What's the purpose of a stinger?

[Chasing Embers]

That one should be removable.

 

[metalheadycigarguy]

My first pipe had a stinger, and I didn't like it. It seem to make the pipe gurgle much more than it would without the stinger. I removed it and did so for any other pipes that I received with a stinger. I'm not a fan.

 

[PaulTheScandinavian]

Same here, if any Only stringer' I'm Ok with is 6mm Balsa filter

 

[zensmoker]

My Piazzolla came with a stinger. I tried it with and without and eventually just left it out for ease of cleaning.

 

[civalwar]

I basically remove them, I never understood why someone thought they were a good idea.

 

[joeman]

Stingers do exactly what they were designed to do. Some guys prefer a big open draw and anything stuck in the end of the tenon impedes that to some degree...of course. But like so many other things pipe related...it's preference. Some pipes, I want the stinger in. Others, I do not. Try the stinger before you remove it or hack it off. But in the end, don't hack it just because some other smoker thinks they're a PITA; many guys prefer to use them.

 

[jpmcwjr]

Stingers were designed to differentiate pipes from the herd- then everyone did it for a while. There was a lot of experimentation decades ago, and not just with stingers.
It clearly is a preference, and now no pipe I have sports a stinger.

 

[armonts]

In the past, the tobacco was also drier and cut very thinly, it avoided sucking it into the mouth, afterwards the system remained.

 

[ssjones]

In the past, the tobacco was also drier and cut very thinly, it avoided sucking it into the mouth, afterwards the system remained.

And I think the complete opposite was the case. Many pipesmokers in the 50's to 70's smoked the OTC blends that were primarily goopy aromatics.
Here's an interesting summary of stingers by Steve on the Reborn Pipes blog from a few years ago.

https://rebornpipes.com/2013/05/17/behold-the-lowly-stinger/