djo
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Post by djo on Sept 19, 2018 13:49:18 GMT -5
Recently I've seen a couple of posts about cleaning weekly or even daily. Why do this?
I usually smoke only one pipe at a time - right now it's a rusticated Stanwell Canadian - and I smoke it for 6 to 8 weeks before giving it a good cleaning, put it back on the shelf, and grab another victim. A pipe is a piece of wood people; it's kinda hard to screw up.
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Post by peteguy on Sept 19, 2018 13:53:30 GMT -5
I run a pipe cleaner, from stem to bowl, after every smoke and swab out the bowl with a pipe cleaner. If the pipe wont pass a cleaner then I have a tendency to not smoke it very often. As far a cleaning - I assume you mean with alcohol, salt treatment, brushes, buffing, etc?
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Post by Legend Lover on Sept 19, 2018 14:08:47 GMT -5
I'm the same. I've only done the alcohol treatment on my estate pipes from ebay, but more for cleansing of bacteria before I smoke them.
I would run a pipe cleaner through and also rub the whole inside of the bowl with the bent cleaner before popping back in the drawer.
It's been said before, but there are people I knew as a child who smoked a pipe day and daily and never rotated or cleaned and they did well. When, of if, that pipe stopped 'working' they'd buy a new pipe and work away again.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Sept 19, 2018 14:36:14 GMT -5
I clean all my briars in the weekly rotation on Sunday morning while watching back to back episodes of Alias Smith and Jones. Both are fun.
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Post by Matthew on Sept 19, 2018 14:43:34 GMT -5
A pipe is a piece of wood people; it's kinda hard to screw up.
Wanna Bet !  I've pulled the shank off the bowl before. Reamed right thru the bottom on an old estate. I only "clean" them as needed,(ghosting, soured,too much cake).Usually just a quick scrape with the spoon blade and blow out the dust. |
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Post by AJ on Sept 19, 2018 14:46:54 GMT -5
I run a bristle pipe cleaner through the stem to chamber followed by bending the cleaner and cleaning out the shank and chamber after every smoke. Whether it’s necessary is debatable but since I enjoy caring for my pipes it’s part of my smoking routine.
AJ
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Post by blackmouth210 on Sept 19, 2018 15:43:16 GMT -5
I'm not fussy about my pipe cleaning habits or about my pipes' cosmetic appearance.
Some are.
But that doesn't have anything to do with me.
Their pipe. Their time. Their choice.
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Post by LSUTigersFan on Sept 19, 2018 15:58:35 GMT -5
I usually have my butler clean the pipe after each smoke. I had to get rid of my dedicated pipe servant, as I felt it was too pretentious. I like to identify with the common man on occasion.
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Post by Matthew on Sept 19, 2018 16:08:27 GMT -5
I usually have my butler clean the pipe after each smoke. I had to get rid of my dedicated pipe servant, as I felt it was too pretentious. I like to identify with the common man on occasion. So you're the "Tyrant" Jevves told me of. He said he used to take your bits and rub them on his ,,,,,,Foot...... |
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Sept 19, 2018 18:41:24 GMT -5
I run a pipe cleaner thru the stem and a bristle pipe cleaner thru the draft after every smoke. I also rub down the briars with some of my mixture...bee’s wax and mineral oil. Also the stems...never any oxidation 👍👍
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Post by Ronv69 on Sept 19, 2018 18:45:55 GMT -5
Recently I've seen a couple of posts about cleaning weekly or even daily. Why do this?
I usually smoke only one pipe at a time - right now it's a rusticated Stanwell Canadian - and I smoke it for 6 to 8 weeks before giving it a good cleaning, put it back on the shelf, and grab another victim. A pipe is a piece of wood people; it's kinda hard to screw up.
Bkeechk! I clean my pipes after every smoke. |
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Post by dave g on Sept 19, 2018 19:27:30 GMT -5
There’s various degrees of cleaning a pipe. I run a pipe cleaner through after each smoke and keep the cake to a minimum. This is basic maintenance.
