Stem Materials

The best things are made out of the best things. This is the impression that really stuck with me when I was looking at my first pipe—a Savinelli Zulu. Seeing the woodgrain pattern printed on the acrylic stem felt like a complete disconnect from the work. If you are going to bother copying the look of wood, why not just use the real thing?

Well, turns out there are a lot of reasons.

Wood is a temperamental material for a stem. It is porous, it does not always take the thread or the button shape with the same resilience as vulcanite, and getting that thin, elegant profile without the stem losing its tension is a massive engineering challenge. But still, I think it’s fair to say that when you’re smoking a pipe, you don’t want to be dealing with something that’s pretending to be what it’s not. I spent a long time exploring this in my Founders Series, where I was exclusively experimenting with wood and horn stems. I managed to make some that worked, but it is a constant battle between material beauty and functional durability. I found that horn is a step up from wood—it has more structural integrity—but even then, I am still chasing the ideal.

But still, for me a pipe is supposed to be an escape from all the corny, digital, plastic garbage that modernity is constantly shoving down our throats. If half of my pipe is just pretending to be wood, then I have got one foot right back in that same shallow, vapid space I am trying to get away from.

Now, don’t get me wrong—I have nothing against synthetics. I use Japanese vulcanite on my pipes all the time because it is a killer material, and I am open to using high-quality plastics when they are the best tool for the job. The function has to be there, for sure. But my aim is to create a stem that hits that same level of performance as vulcanite, but using natural materials—something that holds up to the standard of the old Castello boxwood collection. In other words, my ultimate goal in this respect is to craft an all-natural pipe that does not ask you to make a single compromise. All biodegradable. Strong. Durable. Something that’s as natural as a cigar, but as durable as a pipe.

Until I get there, I am sticking to what works. When you pick up one of my pipes, you aren't looking at something trying to play a role. You are looking at briar, horn, or vulcanite—exactly as they are. There’s an increasingly rare satisfaction in a using a product that isn’t just good because of what it looks like, but because of what it actually is, as well.