Does Anyone Never Disassemble Their Pipe?

frozenchurchwarden · Feb 23, 2015

The tenon on my Ashton is exceptionally tight, but after expansion from getting wet sometimes it's so tight I actually can't re-assemble it.

Que "we warned you" and "that's just a silly risk to take" posts. Yes I'm well aware of the risks, and that's part of my motivation for this thread.
The trouble is I hate to wait 24 hours before cleaning my pipe, mostly because I want to control the smell but leaving dottle in there is certainly not going to be any good for the flavour either.

Which makes me wonder if it's reasonable to just never disassemble it?

The only problem I can see is the empty space in the shank with the stem in place. Has anyone tried filling it to make the airway one continuous passage? (maybe using an o-ring or a custom fit piece of acrylic?)
Is there any way to get this done in one cleaning or do you all clean once after smoking and then a second time the next day to get the space in the shank?
(I guess I should add that right now my routine is to disassembe after smoking and wait at least 24 hours before reassembling, but common advice is -never- disassemble immediately after smoking.)

lostandfound · Feb 23, 2015

My last pipe of the day is usually right before bed. Not two hours before- right before. So, instead of taking it apart to clean it- risking an ill-fitting stem the next smoke, I scrape out the dottle, and run no less than both sides of three pipe cleaners through the stem, and shank. The last one I leave in over-night, and I'll clean that space in the shank during my Sunday pipe cleaning time.

blueeyedogre · Feb 23, 2015

I often clean my pipes a half hour to an hour after smoking it and have never had an issue.

cosmicfolklore · Feb 23, 2015

I break mine down and clean immediately after each smoke. But, I am a tempt the gods, and defy the myth sort of guy, shaking my fists to the sky. So far, no issues with any of my pipes after years of doing this. Maybe it takes ten or so years to start to make the stem not fit.
However, I know of guys who never take their pipes apart. I would imagine they stink, but they guys smell so bad that it's hard to tell what is pipe funk and what is guy funk. Just kidding, but...
Anyways, if you don't want to break your pipe down, I don't think that the sky will fall. But, if you want to give your tenon a good cleansing occasionally, you can put the pipe in the freezer over night and it will come apart easier.

shaintiques · Feb 23, 2015

Sounds like the tenon is too tight generally on the pipe. Might need to take a hair off the tenon. Freezer method works though. I have a Dunhill in the freezer right now.

crusher47 · Feb 23, 2015

I never disassemble if I don't have to. I've had a shank crack on me once already, hope to never make that mistake again. I will always run 1 or 2 pipe cleaners through the pipe after every smoke.

freakiefrog · Feb 23, 2015

I only take mine apart if I absolutely have to and only after they have been cooling and drying for a week or more. However I make sure that my pipes will pass a cleaner through and through so I don't have to take them apart.

foggymountain · Feb 23, 2015

I rarely take the stem off. The pipe has to be bad tasting for me to take it apart & clean with alcohol.

frozenchurchwarden · Feb 23, 2015

It sounds like the weekly disassembly routine and freezer treatment should keep my pipe from exploding.

Thanks guys.

briarguys · Feb 23, 2015

Like others have said, the freezer method works fine. I have used it on a resto dunhill that had the same problem.

clickklick · Feb 23, 2015

Wait... These things come apart?

northernneil · Feb 23, 2015

I am in the leave the pipes together camp, unless the pipe has been drilled for a filter system. Those pipes are disassembled and cleaned after every smoke. Outside of that, I only disassemble after 10 - 15 smokes, or when taste turns sour, for a through cleaning.

gloucesterman · Feb 23, 2015

Over time the tenon will accumulate a coating. Some bit polish applied to it will remove that and generally make disassembly much less risky. I restore many estate pipes and if the bit resists movement even when the pipe is cool then it likely there is buildup on it (brownish ting resembling oxidation). When a pipe is warn both the bit and the shank have expanded as the result of the heat but when a pipe is cool the bit should be easily extracted. If not then the tenon should be cleaned. BUT one should never use force to get it to move. Here the freezer trick works almost without fail.

drwatson · Feb 23, 2015

Every pipe I own gets a tenon sanding w/ about 600 grit auto sandpaper, to the point that it slides in nice and without fear of cracking. Its permanent too, none of this freezer stuff.

zekest · Feb 24, 2015

Folks clean their pipes?

forest7 · Feb 24, 2015

I like use bee wax to tenon for not only loose stem but tight stem too.

Pipe shank must clean now and then due to various reason like tar,smell....

peteguy · Feb 24, 2015

I have always disassembled mine at one time or another but only when there is a need.

joeval · Feb 24, 2015

I disassemble my pipes after every smoke, just out of habit. My first couple of pipes wouldn't pass a pipe cleaner, so I could either take them apart or not clean them...
My girlfriends grandfather on the other hand, I don't think ever cleans his pipes. Smoked the same two pipes in rotation all day, every day. St Bruno flake. The most cleaning I've ever seen is using the spike of a Czech Tool town the mouthpiece! No pipe cleaners, no scraping out the bowl, let alone reaming. Tap out the ash from one pipe, rub out a flake for the next one.
A shame really - one nice billiard, and a lovely Brebbia bulldog/Rhodesian.

thehappypiper · Feb 24, 2015

If one has a filter pipe, an incredible amount of gunk builds up in the enlarged tenon joint. These stems also tend to be acrylic and have a fair amount of give, so after allowing to cool, it is bordering on compulsary to dissassemble and clean. For traditional pipes with a stable fit, the residue has little chance to build up, so it is perfectly fine to leave them fully assembled for many months, if not years. Assuming the pipe itself smokes drily and one is not a clencher, any build up of tar and/or dottle will be dealt with by using a cleaner and possibly a shank-brush dipped into alcohol every few tens of smokes.

Chasing Embers · Feb 24, 2015

Only take mine apart once a year for a salt and alcohol cleaning. Other than that, I run a bristle cleaner through them after each smoke. No foul smells or tastes here.

Does Anyone Never Disassemble Their Pipe?

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