Of course the old school way is to just smoke until it’s plugged up and buy a new one.
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Post by LSUTigersFan on Sept 19, 2018 19:29:51 GMT -5
I usually have my butler clean the pipe after each smoke. I had to get rid of my dedicated pipe servant, as I felt it was too pretentious. I like to identify with the common man on occasion. So you're the "Tyrant" Jevves told me of. He said he used to take your bits and rub them on his ,,,,,,Foot...... I have standards |
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Post by trailboss on Sept 19, 2018 19:39:11 GMT -5
This is another one where “Whatever works for you”.  |
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Post by JimInks on Sept 19, 2018 19:42:55 GMT -5
I clean my pipes after every smoke with pipe cleaners. I only dip them in Vodka when I detect some gunkiness in the taste of the tobacco. I keep the cake thin, too.
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Post by monbla256 on Sept 19, 2018 22:08:23 GMT -5
After smoking , I put a cleaner in the pipe and let it stay for about 30 min. then pull out and that's it. Wipe down the bowl and put the pipe back in the rack. Once a month I take the pipes in my monthly rotation, check the cake and ream as necessary run some ream n clean cleaner thru the stem and around the bowl and put the pipe up till it's turn in a rotation. Works for me !  |
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Post by trailboss on Sept 19, 2018 22:12:06 GMT -5
I clean my pipes after every smoke with pipe cleaners. I only dip them in Vodka when I detect some gunkiness in the taste of the tobacco. I keep the cake thin, too. If you switch out Everclear for Vodka, I am in the same lane as Jim on this. |
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Post by Deleted on Sept 19, 2018 22:13:13 GMT -5
I clean my pipes after every smoke with pipe cleaners. I only dip them in Vodka when I detect some gunkiness in the taste of the tobacco. I keep the cake thin, too. Keeping a thin cake works best for me as well👍 |
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Post by JimInks on Sept 19, 2018 23:40:07 GMT -5
I clean my pipes after every smoke with pipe cleaners. I only dip them in Vodka when I detect some gunkiness in the taste of the tobacco. I keep the cake thin, too. If you switch out Everclear for Vodka, I am in the same lane as Jim on this. North Carolina won't sell spirits above 100%. Otherwise, I'd use Everclear. |
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Post by antb on Sept 20, 2018 2:55:10 GMT -5
After smoking , I put a cleaner in the pipe and let it stay for about 30 min. then pull out and that's it. Wipe down the bowl and put the pipe back in the rack. Once a month I take the pipes in my monthly rotation, check the cake and ream as necessary run some ream n clean cleaner thru the stem and around the bowl and put the pipe up till it's turn in a rotation. Works for me ! ^^^^^This is me as well |
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Post by haebar on Sept 20, 2018 4:12:16 GMT -5
My pipe cleaning habits fall in line with most of you here. I used pipe cleaners with each smoke, ream when necessary and do a "deep cleaning" every 6 months to a year on the pipes in my current rotation. Deep cleaning for me means using bristle cleaners with alcohol (Golden Grain alcohol or some rum or vodka), followed up with regular pipe cleaners until the pipe cleaner comes out clean. I rarely do the salt/alcohol treatment unless I am restoring a gunky, neglected estate pipe. I have sent in pipes for ozone treatment at Walker Pipe Repair, but only for badly ghosted estate pipes.
