How Do I Choose A Pipe Stem?

 While there is great diversity in tube shapes and designs, surprisingly, there are only two common stem configurations. Others prefer a straight-stemmed pipe, mostly for aesthetic reasons and to keep smoke from your eyes, but also because it is easier to fit pipe cleaners in there to soak up condensate that sometimes builds up inside the stem during smoking. These types of pipes also provide the benefit of producing soft smoke on the end of the stem. 

You may also want to consider pipes such as Petersons system, which keeps you from getting too much steam into the vapor because of a tank, but may also keep the tongue safe due to a steck or p-lip piece that directs smoke toward the roof of the mouth. If you are looking for a pipe that will hold up under just about any blend, go with this style. When you get more experienced, you might like smoking purely Virginia tobacco out of a bowl that is tighter, with higher sides, and a Latakia blend out of a shorter, wider bowl, but for now, we will concentrate on choosing a shape you feel is pleasant on your eyes. 

The Old Army #21 comes with 2 interchangeable bowl sizes, which you can comfortably switch out depending on your preference. This Pipe is made from pearwood root, a common material to create pipes, and gives you the subtle flavor of fruity sweetness while smoking, as soon as you crack into it. 

The two most common materials used for the tobacco pipe stems are Acrylic and Vulcanite, otherwise known as Lucite and Ebonite, respectively. Meanwhile, the majority of antique pipes feature stems made of vulcanite, which is a synthetic rubber material which can be polished to a shiny finish. Today, Pipes tend to have stems made of Acrylic, as well as other synthetics like Bakelite, plastic, and even ebonite. 

They may also be made of antler, ivory, and bone, all of which are fairly uncommon nowadays. To make matters even more confusing, pipes made of all of these materials come in a variety of shapes and sizes, with varying lengths of stems and types of bowls. The stem on the typical Apple Pipe is usually equal in length to the height of the bowl, and usually has a tapered shank. The stem is bent the opposite direction to the shank, and atop the shank, it not only helps achieve a proper balance while seated, but it takes on an appearance very similar to gnarled tree branches, which adds to its suitability for the name. 

Clay pipes often have longer stems, with Churchwarden models still being produced. To keep things simple, you are probably best off ruling out pipes that have really long stems, known as Churchwarden pipes, when shopping for your first pipes. Or, if you have found that your preferred time for smoking your pipe is while reading or doing some other tasks, you may prefer a pipe with a curve on the stem, which would take the pipe off-line and requires less holding. Everyone has his/her own tastes, and choosing a tobacco pipe is mostly a matter of responding to the shape, color (tobacco pipes come in all colors these days) and the finish (sand, rustic, natural, plain, etc...). 

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