My Pipe Won't Work Properly
- Thread starter hawkehold00
- Start date
SmokingPipes.com Updates
Watch for Updates Twice a Week
PipesMagazine Approved Sponsor
Site Sponsors
PipesMagazine Approved Sponsor
PipesMagazine Approved Sponsor
PipesMagazine Approved Sponsor
PipesMagazine Approved Sponsor
- Status
Hello, and welcome to the forum. Won't work? What exactly does that mean?
Whatever the problem, it's probably too wet, and will need a few days to dry out. I wouldn't recommend washing it with water. Try running a clean and dry pipe cleaner through it after each smoke. If you do that, it shouldn't need a good alcohol cleaning very often.
Whatever the problem, it's probably too wet, and will need a few days to dry out. I wouldn't recommend washing it with water. Try running a clean and dry pipe cleaner through it after each smoke. If you do that, it shouldn't need a good alcohol cleaning very often.
Seasoned, or well-smoked pipes can tolerate a brief exposure to water. But there's no need to do that to a new pipe. In fact, it is advisable to allow the oils and resins in tobacco to soak into new wood. I'm guessing that the wood in the shank has swollen, as quint intimated. Follow his suggestions, and hope that the pipe isn't ruined.
A quick hot water flush immediately followed by a good towel drying should cause no harm. At least it never has for me. T'was a tip I picked up from the fellow above ^^^^^^
Regards,
Jay.
Regards,
Jay.
Is this a double entendre? 24 hours and the first time poster is gone. :
: Really makes me curious as to what the problem was. It's a rather simple tool. About the only thing I can think of that make a pipe seem "not to work" would be if the airway was clogged.
Problem was: English not first language? Very busy chap? Troll?
And a hot water flush not only won't cause a problem, but will solve several. Not for cobs or pipes with cracks in bowl or shank.
And a hot water flush not only won't cause a problem, but will solve several. Not for cobs or pipes with cracks in bowl or shank.
I finally gave the hot water method a try. It really does work wonderfully well. The best part about it is how sweet the pipe smells after a treatment. No issues with swelling, which shouldn't be much of a surprise given how unabsorbent briar is. The only real drawback has been with pipes that are coated in microcrystalline waxes like Paragon, Halcyon, or Renaissance. It washes them off. But I just re-wax and all is good.
I agree Sable. The biggest drawback is that since my pipes never get a sour smell now, I let them go longer between deep cleans.
I think that moisture in the mortise can be an issue, especially if a pipe is condensing the moisture out at the tenon (maybe a poorly fit tenon or short tenon to the long mortise) and the moisture will collect there and stays. I've had a pipe do this. But rinsing it out with water and then drying it might be a solution, maybe.
I think that moisture in the mortise can be an issue, especially if a pipe is condensing the moisture out at the tenon (maybe a poorly fit tenon or short tenon to the long mortise) and the moisture will collect there and stays. I've had a pipe do this. But rinsing it out with water and then drying it might be a solution, maybe.
sable's post interested me. I have never used water on my pipes. I scoop out the cold ash, wipe out the bowl with a paper towel or napkin, put a pipe cleaner through the airway, and buff the whole pipe down with a polishing clothe. All this is done by rote and muscle memory and takes a few minutes. From time to time when it seems warranted, I remove the stem and do a more thorough cleaning. Water has never seemed necessary. Scooping and wiping out the bowl removes cake so I don't have to ream. I'm not prescribing this as the method to use, but it works well for me and seems to agree with my pipes including those thirty to forty years old. It was pointed out in a post some months back that water is used in carving pipes and finishing the briar, so getting briar wet within reason isn't a problem. But I haven't found it necessary either, although sables' recommendation comes from an experienced pipe man.
I do all the kinds of regular maintenance that MSO described, wiping out the bowl, cleaning out the airway from chamber to slot, and cleaning out the mortise. So my pipes don't get crapped up with crumbly cake, or gummy build up in the airway. Still, periodically I do a deeper cleaning. This time around, rather than use alcohol I tried the hot water rinse, followed immediately by drying the pipe inside and out. The acrid smell of tobacco oils was nowhere to be found. Wiping out the bowl removed more of the residue than wiping it out dry, and the remaining result is hard carbon coating the chamber walls, not flaky cake. So far, no negatives.
Yes, this will, hereforth and forever and ever be known as the Sablebrush technique. You're welcome... ::
:
Cleaning the mortise is key. Q-tips or a rolled paper towel do it well, followed by a pipe cleaner down the airway of the stummel and stem. Replace the stem before the mortise can change size.
BTW, more moisture enters the cake and briar when it's steam, as in when you smoke tobacco with moisture- and all tobacco has some moisture. So I've found that if the pipe has been smoked dry, immediately hot water flushed, then dried, it's quite smokeable right then. (though usually it gets rested.)
BTW, more moisture enters the cake and briar when it's steam, as in when you smoke tobacco with moisture- and all tobacco has some moisture. So I've found that if the pipe has been smoked dry, immediately hot water flushed, then dried, it's quite smokeable right then. (though usually it gets rested.)
I've never utilized this hot water method AKA the 'jpm-Sable Method of Pipe Cleaning'.
Just to be clear on this jpm-Sable Method: you take the stem out after letting the pipe cool and then pour hot water through the stem and then through the pipe; then use paper towel and pipe-cleaners/qtips to wipe and dry both parts? Then you reassemble and rest it ?
I use the method, but not every time. I don’t bother with letting my pipe cool off, but YMMV. I am not sure why a tenon would change sizes. Mine never have, but people say theirs do, so again, YMMV. But, As with every method or suggestion, if I suggest people remove a tenon while the pipe is hot, you have to be careful who you suggest this to. I’ve seen gorilla men with big ham fists just yank the tenon out like they are pulling a pin on a grenade. Maybe every method or suggestion is not meant for everyone. Like suggesting Dremel tools or pocketknives to remove cake. Not everyone has a skilled touch.
For cleaning, I always remove the stem after the pipe has cooled. The hot water rinse gets applied to the bowl. I don't think that hot water on the stem is a good idea as it can affect the bend in a vulcanite stem. But so far, no issues with a bit of warm water. Doesn't seem to hurt acrylic, and alcohol is bad for acrylic, so that's a plus. If in doubt, use alcohol for your vulcanite stems.
If anything bad happens beyond a need to renew the polish, I'll report back.
If anything bad happens beyond a need to renew the polish, I'll report back.
"No issues with swelling, which shouldn't be much of a surprise given how unabsorbent briar is."
This is precisely why I find Zack's comment of "I would never use water- it swells the wood" so puzzling. He knows briar and its intricate capabilities being a pipemaker himself so why does he think a hot running shower would be so negative a treatment to a pipe?
Assuming the stummel is dried properly straight after said rinse then how does it absorb any significant amount of water?
Have you had a negative experience yourself in doing this Zack?
Regards,
Jay.
This is precisely why I find Zack's comment of "I would never use water- it swells the wood" so puzzling. He knows briar and its intricate capabilities being a pipemaker himself so why does he think a hot running shower would be so negative a treatment to a pipe?
Assuming the stummel is dried properly straight after said rinse then how does it absorb any significant amount of water?
Have you had a negative experience yourself in doing this Zack?
Regards,
Jay.
- Status