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Post by qmechanics on Sept 20, 2018 4:19:17 GMT -5
I clean my pipes after every smoke with pipe cleaners. I only dip them in Vodka when I detect some gunkiness in the taste of the tobacco. I keep the cake thin, too. If you switch out Everclear for Vodka, I am in the same lane as Jim on this. I am with both of you on this one, though I tend to give a light cleaning after each smoke (Sometimes sporadically always after the pipe rests). A major treatment is also in the works when I notice that my normal cleaning method is inefficient. Back in the day, I might have waited to do a routine maintenance(As described above). Once I noticed the inconsistencies in the taste of my tobaccos, I added a few steps. To clarify I have always dedicated specific pipes to English, Virginia and aromatic tobacco blends and kept a steady rotation of a week's rest per pipe. Still I noticed like blends could become muted even by similar smokes in a given pipe. Once I adopted a gentle cleaning procedure (and other practices), it improved things greatly. PS One of my thoughts on pipe tobacco reviews is they can be easily tainted by the practices of a given pipe smoker. By eliminating as many polluting factors as one can, the smoker frees up his or her palate which makes for a more objective review. Different experiences that are often dismissed as subjective (No doubt tastes do differ according to each person's physiology www.vivo.colostate.edu/hbooks/pathphys/digestion/pregastric/taste.html ) can also be affected by other factors. |
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Post by morallynomadic on Sept 20, 2018 5:51:12 GMT -5
I used to use pipe cleaners after each smoke, now generally I'll give it the old wrist flick, take the stem off, blow through the stem and bowl separately, reassemble, and then move onto something else. As for outward appearances, Maybe once every three months I'll wipe off the tar and lava build up on the rim if I'm going to sit down and fiddle around with the pipes. Generally I have a very laissez-faire attitude towards my pipes. I smoke without thinking too much about my packing, cadence, dissecting flavor profiles, etc.. I also have the same attitude towards maintenance, I guess... or maybe about everything.
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Post by pappyjoe on Sept 20, 2018 7:55:02 GMT -5
It really depends on your definition of clean.
To me, running a pipe cleaner through the stem and wiping out the bowl with a tissue or the pipe cleaner is not "cleaning" as much as the tail-end of the smoking process.
When I do a routine cleaning, it includes a light reaming, swabbing the airway with alcohol and polishing the stem. If I bored, I may apply some wax and lightly buff.
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Post by smellthehatfirst on Sept 20, 2018 8:33:17 GMT -5
I'm the same. I've only done the alcohol treatment on my estate pipes from ebay, but more for cleansing of bacteria before I smoke them. I'm not worried about bacteria in the stummel. I just feel alcohol does a good job of exorcising the ghost of Captain Black. |
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Post by smellthehatfirst on Sept 20, 2018 8:33:47 GMT -5
When I do a routine cleaning, it includes a light reaming, swabbing the airway with alcohol and polishing the stem. If I bored, I may apply some wax and lightly buff. Yep, pipes in my daily rotation get this treatment every few weeks.
Minus the buff. I just hand wax because I do not own a buffer.
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Post by daveinlax on Sept 20, 2018 8:57:24 GMT -5
I take JT Cooke’s advice and I avoid separating a pipe as much as possible.  |
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Post by smellthehatfirst on Sept 20, 2018 9:30:41 GMT -5
I take JT Cooke’s advice and I avoid separating a pipe as much as possible. I took Fred Hanna's advice, and now I separate a pipe whenever I feel like it, even when hot.
(If he's been doing it for forty years with no harm done, why can't I?)
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Post by Deleted on Sept 20, 2018 10:29:09 GMT -5
smellthehatfurst ^^^^^^^ I’ve cleaned my pipes for over 45 years.....never a shank crack or tenon issue due to over cleaning. I just let the pipe cool down for a few minutes before gently removing the stem.
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Post by johnlawitzke on Sept 20, 2018 13:29:54 GMT -5
To me, a clean pipe is a good tasting pipe. I can notice that the taste of a pipe starts to be off after 7 or 8 bowls.
When I finish a bowl, I leave a cleaner inserted to absorb moisture while the pipe cools down. After the pipe has cooled, I dump the ash, run a cleaner through it, bend the cleaner in half and give the bowl a wipe. I call that basic daily maintenance.
After 5 or 6 bowls, I disassemble the pipe and do a thorough clean with Everclear (151 proof) and bristle cleaners plus check if any cake maintenance is needed. However, I don't use bristle cleaners on the stem as I don't want to scratch up the polished airway.
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