stinger vs no stinger
- Thread starter philous
- Start date
SmokingPipes.com Updates
Watch for Updates Twice a Week
PipesMagazine Approved Sponsor
Site Sponsors
PipesMagazine Approved Sponsor
PipesMagazine Approved Sponsor
PipesMagazine Approved Sponsor
PipesMagazine Approved Sponsor
- Status
If people vote with their wallets, the stinger went out of fashion in earlier decades. Stingers are still installed in pipes, and people buy stinger pipes as estate pipes all the time, and some of the stingers are not easily removable, like the Kaywoodie Drinkless where the stinger is part of the screw-on stem. Many people who buy pipes that turn out to have stingers just slide them out if they are easily removable. I have never found stingers to be particularly useful; I don't notice much or any difference except that you have to pull the pipe apart each smoke and wipe off the stinger to properly clean the pipe, which seems like needless wear and tear. Stingers might help smokers who always generate a lot of moister by choice of blend or a lot of saliva entering the airway. Most of us don't have those problems so much. I'd recommend not buying pipes with stinger if you have a choice. All that said, my one Kaywoodie Drinkless smokes nicely and may be a very slightly dryer smoke, but demands the usual trouble of unscrewing the stem and wiping it out after each smoke. When I have pulled the stingers from two or three pipes, I label them and store them in case of an unlikely sale later.
Since I collect only Kaywoodies I'll chime in.
Kaywoodies that are pre-1950 (4-digit and some 2-digit) the stingers are generally a large ball with 4 holes. These smoke just fine.
Kaywoodies post 1950 (all 2 digit) have either a three hole stinger or small ball with four holes....these smoke terribly and need to be chopped.
My opinion...your mileage may vary
The very best Kaywoodies with stingers are the push stem version which was produced from roughly 1926-1929 (while these are 2 digit it's obvious they're not the trash 2 digit)
Kaywoodies that are pre-1950 (4-digit and some 2-digit) the stingers are generally a large ball with 4 holes. These smoke just fine.
Kaywoodies post 1950 (all 2 digit) have either a three hole stinger or small ball with four holes....these smoke terribly and need to be chopped.
My opinion...your mileage may vary
The very best Kaywoodies with stingers are the push stem version which was produced from roughly 1926-1929 (while these are 2 digit it's obvious they're not the trash 2 digit)
I have both pipes with and without and I cant tell a difference between smoking with a pipe with a stinger
I remove all stingers immediately: Don't want extra stuff to clean, and I like running a pipe cleaner through in one go. Taste diff? Probably not.
Hi Phil, welcome to the forum. As well as the advice above you might want to consider the fact that most stingers will not allow a pipecleaner to pass fully into the bowl. This is important if your pipe 'gurgles' due to over moist tobacco or poor smoking technique.
Regards,
Jay.
Regards,
Jay.
I have several estate pipes with stingers. As to what mso said, I wonder if it was a voting with wallet thing or whether manufacturers simply gravitated away from using them due to cost or some other factor? All I can say is that all of my stingers are different in design, most are easily removed if desired, I leave them in place, find them very little trouble to keep clean and the pipes all smoke great. As most of them are stubby bulldogs, I had assumed it was a barrier to any juices or things.
I have a Kaywoodie that I believe falls into your latter category, it is a model 96, but only has ONE hole, and it smokes just fine. I am neither attracted by nor repelled by the stinger--- if the pipe has it, fine, I assume the manufacturer put it there for a reason. In theory, they should work. All I can say is that any pipe I have ever had with a juice problem or other undesired matter getting to my mouth, was WITHOUT a stinger. I tend to see them as a "filter" that works without actual filtration.
From a collector's standpoint, you want to keep the stinger on the pipe or if it's removable keep it in case you someday decide to sell it.
From a practical standpoint it seems to be a personal preference. Most of the time I prefer no filter. A metal stinger is fine unless there are issues with inhibiting the draw, but that's rare. There's nothing worse than getting a bit of bitter tasting tobacco or ash when doing the first light. A stinger will prevent that.
From a practical standpoint it seems to be a personal preference. Most of the time I prefer no filter. A metal stinger is fine unless there are issues with inhibiting the draw, but that's rare. There's nothing worse than getting a bit of bitter tasting tobacco or ash when doing the first light. A stinger will prevent that.
I've had pipes with stingers and they don't do diddly. What they do is prevent passing a pipe cleaner, so when (not if) condensation forms, it either causes the pipe to gurgle or the smoker suck the yuck into their mouth. So I yanked the stingers and threw them away. The only stinger pipe I currently own is a vintage Comoy's pot, stinger long gone.
Happy you added "if", because 95% of the time pipes gurgle because of poor-quality manufacture...improper drilling or a gap between where the front of the tenon bottoms out in the stummel.
