Bite protectors - who uses them and how do you like them?

[LIPIPE]

Hey Dusty Roundup: The older one gets the bigger a man's mouth becomes. It gets used to big pipes with big stem bits, fat cigars and it loves to spew filthy language. It's called the maturation process. We older guys just sorta get it on. So big pipes with large bits and rubber cushions fit our needs. So if you wanna hang with senior men, ya better open your mouth more and......

toughen up :affraid:

 

[DustyRoundup]

:lol: Okeedokee there LIPIPE. :lol:
And Thanks for that, it made me realize I aint that danged old.

 

[LIPIPE]

Ha Ha! Love ya anyway bud. Hang in there and you too will become "danged old". The trick is to stay good looking. You certainly have some beautiful scenery in Montana to smoke a pipe by. Enjoy your bowls today man.

 

[Megaluddite]

I'm a bad clencher as well. I've tried the little-rubber-thingies on some of my bits, but found them problematic. I think I could get used to the bulk. But I find that they taste of rubber and, which takes away from the enjoyment of the smoke. :tongue: So I quit using them.

I've not tried heat shrink tubing. How do they taste vs. the usual rubber bit protectors? Also, I worry that the heat shrink may have chemicals in it that I don't want in my mouth. Anyone know anything about the chemical makeup of heat shrink?

 

[Rob_In_MO]

I've not tried heat shrink tubing. How do they taste vs. the usual rubber bit protectors? Also, I worry that the heat shrink may have chemicals in it that I don't want in my mouth. Anyone know anything about the chemical makeup of heat shrink?

We had a large thread on that one here not too long ago. When I find it i'll add a link in this post. The general consensus was that the commonly available black (not multi-colored packs) tubing was a form of PVC which should be harmless. My view is that it can't be much worse than the chemicals and preservatives we ingest from grocery store foods.

They give a pretty neutral taste. Obviously being as thin as they are, they don't offer the same degree of protection that the thicker rubber bits do, but they do help. I've got them on several of my pipes now, and kinda like them.

 

[AlanJohn]

I don't like the rubber protectors,so I cut a short length from plastic tubing, and by popping it into hot water for a few seconds you can stretch it over most pipe stems.
I have these on all my pipes and they make it easier to clench and protect the stem.

 

[Hunter5117]

We had a large thread on that one here not too long ago. When I find it i'll add a link in this post. The general consensus was that the commonly available black (not multi-colored packs) tubing was a for of PVC which should be harmless. My view is that it can't be much worse than the chemicals and preservatives we ingest from grocery store foods.

Rob, I started one of the more recent threads concerning shrink tube so I will save you the trouble, was easy for me to track it down.

https://www.brothersofbriar.com/t16242-diy-bite-protectors

 

[Hunter5117]

I don't like the rubber protectors,so I cut a short length from plastic tubing, and by popping it into hot water for a few seconds you can stretch it over most pipe stems.
I have these on all my pipes and they make it easier to clench and protect the stem.

If I remember right, Mikem or one of the long time BoB's used to do the same thing, regular clear commercial tubing. Different sizes too for different sized stems.

 

[Rob_In_MO]

Rob, I started one of the more recent threads concerning shrink tube so I will save you the trouble, was easy for me to track it down.

https://www.brothersofbriar.com/t16242-diy-bite-protectors

Thank you, Hunter. I actually forgot to go back and post that link.

 

[srfulton]

I turn them around backwards so they arent so fat at the end. Works for me.

 

[ejames]

The only thing I hate having in my mouth more than those rubber protectors is my dentures! Since I don't use the teeth( only when I go to town),I don't need the protectors!!

 

[kaiser83]

I have them on some pipes and like them. if you are going to clench they are handy little things despite the size. They feel one heck of a lot better on my teeth. Now the pipes I am not going to clench don't need them. Then again I catch myself trying to hang my giant Nording and that is one heavy sucker and after a couple seconds it is back to being a hand pipe. I don't plan on selling off my pipes it is purely about comfort for me. Like other have said though it is different strokes.

 

[Kyle Weiss]

Funny thing, I've found myself cutting off the "fat bit" at the one end of the Softy protectors, and they're easier to manage that way. It helps to sand down the cut edges, too.

Since my last post here, I've found acrylic stems needing far less "protecting" and I've gotten used to most of them...unless it's a particularly heavy pipe that might pipe out of my teeth, I've used Softy bits less. Plus, they can really ruin the lines and the look of a pipe. If that even matters.

8)

 

[Brewdude]

Since starting this thread I've tried the rubber bits on and off with several pipes that seemed to require it, and frankly I just don't like the feel. While it clearly protects the biting end, the texture and the perceived taste of it seems to detract from the experience. "Perceived" being the operative word here.

It might be just in my mind, but the rubber bits seem to alter the taste somehow. And not for the better.

I've taken them off halfway through the bowl and the flavor improved in a subliminal way.

OK so I recognise that I'm a biter, and to that end am attempting to make a conscious decision not to clench. It's a work in progress!




Cheers,

RR

 

[DrumsAndBeer]

Well I am a biter & I decided to stick these on all my good pipes. At first they seemed to mess up the balance of some of my full bent/partially bent pipes but I am getting used to them. I think they're especially useful on vulcanite stems.