It's all in the lip?

[wojtekpastuch]

I want to share an observation with you guys and ask if you had the same experience. Untill lately I've always assumed that the comfort (whether it's comfortable to clench on and hold in your mouth) of a pipe depends mostly on the it's weight and balance. I've always favored lighter pipes because of that. Some time ago I learned a restoration trick for recreating the button in a pipe's lip when it has been severely buffed or broken. You make some ebonite powder, mix it with some cyanoacrylate glue (Superglue, I use the one that has the density of gel) and apply it where you need. Afetr it has dried out you shape it and polish it and it looks and feels exactly like normal ebonite So I did this to an old sandblasted Parker that had the button almost completely buffed flat. It's a thick walled, group 4/5 billard, so for me it's definitely too heavy to hold in my mouth so. I reconstructed the button and I made it a bit too big but I thought I would leave it like that and try to smoke it, I could always sand it a bit more. I found out that the pipe feels completely different! It feels much lighter and I can clench on it and my jaw doesn't get tired even half as much as it used to with that pipe.
So after this excessively long story, here's the conclusion- does the feel of a pipe in your mouth and your ability to hold it between your teeth depend mostly on the button of the mouthpiece? Have you noticed the same thing? Now I will check my other pipes when I smoke them if it works with other, factory made mouthpieces. Please share your experiences with button/balance/jaw fatigue relation in your pipes

 

[LL]

Yup. Most people think a thinner stem is better out of hand, but the reality is it's the ratio of button height to the slope of the stem's taper.

I receive a fair number of stems from guys who have ground off too much of the button in an attempt to make the stem more comfortable, only to discover they made it worse. Sometimes to the point it's unusable.

 

[Anonymous]

It seems that for me it's the taper of the stem, I find the saddle bit stems are more comfortable for clenching- and wider seems better too. I havent thought about the bigger button, but your probably right.

 

[Justpipes]

and wider seems better too.

I have also come to discover that a wider bit with the right taper even with heavy pipes is much easier to clinch.

 

[glpease]

It seems that for me it's the taper of the stem, I find the saddle bit stems are more comfortable for clenching- and wider seems better too. I havent thought about the bigger button, but your probably right.

So true. I've had pipes with such an abrupt taper that clenching the things result in my drooling, and not even realizing it. The steep slope pressed down my lower lip, and, voila. Not particularly pleasant.

A lot of my Castellos are much thicker than the less-than-4.0mm that seems to be in vogue, yet they are still quite comfortable, largely because of what George mentions above, and because of their longer slope and, therefore, more gradual taper.

Some pipes with poorly designed mouthpieces, even very light ones, just make my jaw hurt. I was smoking a very delicate, very light 1/4 bent the other day whilst on my way somewhere. I reached my destination, removed the pipe from my teeth, and suddenly realized that I could not open my mouth. Talk about TMJ...

-glp