have a new stem custom made by certain artisans or repairmen. Reach out to a few people- someone will be up to the task.

 

[sablebrush52]

Walker Pipe Repair is a long trusted source for stem work, as is Briarville, and for exceptionally fine work on stems there's Cook's Fine Pipeworks, just to name a few.
I never tap out a pipe against anything hard, but then again, I own some really nice pieces. When tapping I'm holding the pipe by the heel of the bowl, not the shank or stem. I like my pipes to be in good shape and I like them to last.

 

[paulfg]

another option if the tenon has snapped is to have a replacement tenon fitted to the original stem