What is the purpose of a "stinger" inside of a pipestem?

mfresa

I've seen quite a few nice pipes that probably would smoke pretty well but they have an obstruction in the stem - a piece of metal of various configurations, some with holes, some with fins like a radiator, some with spiral grooves, etc.
I'm at a loss to understand how a gadget like this would enhance the smoking experience.  Is it supposed to act like a filter of some sort?  Thanks for relieving my ignorance. :-)

paulwansing

I saw an opinion piece once that said their purpose is to get hot, cause the smoke to burn hot, and offer extra tongue bite regardless of what you smoke or how slow you do it.  I found it a hilarious take on the subject but I always figured they were there to prevent ash from coming through the mouthpiece.

Philip

I thought it was to prevent moisture from migrating up the pipe stem, but it's actual purpose is to prevent you from running a pipe cleaner down the stem and to make it harder to clean. 

Although I have a few of those style pipes I no longer buy anything I can't get a pipe cleaner down without taking it apart. Including stems that are bent in such a way that makes it hard or has a shoulder on the tenon that jams up the cleaner. 

To me it seemed like one of those ideas that looked good on paper. Although that's just a personal opinion and someone else might love it.

Respectfully,

Phil

PappyJoe

Seriously, though some of the responses may seem to be true, they are not completely factual. 

Stingers are basically a semi-permanent metal filter. The function is the same as a paper or balsa filter - to remove moisture from the smoke. I say semi-permanent because most of the pipes I've come across with stingers are ones that can be easily removed. Others are ones where the stinger is treaded so the stem screws into the shank. On those you may be able to cut the stinger off below the thread if you desire.

I have a few pipes with stingers. Mostly old Kaywoodies, a pre-WWII Linkeman and a couple of others I can't remember without looking at them. While I cannot run a pipe cleaner through them while I am smoking them, I can unscrew the stem and then run a pipe cleaner from the bit down and the cleaner will pass through the stinger. I can then run a pipe cleaner through the shank and into the bowl. Four of these pipes are in my weekly rotation and I've never noticed a gurgle.

It must have been one of those ideas that looked good on paper and everyone agreed it worked because there sure were a lot of pipes produced in the 20th century that had stingers. (No. I don't have the exact number.)

Would I buy a new, unsmoked pipe with a stinger? No. 

Would I buy an old estate pipe with a stinger? It depends on if it "fits" into my pipe collection and I would leave the stinger intact. 

JosiahWN

Thanks for that insight. I only have one stinger pipe. It was an estate pipe that I didn't realize was a stinger till after I got it and couldn't get a pipe cleaner through it. But it smoke really well and has been one of my go to pipes as of late. I'm not sure I'd buy another one though unless the pipe was too beautiful to resist. It's just a little too much extra maintenance in the cleaning after each smoke. I like to clean my pipes right away rather than waiting for them to cool down so I can take it apart. 

motie2

@PappyJoe, might I ask if you have an opinion on E.A. Carey "Magic Inch" pipes? 

I had many pipes back in the day (early 1960's until 1984) but the only ones I kept over the years were two Carey's and a Duncan Hill Aerosphere, so when I resumed pipe smoking last summer, I brought them out of the drawer and then purchased two more Carey's, used, from Ebay.

piperdave

@mfresa I have an old Yello-Bole with a stinger that can be
removed and I don’t mind it. From what I understand the stinger is supposed to
condensate the moisture in the smoke so it is captured/removed before the smoke
comes up the stem. Mine works pretty well and the way that the stinger is engineered with a split in it, I
can still pass a pipe cleaner in to absorb the moisture while smoking.

@motie2 I have 3 Carey magic inch pipes (estates from Tim West on Ebay) that I use the Papyrite
filters. I personally like it and notice a small improvement but nothing that would
cause me to move to them strictly. I cycle them through my rotation every other week. I get about 3-5 smokes out of one filter before
I put on a new one. The one thing I like about them is that I can still pass a pipe cleaner all the way to the bowl with no problem. Never heard of the Ducan Hill Aerosphere though.

motie2

@piperdave, here's something from Duncan Hill publicity. Like the Carey's one can run a pipe cleaner straight through the Aerosphere. Again, I favor Carey's (there's no accounting for taste <grin>), but I kept the Aerosphere because it has a beautiful grain and smokes pretty good. 

