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Ebonite vs Acrylic Stems

Isaac

B&B Tease-in-Residence
A few months back, i took off all my softy bits on my stems. Since then, I have experienced the full benefit of ebonite stems.

So, this brings me to the question of preference.

Lets do some positives/negative discussions.

Ebonite
Pros: Softer on the teeth/The more you use it, the more it forms to your teeth. chatter can be taken out of the stem with minimal work
Cons: Oxidation. The same thing that makes it soft and comfortable on the tteth makes it soft and marks up esily. Requires conditioning. Oxidation!
Acrylic
Pros: No maintenance. Array of colors
Cons: Not as soft on the teeth.

Fore me, its a toss up. I prefer the way the ebonite feels, but really hate the upkeep and oxidation.
 

nortac

"Can't Raise an Eyebrow"
I don't clinch much, so the ebonite's softness is not a huge plus. I have several vintage pipes with ebonite stems in varying degrees of oxidation. Initially I tried to keep most of them shiny, but I got tired of that pretty fast. The nicer pipes I'll shine up on occasion, the others I don't worry about the oxidation. It seems most new pipes have acrylic stems anyways. I take them as they come.
 
I've very much come to prefer acrylic stems. Horn stems, I guess, need maintenance too, but I haven't had any pipes with them for long, so I haven't seen any oxidation issues. The work I had to do to get my ebonite stems (307 Peterson, the Savinelli military mount, and a couple of others) was a turn-off. And I don't clench for very long. The hardness of the acrylic stem is not a problem.

Unfortunately, acrylics did not become common until fairly recently. If I'm looking at vintage pipes, and I frequently do because I'm cheap, it seems hard to find one with an acrylic unless the original ebonite was replaced.
 
Given the option I prefer acrylic stems so I don’t have to be concerned with oxidation. It isn’t a deal-breaker, though, and I have many ebonite stems, but there is nothing that can be done to prevent eventual degradation. Modern german ebonite is much nicer and slower to oxidize than the vintage stuff, so that’s something.
 

Kentos

B&B's Dr. Doolittle.
Staff member
Aesthetically ebonite looks nicer to me when all polished up. The oxidation kinda bugs me tho, so given the option of two equally well made and finished ebonite and acrylic, I think I would choose acrylic. Interestingly only two of the artisan pipe makers I like use acrylic.

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Isaac

B&B Tease-in-Residence
Aesthetically ebonite looks nicer to me when all polished up. The oxidation kinda bugs me tho, so given the option of two equally well made and finished ebonite and acrylic, I think I would choose acrylic. Interestingly all but two of the artisan pipe makers I like use stem material other than vulcanite/ebonite.
That’s interesting. Most of the makers seem to prefer it. I know Yeti pipes uses Bakelite
 

Hirsute

Used to have fun with Commander Yellow Pantyhose
There are solid ebonite colors that either don't oxidize or just don't show it much. I've seen really attractive gray ebonite and mustard yellow ebonite stems, for example. Black ebonite shows oxidation more than any other color of ebonite.

And of course don't forget about cumberland. While cumberland (real cumberland, not a fake swirled acrylic cumberland) is ebonite, it's a blend of different colors of ebonite and typically is nice and soft but a bit more resistant to oxidation than black ebonite. There's a question how much cumberland really is less prone to oxidize or whether its just a matter of the oxidation not being as visible. I don't know which is true, but it's worth keeping these options in mind if you like the feel of ebonite but don't like seeing the oxidation that you get on a black ebonite stem.

And there are also "secret sauce" versions of cumberland like "Ashtonite" which developed by Bill Taylor which is supposed to resist oxidation, but I don't know how much of that is true or not.
 
For me I prefer acrylic just for ease of maintenance. It is a bit harder on the teeth but it usually isn't a big deal if the small enough around the bit section. Acrylic and high polished ebonite can slip around in the teeth more when clinching too. The lack of oxidation is the winner for me. Cleaning oxidized stems is my least favorite part of pipe restoration. The less I have to do it the better.

On this topic I wish there were softy bits that were around half as thick as the standard bits. Still soften and protect the stem but won't pry your mouth open so far.
 

Kentos

B&B's Dr. Doolittle.
Staff member
For me I prefer acrylic just for ease of maintenance. It is a bit harder on the teeth but it usually isn't a big deal if the small enough around the bit section. Acrylic and high polished ebonite can slip around in the teeth more when clinching too. The lack of oxidation is the winner for me. Cleaning oxidized stems is my least favorite part of pipe restoration. The less I have to do it the better.

On this topic I wish there were softy bits that were around half as thick as the standard bits. Still soften and protect the stem but won't pry your mouth open so far.

Have you tried electrical shrink wrap? It’s all I use. It’s not as soft as rubber but still had just a little give.
 
I generally prefer ebonite, primarily for the feel, but I do like the variable looks of acrylic. The maintenance on ebonite is a minor issue. As someone wise once told me, anything worth having is trouble. I find an occasional rub down with Obsidian Oil helps delay oxidation.
 
Have you tried electrical shrink wrap? It’s all I use. It’s not as soft as rubber but still had just a little give.
I think I have it on one pipe. Probably need to try it on more of them. Not being able to slide it off annoys me but the softies stayed on most of the time anyhow.
 

steveclarkus

Goose Poop Connoisseur
A few months back, i took off all my softy bits on my stems. Since then, I have experienced the full benefit of ebonite stems.

So, this brings me to the question of preference.

Lets do some positives/negative discussions.

Ebonite
Pros: Softer on the teeth/The more you use it, the more it forms to your teeth. chatter can be taken out of the stem with minimal work
Cons: Oxidation. The same thing that makes it soft and comfortable on the tteth makes it soft and marks up esily. Requires conditioning. Oxidation!
Acrylic
Pros: No maintenance. Array of colors
Cons: Not as soft on the teeth.

Fore me, its a toss up. I prefer the way the ebonite feels, but really hate the upkeep and oxidation.
I much prefer the vulcanite stems as they are easier in my feathers and oxidation and other junk isn’t that difficult to clean. I have a few acrylic stems and do smoke them but avoid acquiring them when possible. I’m more interested in pipes as tools over aesthetics. Most date from the 1930’s to the 1980’s.
 

AimlessWanderer

Remember to forget me!
I have no idea what mine are made of. I do know that one of mine oxidises, and I find that extremely annoying. I am a big believer in not making life harder than it needs to be.
 
Favorite pipe has a horn stem, extremely light and easy to clench.
Comfort I would rank horn, ebonite, acrylic
Looks I would rank horn, acrylic, ebonite.
Tried softy bits and poly tubing, but didn't like the extra bulk they added to the stem, so bits are a no-go for me. I figured that for how often I get to sit and enjoy a pipe, I'll never go through any stem, and maintenance will likely be only a handful of times during my lifetime. As the adage states "Smoke what you enjoy, enjoy what you smoke"
 
I do prefer ebonite, but it's not really a sticking point. I have a good number of both. I generally rub each ebonite stem with obsidian oil after I smoke a bowl, and I store my pipes out of direct sunlight, so they don't oxidize much. The few I kept with me during the move were all acrylic stems, just to avoid the maintenance. Never really cared for the softy bits.
 

JCinPA

The Lather Maestro
I have both on my cheap pipes, and the acrylic never bothered me, I guess I don't bite harder than I need to keep the pipe from falling in my lap. Ebonite is more comfortable, but the oxydation headache is, well, such a headache!
 
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