Perspex [ acrylic ] is superior ...

[Ruffinogold]

.. Just saying

Its smoother by far . Only a touch harder than vulcanite ... and ... it wont Sulphur out on you . Its superior and I dont know why people bother with vulcanite , other than for traditions sake .I mean , we dont use lead paint anymore or steam engines

Im sitting here smoking a wonderful Savinelli Tevere bent blast and the stem looks like new and feels perfect . The pipe is 10 years old or a little more

Acrylic is superior .... imho

[simplepipes]

I agree . . . no vulcanite for me.

-sp

[Piping Abe]

Vulcanite is easier for the pipe carver to shape. It is way easier to get a perfect thin stem with vulcanite.

I prefer Vulcanite because it is softer and usually thinner. However, a real good carver can get Acrylic almost as thin as an acrylic stem.

I do like the indistructable nature of acrylic.

They got this new stuff. Juma I think. It is as soft as Vulcanite, doesn’t oxidize and comes in all colors.

You can see it here:

https://vermontfreehand.com/rods/

[Ronv69]

.. Just saying

Its smoother by far . Only a touch harder than vulcanite ... and ... it wont Sulphur out on you . Its superior and I dont know why people bother with vulcanite , other than for traditions sake .I mean , we dont use lead paint anymore or steam engines

Im sitting here smoking a wonderful Savinelli Tevere bent blast and the stem looks like new and feels perfect . The pipe is 10 years old or a little more

Acrylic is superior .... imho

Come on, man! Everyone loves steam engines. And yellow busses.

[Ronv69]

I like both. I like the high quality vulcanite and well made acrylic. Radice stems are great.

[Tsal]

I prefer vulcanite. It's softer and requires maintenance which I like. There is nothing more satisfying that buffing out an oxidized stem.

[Fr_Tom]

I have rarely been able to abide the "mouth feel" of most acrylic stems. I am a clencher and vulcanite is "grippier" in the teeth. Having said all that, the perspex stems I have on a few pipes are good for me.

[Piping Abe]

There is some acrylic that is very glossy and slippery. And then the better ones have better grip and don’t feel like glass

[Puff nstuff]

That ceramic pipe I smoked the other day has a very glossy and comfortable acrylic stem, though it's beefier than I'm used to. I also like the acrlic stem on my Royalton prince. But I think prefer the overall mouthfeel of vulcanite.

[Hawkwood]

I smoke acrylic stemmed pipes almost exclusively. So much easier to maintain. I'm also a fan of the older DrG and Medico nylon stems. I still have a couple of vulcanite stemmed pipes for nostalgia but they rarely get smoked.