"The Duncan Hill Aerosphere smoking system utilizes the same principle of physics as the nanometer. The Aerosphere, visible as the brass pin on the side of the pipe, brings a scientifically measured amount of air into the stem with each puff. All Aerosphere smoking pipes are manufactured in the Carey shops in Bristow, Oklahoma. Each pipe is handmade with over 20 individual manufacturing steps. Every bowl is made from imported Mediterranean Briar, sanded and finished by hand. The control of the amount of air and the velocity of the air produces two effects that result in superior smoking pipe performance":

motie2

A nanometer is one billionth of a meter (I think). Hence, I don't think "nanometer" means what the Duncan Hill folks intended it to mean......

BTW, Carey still sells Aerospheres.

PappyJoe

@motie2 - No opinion. I don't have one and have never smoked one. 

mfresa

Thanks so much for the information and experiences, guys.  If I find a pipe I can't resist and it has a stinger, I'll go ahead and buy it.

Topaz75

motie2. How about "anemometer"?

motie2

@Topaz75 you may have something there. There's a venturi kind of thing going on and "anemometer" may be getting at what they were after. Thanks.

xDutchx

I would have to agree with everything PappyJoe stated.

My only preference in buying a pipe with a stinger, is that I can easily remove it before smoking, but reinsert it when not smoking, in order to maintain the pipes collectible value. Some of them can be easily removed, and there is no way to tell that the pipe ever had a stinger. Those are the ones in my experience that stand the least chance of developing a gurgle.

While it is true that most of these style pipes do not bring high dollar due to their collectible value, their value will still be higher in 50 years, due to the personal satisfaction of the collector who owns them. If a collector can find an old pipe complete, with box, paperwork, original configuration, and possibly the original price tag, they usually have themselves a gem.

Woodsman

Even some of my Petersons came with a metal tube stinger, that passes a pipe cleaner through but the 'P' lip on my bent stems defeats all but narrow tapered cleaners. Carey Pipes are some of the driest I have and the Papyrate Filters actually don't usually get stained at all unless it's really wet tobacco.

motie2

@Woodsman -- The papyrate sleeves are not actually filters; they're more like absorbents. I get ten or more smokes out of a sleeve before it goes all brown, and I'm smoking heavily cased Sutliff aromatics.....

pwkarch

I have a nice Kaywoodie 'standard" (14) bent that I have had for probably 40 or more years. It has always been a decent smoker. I personally have no issues with the "stinger" and do not want to take it out. But, I just took the stem out to see what some of you guys were talking about and if my old eyes see what I think I see, the threads to hold the stem into the briar pipe are actually part of the stinger. I think I see the threads on the rearward part of the stinger where it is attached to the interior of the stem, they are external threads and if removed would eliminate the attachment to the briar. I assume anyone with this same pipe that wanted to eliminate the stinger would need to cut it off forward of the threads designed for attachment. BTW, I don't think I ever had an issue cleaning this pipe. It is true that you cannot pass a cleaner through assembled, but after cooling down a cleaner will pass through the stinger with a little finessing. 

pwkarch

Ah, I forgot to add the cleaner will pass thru when the pipe is taken apart to clean......sorry.......

PappyJoe

From a collector's view, cutting a stinger off makes the pipe less collectible because it is no longer the pipe as it was made. It would sort of be like buying a 1965 Mustang with the V-8 replaced by a 4-cylinder. 

It still looks nice from the outside but it doesn't perform as intended.

motie2

I'm more interested in how a pipe smokes than how "collectable" it is. This all reminds me of when my sons were young and they bought comics in glassine sleeves.... and wouldn't open them to read the comics. They also did this with "action figures."

I have only owned one pipe with a stinger: a Kaywoodie Tricorn. It was my very first pipe. Cutting off the stinger with a hacksaw (leaving the threads referred to, above) made the pipe smoke one hell of a lot better. And pipe cleaners went straight through..... 

PappyJoe

@motie2 - very true. On the other hand, if it's an "estate" pipe and the stinger has been cut off, you can always talk the seller down $10 or $15 because the pipe has been damaged or altered and isn't in original condition. I have done that several times with satisfying results.

motie2