A Few Questions About My Kirsten

zonomo · Mar 26, 2013

Hey there - I know several of you have Kirsten pipes. I picked one up at our last Seattle Pipe Club. Its really beautiful but I am having a few issues with it. First off, the draw even without tobacco is hard. I have lined up the little hole at the end to make sure that wasnt the problem. I took out the "stem" (the long metal air tube) and tried to draw from that and even that by itself outside of the pipe is hard to draw. So that's probably #1. The second issue is that bowl seems loose. It can freely spin. Is this normal and can I adjust it?

BTW, the pipe is 100% clean in case that's your next question. I think the problem is probably me.

brewshooter · Mar 26, 2013

Sounds like it's blocked, mine draws quite easily. The bowl shouldn't spin. I put it on finger tight and it stays put once it reaches the end of the threads.

loneredtree · Mar 26, 2013

They do not draw as easily as my briars. Does it draw hard without the stem on? Can you pass a cleaner through the stem?
I have seen 2 styles of bowl attachment. one has a metal plate, for lack of description,I think that it threads on to the screw below the bowl. The other has just the screw. If the later is what you have, tighten the bowl by tightening the screw with a screw driver. If the former, hold the plate and tighten the screw with a driver. I hope that helps.

yadan · Mar 26, 2013

One thing you might check is the circular valve located at the bowl end of the shank. By turning this valve, you should be able to adjust the draw. If the valve does not turn and/or cannot be removed, it would be the cause of your problem.If the valve is indeed stuck, you should boil the frame (sans mouthpiece and pushrod) in alcohol or vinegar. If that doesn't help, try freezing the frame and then placing it in boiling alcohol.

If your bowl does not screw on to a stop but continues to spin, then there is a problem with the threads - either on the bowl, on the frame or possibly both.If the problem is with the bowl threads, you simply need to get a new bowl.

Hope this helps, and good luck!

rhogg · Mar 26, 2013

You can use a flat head screwdriver to secure the bowl. Look into the empty bowl. Did you clean it?

yadan · Mar 26, 2013

"You can use a flat head screwdriver to secure the bowl. Look into the empty bowl. Did you clean it?"
Wow - how did I miss that obvious piece of great advice?

+1 rhogg!

zonomo · Mar 26, 2013

One thing you might check is the circular valve located at the bowl end of the shank. By turning this valve, you should be able to adjust the draw.

So even with the stem completely out of the pipe (the mouthpiece is attached to a long metal shank), it draws hard. I did put a pipe cleaner through it and to my surprise, the pipe cleaner came out of a little side hole. Crazy. I'll post some pics when I can. The bowl is definitely lose so I'll try to tighten with a screwdriver. Thanks everyone.

loneredtree · Mar 27, 2013

The long shank is called a ram rod. You can use it to push a wad of tissue through the body in order to clean the body..

monjiro · Mar 27, 2013

I have 2 Kirstens. And I noticed the same thing on mine.

The draw is harder than any other briar or Falcon.

When you draw it gives you a louder hissing sound even without tobacco.

And especially when you pack tobacco too tight it is tongue burner for me.

So I try to pack somehow looser than most and I am thinking it is a norm for the Kirsten.

yadan · Mar 27, 2013

"One thing you might check is the circular valve located at the bowl end of the shank. By turning this valve, you should be able to adjust the draw."
"So even with the stem completely out of the pipe (the mouthpiece is attached to a long metal shank), it draws hard."
Listen, zonomo. The ramrod (stem) has no connection with the circular valve! It is that little valve which caps the stem on the bowl side. If you cannot turn or remove it, that is what's causing your lack of draw. You must loosen it by freezing and than boiling in alcohol or vinegar as I mentioned above. Once you've removed and thoroughly cleaned it, you can reinsert it at the end of the stem, and turn it till it aligns with the draw hole and provides a decent draw.

And yes, per what monjiro wrote, the draw on a Kirsten is much tighter than that on other metals such as the Falcon, Koolsmoke and Viking.

swhipple · Mar 30, 2013

As others have said they do seem to draw a little tighter than other pipes. I picked mine up as an estate and I cleaned it lightly the first time and it seemed unpleasantly tight. So I went back and cleaned it a 2nd time with lots of everclear (151%) and that seemed to improve it. The 2nd time I smoked it I used some nicely dried English blend and it smoked really well.

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A Few Questions About My Kirsten

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