Broke another fucking mouthpiece.
Really need to find somewhere I can get
pipes used.
... or learn to fix them yourself, like I have done. I have replaced the stems on over a dozen pipes in the past. I try to keep them in my mouth, sometimes, and one unexpected stress hits and I bite right through them. You could also pay to have them repaired by a pipe shop if it's one of your favorites.
How do you get new stems?
Always been the weak point for me,
though I've cracked a few bowls.
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.
