Ebonite rods

Tano · Post by **Tano** » Fri Feb 22, 2008 1:30 am

Hi All!

I'm running low on ebonite rods, so I thought I would check out Pipe Makers Emporium for their latest price on 25mm rods. I see that the price has gone up substantially, they now cost over $51.00 for 20" long.
Is there any other supplier out there that might be more reasonable?
Where do most of you get your stash and what are some of the prices?
Would appreciate your help on this one very much.

Frank · Post by **Frank** » Fri Feb 22, 2008 4:57 am

I don't know if you're prepared to take the plunge with ABS, but Robert (aka pierredekat) seems to have had very good results with positive feedback from pipesmokers who have tried his pipes with ABS stems.
As you can see, it's a lot less expensive than ebonite:
http://www.industrialsafety.com/products_index.html
http://www.indplastic.com/index.cfm?fus ... product=93

kkendall · Post by **kkendall** » Fri Feb 22, 2008 10:28 am

With the exchange rate being what it is (USD vs Euro), and minimum orders required to buy the rod, I'm not surprised at the cost!

hollywood · Post by **hollywood** » Fri Feb 22, 2008 11:49 am

yeah; I'm about to place my first order ever for some, and it's kind of scary. wish there was another group buy going!

kbadkar · Post by **kbadkar** » Fri Feb 22, 2008 12:33 pm

Did somebody say group buy? I'm in.

SEMs ebonite is really nice, nicer than PME. Fortunately, I ordered some from PME before the price increase, but even then, it 'felt' too expensive. SEM said they would notify me when the cumberland was ready, but I doubt they are organized enough to do so. Does anyone have the latest gossip on SEM?

LexKY_Pipe · Post by **LexKY_Pipe** » Fri Feb 22, 2008 1:29 pm

I wonder if who might be up for putting together an order from SEM which we could share?

Post by **KurtHuhn** » Fri Feb 22, 2008 1:33 pm

The only rod I'm low on right now is cumberland. If they've got the cumberland situation sorted out and have stock ready to ship, I'm ready to get in on a buy. I'd really like to get some colors other than the red brindle as well.

hazmat · Post by **hazmat** » Fri Feb 22, 2008 2:05 pm

I'm ready to order some ebonite myself, but considering the price increase I may have to rethink that and start working in acrylic for my stems. I'm not making any money on my pipes right now, so all material costs are coming out of pocket and that can be painful.

Tano · Post by **Tano** » Fri Feb 22, 2008 2:46 pm

Can somebody give me more info on SEM, it seems to pop up often.
Thaks

kbadkar · Post by **kbadkar** » Fri Feb 22, 2008 2:56 pm

Check out the following threads in the Stem Work section:

The big vulcanite buy from Germany

Brief interview with a new ebonite supplier

pierredekat · Post by **pierredekat** » Fri Feb 22, 2008 3:18 pm

If y'all get together an order for ebonite, you can put me down for a few pieces, too.

But while you are trying to get the logistics together, you all really should use this opportunity to give the Absylux a try.

Seriously.

I threw out all of my acrylic and have vowed myself off of it altogether: bad taste, snaps in two pieces for no apparent reason, tricky to machine, etc., etc.

And I have a little bit of Ebonite on hand in case I have somebody who specifically wants Ebonite.

But otherwise, it's Absylux from here on out for me.

hazmat · Post by **hazmat** » Fri Feb 22, 2008 3:34 pm

pierredekat wrote:But otherwise, it's Absylux from here on out for me.

You're that warm and fuzzy with the material? I've been following along with your experiment and have been liking what I've been reading. Is it being well-accepted by the folks who have tried your samples so far? I'd be more than happy working with an alternative material so long as it doesn't send me into Random territory.

hollywood · Post by **hollywood** » Fri Feb 22, 2008 3:43 pm

Frank wrote:I don't know if you're prepared to take the plunge with ABS, but Robert (aka pierredekat) seems to have had very good results with positive feedback from pipesmokers who have tried his pipes with ABS stems.
As you can see, it's a lot less expensive than ebonite:
http://www.industrialsafety.com/products_index.html
http://www.indplastic.com/index.cfm?fus ... product=93

if you're going to order from them; you better do it quick!! they are going out of business within a week or two!! they will also do a discount on the ABS and Delrin rod if you ask them for it now!!

kkendall · Post by **kkendall** » Fri Feb 22, 2008 3:57 pm

There's a couple of us in my area that would like to be able to get in on an order for a few cumberland rods, too. (ebonite as well)

kbadkar · Post by **kbadkar** » Fri Feb 22, 2008 4:17 pm

hollywood wrote:

if you're going to order from them; you better do it quick!! they are going out of business within a week or two!! they will also do a discount on the ABS and Delrin rod if you ask them for it now!!

