Acrylic or ?

[TCnBham]

I have a couple of pipes...actually three...that must have vulcanite stems, as they are easily discolored and get that "nicotine" stain on the bit quite easily. One is a bent apple that simply has the stamp "Made in England"...it's at least 30 years old and the stem is heavily oxidized, though it has never been in a harsh environment. For some reason, it's never smoked well, so I've given up on it. Another is an old Stanwell Featherweight which has a new stem, as I dropped and broke the original...it's also 25-30 years old, and a good smoker. Last is a Nording freehand that I bought 5 years ago or so, but which also gets that "stain" near the end of the stem. The pipes I own that I know have Acrylic stems do not seem to do this.

What are the advantages/disadvantages of different stem materials. I do not like the look of the "nicotine stain" that gets on the bit, as it does not seem to be easily removed and appears "nasty" to both me and to others. Is the Acrylic so much harder that it does not do this?

All recent purchases have been acrylic stems...

 

[monbla256]

I'm sure there will be som Bob's that will be able to give exact scientific facts for the oxydation of Ebonite stems vs Acrylic stems, but as I understand it, it has something to do with the acids produced in the mouth when smoking. My experience has found that I tend to discolor my Ebonite bits more so now that they are older and do not discolor the Acrylic bits. The acrylic stems are not necessarily "harder" but they usually are not available in the nice thin wide fishtail shape that my dentures love so I don't have many. I have used the Obsidian oil as a prophilactic as well as an occassional cleaning and buffing on a wheel at a good pipe shop to keep mine "cleaner". I have decided the comfort in my mouth/teeth is more important to me than the pristine black of the Ebonite. JMHO .

 

[Sasquatch]

Basically, there's two types of stem material right now - rubber based (vulcanite/ebonite/cumberland) and various plastics - acrylic/lucite, polyester, ABS.

There's pluses and minuses, but the big plus on plastics is that they don't oxydize and turn green and taste like sulphur as rubber bits will. The big plus on rubber is that it is much softer on teeth.

Ebonite proper is a lot better than the injection-molded stems on some brands. Savinelli is one for me that turns grey after one use. Hate 'em! But a good ebonite stem won't suffer anywhere near as bad as cheaper vulcanite. But you are talking about a 200 or 300 dollar pipe before you find that, usually.

 

[Blackhorse]

Ebonite was designed as a collaborative effort between pipe makers and pipe shop owners. The idea was to come up with a material that looked good in the shop then once purchased would quickly begin of oxidize and require frequent trips in for cleaning and buffing...for which of course the pipe shop gained added income. The Italians and Scandinavians of course decried this gambit, perpetrated mostly by those in Great Britain, because both have long standing grudges against the Brits. American makers went mostly with the Brit thing as we've always been fairly friendly to anything from those folks, as they usually back us when some dumb ass President declairs an illegal war here and there. One way to prevent the oxidation is to keep the pipes in the freezer and not use them. As many find this method objectionable due to the wasted investment a newer method has been adopted which involves spraying the stem with that black high temp engine paint. It provides a nice gloss, isn't affected by the heat generated during smoking...but tends to be slightly poisonous. Well, you can't have everything.

I think the oxidation produced when you smoke and it occurs mostly around the button where your lips and saliva are...are from the saliva...which contains an enzyme known as 'Salivary Amalase'. This is the first step in the digestion process and the stuff is actually quite potent. If you question that, you might have seen the suggestion to use 'spit' on the rim of your pipe to help remove the tars and such that accumulate there during smoking. Spit and a toothbrush work wonders on the stuff...and even on some stains as well. Spitting on a cloth and wiping around the rim can also remove quite a bit. Anyway, that's all I'vd got on it.

Curse those evil pipe shop guys!

 

[pipemaker]

All vulcanite/ebonite stems contain some proportion of natural rubber, as well as sulfur, various forms of carbon and a proportion of impurities, of which the natural rubber is the most prone to oxidation.
There are literally hundreds of grades of vulcanite/ebonite powder available and they vary widely in cost and purity.
It is common to see the description vulcanite and ebonite used interchangeably, but from my experience, material referred to as ebonite is generally of higher quality than the vulcanite

A few years back, I took a sampling of a dozen or so stems from the U.K., France, Germany, Italy, Greece and the U.S., ranging from the most expensive to the cheapest.
I left them outside for 24 months in rain, snow and mid summer sun and heat.
I was surprised as to how little any of these stems oxidized or discolored, but the amount of oxidation was less with the higher priced stems. The same held true with rod stock with few exceptions. A light buffing restored them to like new condition.

This leads me to believe that the smoking process, especially the contact with mouth or moisture from the breath accelerates the oxidation process.
I have found that wiping the stem with a soft cloth after smoking effectively ******* this oxidation

Mike B.

 

[Harlock999]

What are cumberland/brindle stems made of?

 

[Smoker99]

The rubber stems, ie vulcanite, ebonite etc are softer, and more comfortable, but they contain sulfer, which comes out and makes that ugly stain. Some of the higher grade rubber stems are pretty good about not developing it too quickly. The plastic, ie acrylic, lucite etc stems are indeed harder, with more of a glass like feel, but they will not oxidize.

 

[pipemaker]

Cumberland and Brindle is basically vulcanite/ebonite to which red and brown coloring coloring pigment is added and in better grades less sulfur is used. I believe Dunhill began calling this Cumberland about 40 years ago and Ashton followed with "Brindle"

In spite of claims to the contrary, this material oxidizes almost as rapidly as the uncolored vulcanite. It tends to be less noticeable because of the color pattern,and the effect is not as pronounced as on solid black stem.

Polymethyl Methacrylate is a compound commonly known as Acrylic, Lucite, and Plexiglas. It is much harder than rubber but does not oxidize. The main complaint is its lack of resiliency and plastic like mouth feel.

Mike B.

 

[Blackhorse]

Excellent data. Thanks!

I'm one that actually prefers the feel of Lucite. And I guess since I'm a gnawer it's better in that regard. But then I use a rubber bit protector 98% of the time. Takes away from the visual aesthetics but helps with the chatter.

One thing that would be good to mention is that if other guys out there use the bit protector things...it's a REALLY good idea to remove it after smoking and rinse it off and wipe down the stem really well...especially ebonite as the saliva that assists (I think, anyway) with for formation of oxides will sit under the thing and work their evil ways. I've seen estates that had deep channels where the boarder of a protector like that was obviously left in place over time. It can be an ugly thing.