Stem oxidization

the stem is vulcanite or German Ebonite it goes with the material.  It is a trade off between being soft to the tooth or not.  If one can put up with softies it certainly helps but to me they are just too thick and I will never get used to them.

This younger generation seems enamored with this stuff;

http://youtube.com/watch?v=myfsp2BBAoM

I am pretty sure it also comes in black.

Somewhere there's a duck in need of taping.

I am no expert, by any stretch, but to my understanding body chemistry has much to do with oxidation. I personally dont have a problem with oxidation.

Little tip that my pipe guy gave to me, when you get a new pipe, or an old one for that matter, after its clened up, coat the end of the stem in olive oil and let sit for about 10 minutes. Something about the little microscopic pits in the vulcanite, and the olive oil fill em in, blah, blah.

Happy Smokin & Happy Holidays !!!

I'll try anything :) Thanks for the tip.

And like a true champion, I have completely forgotten about this little tip. Extra Virgin Olive Oil (not Old English) here I come.

I don't run pipe condoms (soft bits) on all of my pipes but I did take to using them on several of my four digit Kaywoodies. At first they are kind of an adjustment but once you're used to them, you hardly even notice them. Perfect for someone like me that tends to have a pipe (either lit or unlit) dangling out of his mouth at any given point in the day. Aside from eliminating oxidation, it saves wear and tear on your bits and prevents bite through and teeth marks. Olive oil, for me at least seems to delay the onset of that nasty oxidation but eventually it catches up (I must have nuclear spit).

I gave these a try on a few pipes and it made the oxidation worse. It trapped the saliva against the surface of the stem and seemed to accelerate the process. When I removed them, there were wide rings of discoloration where the soft bit had been. I will take a few teeth marks over that.