Difference Between Missouri Meer Freehand Stem & Walker Forever Stem on a General?

[Mister Moo]

About 20 bucks.

I give the MM replacement Freehand stem marks for inexpensive, good quality and nice bite-feel for clenchers. For some MM pipes the Freehand tenon may need some clear nail polish filler, filing or sanding to make fit. It is a lifetime-grade stem and it comes in any color you want as long as it's black. At eight-clams it is a steal. http://corncobpipe.com/index.php/pipe-bits.html

I give Walker Briar Works high marks for highest quality, variety of colors, choice of materials and made-to-fit (no endless minute of sanding). They named it "Forever" for a reason. Never heard a complaint about Walker Briar. Around $24 is fair. http://www.walkerbriarworks.com/html/-forever-_stems.html

Been smoking the same (twice mudded) General for years - love it. I went Freehand replacement when I got it - darn near perfect. Also, I just like doing business with those boys out in a Missouri cornfield who, through thick and thin, have managed to keep an American icon in production. If they raised the price from $8.00 to $25.00 for a stem I'd probably pay it.

http://i.imgur.com/ch1eUsV.jpg

[Haebar]

They have redesigned the MM freehand stem so that it fits the other MM filter pipes. Older MM freehand stems don't fit the General. The only reason I mentioned it was that I read your post and went and tried changing the stem to a General. The old design was more of a wedge fitting where the new ones have a traditional mortise and tenon arrangement.