@RussianWolf (Mike)
There wasn't much interest in the solid colors. I had a passing interest in them for, ironically, pen making - but only one other pipe maker expressed any real interest. You don't really see pipes made with colorful stems like that since most pipers are traditionalists. There's nothing saying they couldn't be used , it's just that you wouldn't sell very much.
@rstought (Bob)
Actually, ebonite can last an incredibly long time without oxidizing. Properly cared for, it may never oxidize. Same with vulcanite - properly cared for, it might never oxidize. The problem is, "properly cared for" means regular cleanings, reapplication of carnuba wax, etc. Given that, some vulcanite stems can go gray within a matter of months if never cleaned. Ebonite resists this for years. That's part of why hand-cut stems are so sought after, and people pay a premium for them. Factory pipes typically use vulcanite stems, while artisans usually cut their own from ebonite rod for their higher grade pipes.
Now, consider this though, pipe stems are subjected to a rather hostile environment on a weekly or daily basis. Pens would (hopefully) never be stuck in someone's mouth for extended periods and treated to tobacco smoke. As long as the pen is kept out of sunlight, I don't think there would be anything to worry about as far as the pen going all ugly. I have a pen I madea while back from brindled ebonite (aka Cumberland) that is still shiny and deep black with red graining some two years after I first made it - and I use it every day.
@PTJeff
As the vulcanite is extruded, it has a rough surface similar to what you might get when extruding Play-Doh. The manufacturer can precision grind this off to attain a smoothed surface ideal for using in collet chucks. The rough surface isn't suitable for holding in a collet chuck, but there's no other real reason for it. The rough surface can be held in a set of regular pin or spigot jaws for drilling with no problem. To reduce the incidence of off-axis drilling, I usually cut the ebonite to length, and use spigot jaws to grip as much of the rough surface as possible. BUT, with my recent acquisition of a Beal collet chuck, I've started ordering smoothed rods so that I don't have to deal with that. It's not actually a problem, it just helps me work a bit more efficiently when coupled with my metal lathe.
The group buy ran into some communication issues which delayed things. Those seem to have been resolved, and once we were talking in real time, things moved right along.
As Bill said, the real challenge is in meeting the minimum order. If they don't have the rod you need in stock, you might have to wait until the next time they get enough orders in to make it worthwhile to reconfigure the extruder. Since the extruder needs to be completely cleaned out, the dies changed, and floor reconfigured, it's a pretty labor intensive process to go from one product to another.
