I like Raleigh tobacco and I have several pipes I smoke SWR in exclusively. I think it's a great smoke but it does tend to leave a residue in the shank and bowl which is kind of gooey and can build up pretty fast. Soon the shank and bottom of the bowl are so full of it that the pipe doesn't want to dare.
Conventional pipe cleaners are almost useless for cleaning this goo out... it would take a whole pack. The "bristle" type are much better but it still takes quite a few. So, I came up with what I think is a better way. Here's how.
Take a piece of metal coat hanger about 10-12" long, fold about 2" of one end over 180 degrees to make a handle. Make sure the other end is flat... you can sand or grind it if needed. Now you have "the tool".
What I do is use the tool to "push" the goo out. I put the flat end of the tool in the shank and push it thought the draft hole turning the pipe as I do it several times to make sure I get all the sides. Then I clean out the goo that has been pushed to the bottom of the bowl. Finally I finish off with one bristle pipe cleaner. Done!
A few final thoughts: I've been using this technique for over 40 years and it works great. One pipe guy who saw me do this said he would never do it because he thought it would ream out the draft hole and ruin the pipe. I said I agreed but that it would probably take 500 years! 40 years has not caused any problems at all and the draft holes don't seem to have gotten any bigger. I would however not recommend this for a meerschaum. You might want to give it a try, after all, if you don't like the result you're not out anything.
Conventional pipe cleaners are almost useless for cleaning this goo out... it would take a whole pack. The "bristle" type are much better but it still takes quite a few. So, I came up with what I think is a better way. Here's how.
Take a piece of metal coat hanger about 10-12" long, fold about 2" of one end over 180 degrees to make a handle. Make sure the other end is flat... you can sand or grind it if needed. Now you have "the tool".
What I do is use the tool to "push" the goo out. I put the flat end of the tool in the shank and push it thought the draft hole turning the pipe as I do it several times to make sure I get all the sides. Then I clean out the goo that has been pushed to the bottom of the bowl. Finally I finish off with one bristle pipe cleaner. Done!
A few final thoughts: I've been using this technique for over 40 years and it works great. One pipe guy who saw me do this said he would never do it because he thought it would ream out the draft hole and ruin the pipe. I said I agreed but that it would probably take 500 years! 40 years has not caused any problems at all and the draft holes don't seem to have gotten any bigger. I would however not recommend this for a meerschaum. You might want to give it a try, after all, if you don't like the result you're not out anything.