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This thread is highly dangerous and potentially damning, but I have to do it.

I had a really knowledgeable and trustworthy customer tonight on the phone. He just picked up 2 pipes from me, and we were talking about them.

He said his only complaint was...wait for it...stinky ebonite

Now, I am NOT trying to channel the long banished spirit of he who must not be named, but I have to ask...has anyone else noticed anything weird about the ebonite we just got in the big group buy?

My customer said one of the stems had signs of oxidation, and a definite sulfur smell. It was the first stem I'd made using the new ebonite.

Any chance that stock needs more time to outgas or something? Had it not been a statement from this particular customer, I probably would have brushed it off, but not from this person.

Thoughts? Do we need to do a group exorcism?

I believe I already listed my complaints to Wayne in the original thread.

Has this guy ever smoked an ebonite stem?

Poor Wayne! Like they say, no good deed goes unpunished.

e Markle wrote:I believe I already listed my complaints to Wayne in the original thread.

Has this guy ever smoked an ebonite stem?

I believe he owns more than one of your pipes, my friend.

I'm not overly worried about it, but I thought it off cause I'd never heard of this before, other than from Ernie's best friend mike. Just mostly wondered if anyone else had noticed anything similar with their new rods.

NYH does have a stronger sulphur smell than SEM.
I have some that is about 3 years old and the pleasant smell is the same.
I would prefer to have the smell of NYH over SEM because is is so much better.
It's easier to work and polishes up beautifully.
If anyone doesn't like their NYH ebonite, I'll buy it from them.

I had a customer complain a few months back about his stem, he said he hated vulcanite pre-form stems and that the pipe I had sent him was already oxidising just a week after arrival. I said that was funny since the stem was handcut polyester. Never heard back from him, what was going through his head I do not know lol.

As to your question, ebonite is smelly and cna oxidise. Hope that helps.

I just received a call yesterday from a panicked customer who said there's a strange sulfur smell coming from the pipe he bought from me. He informed me that he cleaned the bowl out with some rum but the smell was still there. He said it was really strong. I explained the nature of ebonite to my customer and alleviated his fears.

Like Bruce said, the NYH rods do have a stronger sulphur smell than SEM. I've been smoking a pipe made from the NYH stuff and I did notice it at first but it goes away pretty quickly after being smoked so you can give your customers that assurance. Despite the smell I don't sense any off flavors from the stem. I've also not noticed any oxidation at all.

Glad to hear I am not the only one. I recently had a customer say the same thing. When he took the pipe out of the box I mailed it in he said it smelled funny. I told him what it was, he smoked it, didn't taste anything and says the smell hasn't come back. The only odd thing is that I haven't cut into the new stuff yet. That was still from a piece I got from PME.

Thanks for the responses guys. I just wanted to make sure that I didn't need to let the rods sit for a while or something, as I'd never had anyone bring up the smell previously.

I think I'll do some experiments with it under a microscope and with my chemistry set from 7th grade, just for old time sake. I'll let you guys know what the relative density of the micronic molecules turns out to be, and whether or not that falls in the expected range of entropic degradation or not.

*shrug*

I can't wait until Rad sees this thread.

Don't forget about the elementary school science experiment that can be done using ebonite rod. "when an ebonite rod is rubbed with animal fur the rod becomes negatively charged as fur is what?" I have turned both the standard and Cumberland rod from the group buy, obviously they both stink in different ways but after polishing and waxing i haven't noticed any smell or oxidation.

You guys are wasting your time.

Take a bic pen, take the bits out of it and discard them. Heat up one end and flatten it out. Insert the other end into the stummel.

You're done.

Oh, and fill that funny little hole they have with a white plastic plug, of course.

Ebonite is like.. so 1994.

I made myself a pipe stem using the NYH stuff. Smells like ebonite to me. Can't taste it in the smoke, but then again I have been making stummels out of that pine stuff. It's probably masking the sulphur smell. Pipes are selling like mad to small pacific islands. No pine out there apparently, very exotic stuff for them....

I want everyone to try an experiment: Put all of the pipes you make for a few weeks into a closed cabinet with padded shelves to keep them nice and safe and from getting shop worn.

Open the cabinet door one day and take a big whiff. Stinks, doesn't it?

This is the reason I have switched to using quality Guidici molded stems exclusively. I refuse to put up with that smell any more. Perhaps all of you shouldn't put up with it either.

Besides, you can't tell Guidicis from hand cut stems. All the pros know this.

Rad

Do I take the mouse nest out of the cabinet first or not?

Sasquatch wrote:Do I take the mouse nest out of the cabinet first or not?

Yes, otherwise your pipes will smell like mouse nest.

This will ruin the experiment.

Rad

Got it.

What if some of the pipes have lucite stems? Do I put them in a different cabinet? With a mouse nest?

And what about ABS stems? Should the mouse nest be made from Legos?

Stupid me. I was assuming this thread was about ebonite stems.

All mouse related items should be removed from any cabinet for your experiment, else your results will be skewed.

Lexan, polyester, silicon, bakelite, mylar, lucite, polypropylene, ABS, Ultem, polycarbonate, or any other non rubber stem material should be excluded from the experiment.

Rad

RIGHT!


Not to leave the room, even if you come and get him.