Viprati horn stem - maintenance?

[garageboy]

I have a Luigi Viprati pipe that I've had terrible luck with. First I managed to scratch the rim with a paper towel while wiping some tar build up with, and now I discover I have a giant chip near the button of my horn stem (I don't bite my stem, so not even sure how it got chipped, maybe banged against something?)

Do horn stems need any extra care in general?

 

[georged]

Unless horn has been professionally stabilized---meaning a specialized hardening resin has been forced into it with vacuum & pressure cycling---it makes a poor stem material.

It sounds like yours was not.

 

[OzPiper]

Unless horn has been professionally stabilized---meaning a specialized hardening resin has been forced into it with vacuum & pressure cycling---it makes a poor stem material.

^^^^^ this
Horn is quite soft and looks terrible if clenched/chewed.
Saliva will soften it.
I have seen old horn stem bearing evidence of weevil/beetle damage.
I use rubber/silicon bits with all my horn stems and I‘m meticulous with cleaning them immediately after I finish smoking.

 

[garageboy]

I thought wormholes was just a description for bite marks. I'm guessing having the previous bite marks polished out didn't help the durability...

Thanks

 

[woodrow]

You can use clear CA glue for some pit marks on horn stems. After sanding mineral oil and obsidian oil will be absorbed by the horn.