If the pipe is not collectible, I'd probably cut or remove the stinger. I smoke 3 and 4 hole Kaywoodies and can't find much of a difference (actually, none). With a screw in Kaywoodie, you can of course remove the stem in mid-smoke to run a cleaner into the bowl, but I've never found that necessary.
All my pipes are without a stinger, except for one Pierre Morel..It has a ball stinger with a screw like body.. and it smokes awful.. I tried removing it and it smoked better
Have a few 2-digit Kaywoodies and they smoke just fine. I often times remove the stem mid smoke to wipe it off,no big deal. I smoke for an hour doing nothing so cleaning a stinger for another extra 30 seconds is just fine for me. I also don't mind prepping flakes/plugs for 5 minutes before smoking it.
I've discovered that I now enjoy many pipes with these sorts of extensions. (stingers/condensers) and have replace a couple in pipes that I'd removed them from.
I've become more adept at smoking a pipe and now appreciate the difference these can make in the draw and how they help keep shanks cleaner.
I have a couple of Kaywoodie's and these may be the most difficult of stingers to master as those holes tend to cause gurgle when wet or clogged. Cadence is all important.
I've become more adept at smoking a pipe and now appreciate the difference these can make in the draw and how they help keep shanks cleaner.
I have a couple of Kaywoodie's and these may be the most difficult of stingers to master as those holes tend to cause gurgle when wet or clogged. Cadence is all important.
I have one Kaywoodie, smoked terrible with the stinger, a little less terrible with the stinger clipped; gurgles too much even with the stinger clipped, and is thus smoked very infrequently.
I've got several vintage Dr Grabows, and I always smoke them without the stinger.
In my opinion stingers are useless, and create the problem they were created to avoid: gurgle and a wet smoke.
It speaks volumes, that artisan pipes, and most non-budget factory pipes were not made with stingers.
Even the longest holdout for stingers, Kaywoodie, no longer makes a pipe with a stinger; all new production Kaywoodies no longer have the stinger. So even they didn't think they were necessary!
I've got several vintage Dr Grabows, and I always smoke them without the stinger.
In my opinion stingers are useless, and create the problem they were created to avoid: gurgle and a wet smoke.
It speaks volumes, that artisan pipes, and most non-budget factory pipes were not made with stingers.
Even the longest holdout for stingers, Kaywoodie, no longer makes a pipe with a stinger; all new production Kaywoodies no longer have the stinger. So even they didn't think they were necessary!
Actually when those four and three hole Kaywoodies were made, almost every major manufacturer used some form of a stinger - Dunhill, Comoys and even later Castello. Not all Kaywoodies smoke well, particularly the later, low-end lines.
ashdigger's response mirrors my Kaywoodie experience almost perfectly.
I found the early production, large ball, 4-hole stingers to perform the best, although sometimes the screw mechanism can leak, an unpleasant effect. The latter production 3-hole, smaller ball ones are rather lame and not worth buying. I concentrate on shopping for, and sometimes even buying, pre-1955 KWs
I have a Hyde Park billiard with push tenon and a stinger identical to the old KWs except that the large ball has NO holes. It smokes great, better than the KWs.
A corollary question might be "What is a stinger?". My old Parker has a metal tube which extends all the way through the airway. Good smoker, no issues, and I appreciate the cleaner airway and ease of cleaning. Conversely a Brebbia I have sports a similar tube but it is BAFFLED. Yes it works but is a pain in the butt to clean.
{Yes, I like animated avatars; mine shows me as a flighty old hound dog - which my wife claims I am. Besides, my ugly mug is in my profile. That's enough.}
I found the early production, large ball, 4-hole stingers to perform the best, although sometimes the screw mechanism can leak, an unpleasant effect. The latter production 3-hole, smaller ball ones are rather lame and not worth buying. I concentrate on shopping for, and sometimes even buying, pre-1955 KWs
I have a Hyde Park billiard with push tenon and a stinger identical to the old KWs except that the large ball has NO holes. It smokes great, better than the KWs.
A corollary question might be "What is a stinger?". My old Parker has a metal tube which extends all the way through the airway. Good smoker, no issues, and I appreciate the cleaner airway and ease of cleaning. Conversely a Brebbia I have sports a similar tube but it is BAFFLED. Yes it works but is a pain in the butt to clean.
{Yes, I like animated avatars; mine shows me as a flighty old hound dog - which my wife claims I am. Besides, my ugly mug is in my profile. That's enough.}
If anyone wants to cut the stinger on a Kaywoodie, let's talk about sending me that pipe first. I love Kaywoodie pipes, but I definitely agree that there is a huge difference between the 4 hole stinger and the later ones. Nearly all of mine are early 4 hole stingers. I have a 5116 that is likely from 1932 and it is one of the finest pipes I've ever smoked.
- Status