Teeth Marks on the Stem

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user 4351

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I've been more gentle with my Rigoletto, but "the mutt" (my first pipe), not so much. It has a rough patch at the top of the stem from where my chompers have been, and I'm wondering if "that's supposed to happen." I know there's not so many rules with pipes as much as guidelines, but I'm wondering if teeth marks on the stem are a normal part of pipe ownership.

Of course, if and when the stem wears out, I'll just get another, so my pipe is by no means ruined. However, if there's a way to avoid teeth marks while letting a pipe hang, I'm all ears.
 
They do make little rubber covers that you can put on to prevent the teeth chatter. I used to use them but gave up on them lol, almost all of my stems have bite marks on them.
 
If you clench you'll get bite marks or chatter. Either stop clenching or get the rubber covers. Replacing a stem can be costly depending on the pipe.

If you'd like I can send you some of those rubber covers. pm me your address.


Cheers,

RR
 
Brewdude":yelz5u8o said:
If you clench you'll get bite marks or chatter. Either stop clenching or get the rubber covers. Replacing a stem can be costly depending on the pipe.

If you'd like I can send you some of those rubber covers. pm me your address.


Cheers,

RR
I appreciate the offer, but I'm not overly concerned. There's some texture on the stem from my teeth marks, but it's far from harmful for the pipe, and I'll try to adjust my technique so I'm not clenching so hard. My teeth used to be abysmal, but now they're merely bad, and I've rid myself of a bad habit of chewing so hard on everything. Hopefully my next visit to the dentist will improve things, and in the future I won't put teeth marks on my stem.
 
I did the same thing when I first started the pipe. I've got a few pipes with chewed up looking stems. None of them have failed yet but they look ugly and I'm sure it kills the resale value.

I tried the rubber covers and didn't really care for them since they made the stem too fat for my taste. Over the years I've learned to sorta let the pipe hang between my teeth without clamping down on it and that reduces the wear on the stems. You can also look for pipes with acrylic stems since they are harder and won't indent as easily.
 
Eventually you can wear through the stem into the draft hole. A quick and dirty solution is to put hear shrink tubing on the stem. Its super thin so it really doesn't change the feel of the stem and it's tough enough to stand up to some serious clenching. Bonus points for being able to pick it up in the electrical section at Wal Mart.

Jim
 
I was against these little protective bits. The purist in me, you know. But then I tried a hack with vinyl tubing, and for the most part, I've been impressed with how much they've changed me enjoying my pipes. I smoke when I take walks. I don't like to always hold my pipe. I used to never bite my stems. Very OCD about it, but now, I don't even think about it. 1ft of vinyl tubing was $.59 the last time I bought some, and that covers 11-12 or pipes. And if you have sensitive teeth, but still want a little resistance in the clench, vinyl tubing is better than rubber bits.
 
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