pipe stem what kind?

[thebr...@earthlink.net]

I have a large number of pipes but I keep biting the stems thru, what
kind of stem is the best to keep from bite thru.
and where can I get them ?

[FatMax]

Acrylic stems are a bit tougher to chomp through...but many people don't care for the tooth feel of an acrylic stem.

[Jim Beard]

Acrylic comes in different hardnesses and thicknesses. The
problem is discovering what size/hardness works for you.

Another approach is a twin-bore bit. At the bit end, it has two
smoke channels and the centerline of the bit is solid vulcanite
(or whatever material the thing is made of). They make a long
narrow v that run together before the tenon. You can buy Radice
pipes new that have the twin-bore, and I am sure they are not the
only pipe maker that makes some.

You might e-mail Mary Ann Keller and ask what she has to offer.
http://www.americansmokingpiperepairs.com/about.html
e-mail: ma...@ptd.net
blog: http://www.americansmokingpiperepairs.com/Blog.html

There are other pipe repairmen who are quite capable of handling
the task, of course. There are websites that offer mouthpieces
and other supplies for pipe makers and repairmen.

And you can take a vulcanite mouthpiece you don't like much, use
a file to get a bunch of fine shavings. mix that with epoxy glue,
and patch the tooth holes. A pipe cleaner down the air channel
when you put in the patch will keep the smoke channel open, but
you have to remove it before it gets glued in "permanently." If
that happens, you can coat the exterior of the mouthpiece with
vaseline, and soak the thing in Clorox laundry bleach (or any
chlorine bleach). Use another pipe cleaner a few times a day to
see if you can get any of the dissolved material out. After a
few days, it usually dissolves, but polishing the exterior will
be a problem anywhere the bleach made it through the vaseline to
the vulcanite.

Yet another approach is to buy rubber things that go over the
bit. You chew up and have to replace the rubber things, but the
mouthpiece is protected. They are bulky, but there are people
with dentures and other dental problems that find them the best
solution. A good pipe shop should have them.

Cheers!

jim b.

--
UNIX is not user unfriendly; it merely
expects users to be computer-friendly.

[random]

Stainless steel should cut down on that bite-thru. Anything much softer
than that, not so much. Some would find it easier to change the root
problem rather than attack the symptoms it creates.

[Joel Washburn]

I use softy bits.

- Joel

[JtN©]

I had heard that a tight clencher who always bit threw his bits had
his dentist file down a couple of his teeth so that when he clenched
it kind of his pipes in there own tooth socket and he never had a
problem with biting threw stems again.

Contact your dentist and see what he can do for you.

JtN ©2013

[NICHE541]

Lucite stems are bite proof but will break your teeth. I , like Joel,
use the softy bits. In fact I have become so use to the softy bits I
use them on most of my pipes.
John in the Indian Nations