briar pipe stems

[jj1015]

I'd like to find a good pipe repair expert who could help me replace some vulcanite stems with lucite, if that's possible. I prefer the look of lucite and I'm tired of fighting an endless battle trying to keep the black stems from turning green. So, I'd like to see about having some new stems fitted to some of my briars.

Thanks in advance for any recommendations or referrals!

 

[LIPIPE]

Contact Floyd Norwood......FLN Pipe Repair on the web.

 

[ejames]

http://www.jhlowe.com/
http://www.precisionpiperepair.com/index.php
http://walkerbriarworks.com/
http://www.pipecraft.org/index.html

 

[Wet Dottle]

http://www.precisionpiperepair.com/index.php
http://walkerbriarworks.com/

I recommend the first one if the pipe is expensive and you can wait the long turnaround time; the second if it's a less expensive pipe and you don't want to wait as long.

 

[PipeLeisure]

Floyd Norwood does really nice work and there prises are really reasonable

 

[KevinM]

I feel your pain. Only I didn't want to send my old pals away, and resisted buying a bench polisher which seemed to me to be overkill, considering the problem.

FWIW, here's my current remedy--

I bought two grades of steel wool, fine and middlin. I used these on my oxidized vulcanite stems. Then I polished the stems up with a rough cotton towel. Finally, I took a bottle of mineral oil from the medicine cabinet, dipped a fingertip in in it, and spread it evenly over the pipe stem. Let sit over night. Wipe off excess. You may end up with a matte black finish. But that's better than snot green, and you don't have to send your pipes anywhere. And it's cheap. Personally,I like the "burnished through use" look more than the brand new look. And there's a bonus --mineral oil will help prevent oxidation of your knife blades.

 

[LIPIPE]

For what it's worth, I have a rather relaxed attitude towards vulcanite stems. It's a given that they oxidize. No matter what you do they will change with age. I prefer vulcanite; especially thick stout saddle vulcanite stems. I have softee bit cushions on all my pipes and as a clencher, I like to sink my teeth into my bit cushions. Vulcanite is comfortable and durable. So as part of my routine cleaning procedure I dab a drop of olive oil on my stems and they look just fine. I know many guys say that the olive oil becomes rancid but I've been maintaining my stems with the oil for years and have never had a problem. My pipes were made for smoking and that's what I like to do with them. My pipes all have a patina of being well "used" and that indicates how much I enjoy smoking all of them. They are like fine leather shoes that get walked in. The soles get worn. If you want stems to always look new you have to limit yourself to acrylic or lucite and forego the comfort that vulcanite offers.