Why are army mounts not the default stem fixture for most pipes?

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WarneOut

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I've come across a lot of talk about a nearly obsessive fear of removing a stem while a pipe is still warm. A recurring complaint about using filters I've seen is that one cannot remove the filter before the pipe cools, thus not being able to run a cleaner through (strikes me as a bit far fetched to think your briar is going to irreversibly expand in the 0.75 seconds it takes to slip off the stem, snatch the filter out, and whack it back on, but I digress).

My question is, if army mounts completely solve this problem, and the innovation has been around for quite some time, why are they not standard issue for most pipes? What is the downside?
 
The point re not taking the stem off a hot pipe is totally valid. No…don’t try to prove me wrong. You’ll likely end up snapping the stem off. That’s why putting a pipe in the fridge is a known solution for a stuck tight stem. Old school.
 
I smoke most of my tobacco on the wetter side making me run pipe cleaners down the stem while smoking. If I need to remove the stem for ten, twenty seconds to swab out mortise, bowl or well I do with no harm to the stem fit. The problem that I've read about is separating the stem from a hot pipe and letting them come to ambient temperature. That's when the different materials change diameter.

Many pipes that I've worked on after giving the bowl a salt treatment gives me inproper stem fit that has to be dealt with due to the briar drying out. I also live in a very humid area and if a pipe is left outside overnight the next morning the stem will be extremely loose from the moisture the briar absorbs.

I learned the hard way purchasing estate pipe removing the stem for the first time. Like BH said, if the stem does not budge with very little pressure, into the freezer it goes.
 
That was my thought as well, that removing the stem while hot and letting come to ambient temperature is what will damage a pipe. Taking off for 1 second while hot and replacing while still hot should be fine. I've seen several comments from people under the impression that they have to leave their nasty filter in the pipe until everything cools, because they can't take the stem off at all.

I've found in my personal relatively short experience as a pipe smoker that I'm a definite filter guy. I have sensitive gums, and the filter really makes a big difference in saving my mouth from irritation, which I have to imagine correlates with better health, not to mention enjoyment.

I do slide the filter out while it's hot, and I do not think my pipe is at risk of damage, but if given the choice, I'd probably prefer army mounts to erase all doubt.
 
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