Where'd you hear that? I just got off the phone with them and the receptionist and sales guy said they are going strong and the sales guy added that "I should slap whomever started such a rumor." Regardless of the sales guy's crude comment, I ordered a couple rods to give it a try... one black, one natural.

UPDATE:
I spoke with Industrial Plastic Supply, not Industrial Safety and Supply, who maybe going out of business. Is all ABS rod the same as Absylux? Is there a difference in material between Industrial Plastic Supply's ABS and Industrial Safety and Supply's Absylux ABS?

ANOTHER UPDATE:
Industrial Plastic Supply says that Absylux is the manufacturer's (Westlake) trade name for ABS. They purchase their ABS rod from Westlake too.

Post by **KurtHuhn** » Fri Feb 22, 2008 4:22 pm

pierredekat wrote: I threw out all of my acrylic and have vowed myself off of it altogether: bad taste, snaps in two pieces for no apparent reason, tricky to machine, etc., etc.

I too have sworn off acrylic. It's not that I can taste anything (I don't doubt others can), but it's such a major pain in the ass to shape and sand. The only thing it has going for it, from my perspective, is that it's super easy to shine up. That's it. Other than that, it drills like crap, loads up my files something fierce, melts when I sand it, and is a bugger to get a decent airway in.

For decorative, multicolored stems, I'm using cast polyester and stonite now. It looks marvelous, and is a dream to shape.

Maybe I'll play with ABS this weekend, and see what I think of it.

hollywood · Post by **hollywood** » Fri Feb 22, 2008 4:38 pm

kbadkar wrote:
hollywood wrote:

if you're going to order from them; you better do it quick!! they are going out of business within a week or two!! they will also do a discount on the ABS and Delrin rod if you ask them for it now!!
Where'd you hear that? I just got off the phone with them and the receptionist and sales guy said they are going strong and the sales guy added that "I should slap whomever started such a rumor." Regardless of the sales guy's crude comment, I ordered a couple rods to give it a try... one black, one natural.

well slap me silly!

i spoke to a salesman today as well ... Pete. wonder if he is in the know or was blowing smoke my way? either way; i did get a good discount on my order! very strange, indeed.

kkendall · Post by **kkendall** » Fri Feb 22, 2008 4:52 pm

KurtHuhn wrote: For decorative, multicolored stems, I'm using cast polyester and stonite now. It looks marvelous, and is a dream to shape.

Where are you getting it?

kbadkar · Post by **kbadkar** » Fri Feb 22, 2008 5:12 pm

hollywood wrote:
well slap me silly!

i spoke to a salesman today as well ... Pete. wonder if he is in the know or was blowing smoke my way? either way; i did get a good discount on my order! very strange, indeed.

Sorry, hollywood, that's my bad, I believe. I edited/updated my previous post, but I guess you posted before my edit. I spoke with Industrial Plastic Supply, who is not going out of business. You probably spoke with Industrial Safety and Supply, who maybe going out of business, I can't say... but if Pete is from ISS, then he can say. What kind of discount did you get? I ended up paying $13 per 2 ft. length, not including shipping.

Post by **KurtHuhn** » Fri Feb 22, 2008 5:16 pm

kkendall wrote:
KurtHuhn wrote: For decorative, multicolored stems, I'm using cast polyester and stonite now. It looks marvelous, and is a dream to shape.
Where are you getting it?

I got a big order of stuff from Masecraft supply a while back:
http://www.masecraftsupply.com/

I highly recommend that outfit. Superior customer service. They have top quality synthetics, as well as some of the finest antler and horn I've seen anywhere.