Pipes Magazine » Pipe Smoking Basics & Beginner Questions

1. 

   joshremy
   

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   I know there are a million answers to any question of personal practice or opinion, but that's exactly what I would like to know.

   How often do you clean your pipes.
   I'm still not very certain on my own schedule. When I started smoking pipes I almost immediately got stricken with pad and had a 7 day rotation very shortly. I was cleaning once a week after reading a cleaning should be done after about 6 or 7 smokes somewhere, but then I realized if I have a different pipe every day of the week, then I was cleaning after every bowl, so of course I stopped and its been a little while since I've done a full cleaning, but even then I'd say I haven't smoked a single pipe more than 7 times since because my collection keeps growing, and my 7 day set has never been the same more than 2 weeks.

   So what do you gentlemen do? How often do you clean your pipes?

   "The true soldier fights not because he hates what is in front of him, but because he loves what is behind him." - G. K. Chesterton

   Posted 3 months ago #
2. 

   mlaug
   

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   Whenever it starts to taste sour.

   Its really that simple.

   "America is at that awkward stage. It's too late to work within the system, but too early to shoot the bastards." - Claire Wolfe

   Posted 3 months ago #
3. 

   coalsmoke
   

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   I'll smoke a particular pipe throughout the course of a day. I then clean it using a Q-tip to swab out the shank and then run a couple of pipe cleaners through it and put it up to rest while I smoke another.

   Russ
   Smoking a pipe is true relaxation. Everything else is work.

   Posted 3 months ago #
4. 

   redbeard
   

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   I try and smoke a certain pipe only once in a day, stick a pipe cleaner down the steam to get out any moisture and let it sit till the next time. Do a full on alcohol and salt treatment when it tastes sour or feel like it could use it.

   Posted 3 months ago #
5. 

   gwtwdbss
   

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   I like to run an alcohol soaked pipe cleaner after each smoke then a few dry ones till they come out looking clean. After about a dozen smokes I use a shank brush soaked on alcohol or some bristled cleaners. It might be overkill, but to me a nice clean pipe ensures a sweet smoke.

   "I run a craftsman's shop, not a factory, my pipes are works of art, fruit of experts hands, heart and fantasy" ~Carlo Scotti

   Posted 3 months ago #
6. 

   lyle
   

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   Personally, fter break-in, I let my pipes rest for at least 7 days between smokes, using only a few pipe cleaners after each smoke. After 5-7 smokes, I disassemble and deep clean with alcohol, and do any needed exterior maintenance. I usually batch up a small group to deep clean all together.

   I feel like this is conservative, but it keeps my pipes sweet and dry. Plus, it kind of forces me to use more pipes more frequently.

   Posted 3 months ago #
7. 

   05venturer
   

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   I smoke anywhere from 5-10 bowls per day, runa pipe cleaner through after each smoke or 2 then give it a good cleaning at the end of the day and let it sit for 4-5 days for my rotation. I also pretty much smoke only cobs.

   Kent
   
   

   Posted 3 months ago #
8. 

   rcstan
   

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   Pipe cleaner after each smoke, paper towel to the shank if I'm smoking a Peterson System, paper towel and/or bottle brush to the bowl after each smoke. Shank cleaning with Q-tip at the end of the day. Alcohol to the stem and shank as needed. Rest at least 24 hours. Trim the cake as needed, about every couple months. No more than 3 bowls out of one pipe per day. I have 15 pipes and 2 cobs.

   

   Posted 3 months ago #
9. 

   rothnh
   

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   I clean mine after every smoke. 1-3 pipe cleaners, scrape gently with dull pipe knife, ream bowl with paper towel.

   Full cleanings about one a week (151 rum, shank brush, pipe cleaners, paper towels, Obsidian Oil, and maybe some mineral oil, some silver polish and/or some of Dave Wolff's vulcanite stem cleaner if needed).

   Posted 3 months ago #
10. 

    clynch
    

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    Hi, I'm new at this. You actually clean with rum vice alcohol? Sounds interesting.

    Posted 3 months ago #
11. 

    Uberam3rica
    

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    After every smoke I let the pipe rest, once cooled I remove the stem and run alcohol soaked pipe cleaners through it till clean. Then I take a shank brush soaked in alcohol and clean the shank. If the brush doesn't fit, then I use a bristled pipe cleaner that I bend in half.

    As long as I got a pipe full of baccy and a nose full of snuff, I'm a happy camper
    Cigarettes are an addiction, cigars are a hobby, pipes are a religion

    Posted 3 months ago #
12. 

    Spartan
    

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    I let my pipes go 10 smokes without an alcohol cleaning. I still ran a dry pipe cleaner through them to collect any excess moisture after every smoke.

    It was pretty gross lol

    I'm an advocate of a small/basic cleaning after every smoke. That way you can do a deep cleaning every 6 months or so.

    Just like the dentist.

    "I was born to lose. So I'll die to win." -Breaking Benjamin

    Posted 3 months ago #
13. 

    eibhir
    

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    I use pipe cleaners and wipe out the bowl with a paper towel after every bowl smoked.

    A smile will always keep them guessing.

    Posted 3 months ago #
14. 

    rlunderhill
    

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    I use pipe cleaners at night when my day is over. I smell the bowl and stem. If it smells? (bad) I go father in the cleaning. If I don't do a good cleaning, it ruin's the next bowls flavor.

    If I use any alcohol, I let the pipe rest for a week before smoking it again. When I go out for the day, I always have 4 to 5 clean pipes with me in the truck. I change off tobacco's as the day goes on. I enjoy the experience more when I do this. I save the cleaning for when I get home and I'm done smoking my pipes for the day. I enjoy the cleaning as much as I enjoy the smoking. You take care of your stuff, ya know?

    Posted 3 months ago #
15. 

    bobpnm
    

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    Probably not as often as I should.

    Posted 3 months ago #
16. 

    instymp
    

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    +1 mlaug, run pipe cleaners at the end of day till clean. (2-3)

    Posted 3 months ago #
17. 

    joshremy
    

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    There is really a lot of variation. That is one of the great things about the love of pipes. Its always different according to the personality of the one who smokes. We can be as obsessive or relaxed as we want, and aside from actually destroying the pipe in the process there is not really a right way or a wrong way.

    I'm still developing my rhythm. I use a pipe cleaner in the stem and bowl after I've smoked a bowl. And since I probably do not smoke the same pipe but once a week (or less), I'll probably go with a quarterly deep clean.

    Posted 3 months ago #

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