Don't you have a pipe shop nearby? They always have some refurbished pipes available, unless it's a "mall shop." Lately, I have gone in and hand fitted a used stem from a junk drawer to my generic or cheap pipes. I find one that sort of fits and finish it at home. You can soften them in boiling water or the oven to re-shape the bend. About two hundred degrees is enough.
I sent one of my Petersons to Lowe a couple of years ago, because it is a very valuable pipe and I did not want to chance a mistake. If you have a military or stick fit stem, a Peterson System replacement might fit, but they aren't cheap.
I have also ordered once from this site, but I have only ordered numbers 648, 441 and 592. These things only vaguely resemble pipe stems and they call them "blanks." They require some hand fitting to make them work. The amount of hand work necessary to make them fit well, makes the twenty something bucks at Lowe's seem cheap. If you have an old, well mellowed pipe, it's worth fixing.
Haven't ever seen good stems alone for sale.
That's always what goes. Hell, I can't find used
pipes. I'm not terribly attached to most of what
I have right here. Got the Molina's for about $20 each,
and can do so again from Thompson.
Thanks for the tips about shaping them though.
Always figured I'd just have to chance on a fix.
Thanks for that link. Saved it.
Those are nice and cheap. If
I can get a close fit, this is fantastic.
