alternative stem materials???

Ray Cover · Post by **Ray Cover** » Tue Mar 27, 2007 10:37 pm

Are there other plastic materials that work well for stems beyond the acrylics and the hard rubbers like ebonite?

Has anyone tried any of the Corion type plastics or polyesters...... other things like that? Are there issues with the other types of plastics or is it a tradition thing?

What about natural horn or other natural materials like bone and ivories ? Is the heat a problem with these?

I am assuming some of these natural materials must have been used before the plastics came along.

Ray

Nick · Post by **Nick** » Wed Mar 28, 2007 9:14 am

A carver named Random used Utlem. I think Corian might be too brittle. Personally, I think it'd be neat to use some carbon fiber rod, but its damn expensive.

Leus · Post by **Leus** » Wed Mar 28, 2007 4:21 pm

I think most self taught pipemakers out here have tried other materials. I know I did. I think ebonite or acrylic are not popular only because of tradition, but because there is no better alternative, IMHO.

Nick · Post by **Nick** » Thu Mar 29, 2007 8:15 am

Bone and ivory tend to be too brittle to be able to shape a nice thin bit.

Frank · Post by **Frank** » Thu Mar 29, 2007 4:32 pm

Horn & amber were used extensively before the manufacture of vulcanite.
I had a couple of Oldenkott or Vauen (I forget which) pipes with horn stems.

Speaking of Random, whatever happened to him? The man was omniscient, he had extensive advice for every thread posted to the forum and was never to be gainsayed.

Post by **KurtHuhn** » Thu Mar 29, 2007 5:37 pm

Basically, he took his ball and went home. I'm not sure who pissed him off the last time though.

achduliebe · Post by **achduliebe** » Thu Apr 05, 2007 9:16 am

I have exchanged emails with him a few times since he left the forum. The last time I checked his web site it had not been updated in a month or so.

flix · Post by **flix** » Thu Apr 05, 2007 12:59 pm

Random is iconoclastic, just don't expect him to follow the crowd. I admire that in a way!

ArtGuy · Post by **ArtGuy** » Thu Apr 05, 2007 4:21 pm

I still think Todd Johnson and Random are the same person. I have never seen them in the same room together

Tech · Post by **Tech** » Mon Apr 16, 2007 11:20 am

My first pipe was made with a reused stem that came in a box of estates that I had purchased. This stem was odd - It wasn't vulcanite or acrylic. It was still black - no discoloration at all, even though it was probably 20 years old. It smelled like vanilla (It had picked up the scent of the tobacco that was smoked in it)

It was on a full bent pipe, and in order to make it fit the pipe I had made (a 1/4 bent) I had to straighten it out a bit. This really was tough! I could bend the thing without any heat and it would spring back to its original shape (didn't break like ebonite would). I tried using the hair dryer to straighten it, but it didn't get hot enough, so I put it in the oven. After much anticipation (and being too hot to hold barehanded) the thing FINALLY bend back - but only so much before it would spring back to close to its original shape. I had to keep reheating / bending until it finally took on the shape that I wanted.

I also had to reshape the stem by sanding to get it to the proper shape/ fit. What a pain in the rear! It was softish, like ebonite, but it was more "rubbery." It took a while to sand down. I would have sanded an ebonite stem into dust with the same effort I put into this stem to make it fit my pipe.

Anyway, I think this stem was made out of Nylon. I can't prove that, but whatever it is, it seems like a GREAT material for making stems. Other than the fact that it held tobacco odor, I can't think of any reason NOT to use this material. I guess I'll have to experiment to find out for sure though. I need to try and find something similar on the web and report back.