The Importance of the Pipe Stem

[crashthegrey]

With my first purchase of a fully handmade pipe (by Tim Thorpe) I discovered the importance of the stem. I'd known the difference, but it never made me truly decide what pipe to smoke. Being a clencher, the stem is vital. Acrylic tends to rattle around too much, especially if it is cold. I like ebonite, and I tend to prefer a thin stem (not narrow) with a thick button to hold it in better. There are very distinct grooves in every stem of mine, where I clearly hold each stem in the exact same spot. I like a taper for better balance, although I have a Morgan Pipes Blackjack where the saddle rests on my bottom lip and holds itself in place better. As stated above, wide is nice, but too wide and it gets awkward. I'd hate to make stems for people, as every one is different, and even I vary what I like depending on the weight and feel of the pipe.

 

[fitzy]

Forgot to mention that I don't like saddle stems for some reason.

 

[condorlover1]

Stems are hugely important otherwise you would burn your lips :rofl:

 

[samcoffeeman]

I stay away from acrylic. My experience in restoration has taught me that the acrylic material gets just pliable enough from regular heat during the smoke that the tars will actually meld with the inside of the draft and be quite difficult to remove.

 

[samcoffeeman]

My favorite buttons:

Artisan: Nate King

Estate: Old Barlings/Comoys

 

[georged]

I am not sure what this is. Are you talking a small piece of plastic off the tenon?

In this case vulcanite, but yes.
I happen by purest chance to have a picture of it, in fact. I ended up giving the P-lip to someone here on the board a couple years ago, and took the pic before mailing to confirm it was the correct shape for his pipe. I also included the fishtail as an additional data point. (His pipe was from the same Peterson model series)
This is the actual pipe I was talking about earlier in this thread, with both iits original and replacement stem. (You can see how long ago I made it by the worn look of the fishtail replacement) The parallel-sided tube extending past the tapered area on the "pipe end" is what I was talking about. It just hangs in space, making contact with nothing in this design. (The shank is a small hollow chamber).
I originally left it appx 1 mm longer on the fishtail replacement than what you see in the pic.
Shortening it "back to stock" magically "tuned" it somehow.
.

.

I would love to learn how to mess around with my pipe stems to see if that will fix some of my under-performing pipes, but I have no clue where to start.

Just keep in mind that all you can do is REMOVE material, and once it's gone there's no going back. :D

 

[skraps]

I don't think there is a pipe that I have owned that I did not alter the stem in some way. With the exception of most of my Scottie pipes.
Almost every pipe that has ever crossed my path is too thick behind the button as well as having a button that is too pronounced. I typically will remove material on the top and bottom of the stem behind the button about an inch back, as well as file the button down.
Being a clencher, the bite is very important to me.

 

[mawnansmiff]

"I'd hate to make stems for people, as every one is different..."
Crash, I would suggest should you ever commission another pipe then send in to your chosen pipemaker your favourite stem for him (her?) to use as a guide in making your new one.
Regards,
Jay.

 

[didimauw]

Sounds to me like clickclick is giving out free samples!!! :D

 

[crashthegrey]

Thanks, Jay. Not a bad idea. Fortunately Tim has the same basic preference as me, so as long as I'm buying from him, I'm set. Not that I really will only buy from one, that would be crazy. I need many more pipe makers than I have now. Many.

 

[didimauw]

Has anyone ever had a cheap Grabow stem replaced with a nice new after market acrylic one? That's something is like to do.

 

[aldecaker]

@Didimauw- Being a big Grabow fan, I've certainly thought about it. But one of the biggest reasons I like Grabows is their "system"; an aluminum push tenon that will accommodate a 6mm balsa absorber for when you want one (I'm lookin' at you, goopers!), yet smokes fine without one the rest of the time. I don't think I could replicate that with a custom stem, and frankly, I already have a ton of quality non-filter pipes. There is one line of Grabows that use acrylic stems; have you given one of those a shot?
EDIT: The Royalton is the line with acrylic stems (I had to look it up).

 

[didimauw]

I will have to look into them, thank you!-