Hello all!
I have searched these forums and received advice from many great/talented smokers on cleaning pipes. Most of my pipes have been estate pipes, and they aren't the cleanest things you'll ever see. I don't mind getting my hands dirty, so I thought I could clean them up myself. I have read before that in order to clean the black "gunk" off of a rim, you can just simply use a moist rag and some elbow grease. Another poster said they use a soft toothbrush and gently scrub, but only if the "gunk" is really bad. Well, I did this and I was amazed that the black "gunk" came right off! I originally thought it was just the singed wood and nothing could be done.
One problem, however. I did this on a pipe I paid three bucks for, since I figured I didn't have too much invested in it, and I knew it wouldn't affect the smoking quality. The pipe is a Scandia 799, made in Denmark. After the black crap was gone, the wood around the rim was a bit faded. Have I done something wrong? I tried not to scrub too hard... Not that I could as my arm strength is lacking (haha.)
As usual, I apologize if the answer is posted somewhere else. I do some searching before each post to try and eliminate repeats, but I could have missed something. There are a lot of posts!
Any advice, information, corrections, comments, tips, etc. would be extremely helpful, and, as always, much appreciated.
Smokey :
:
I have searched these forums and received advice from many great/talented smokers on cleaning pipes. Most of my pipes have been estate pipes, and they aren't the cleanest things you'll ever see. I don't mind getting my hands dirty, so I thought I could clean them up myself. I have read before that in order to clean the black "gunk" off of a rim, you can just simply use a moist rag and some elbow grease. Another poster said they use a soft toothbrush and gently scrub, but only if the "gunk" is really bad. Well, I did this and I was amazed that the black "gunk" came right off! I originally thought it was just the singed wood and nothing could be done.
One problem, however. I did this on a pipe I paid three bucks for, since I figured I didn't have too much invested in it, and I knew it wouldn't affect the smoking quality. The pipe is a Scandia 799, made in Denmark. After the black crap was gone, the wood around the rim was a bit faded. Have I done something wrong? I tried not to scrub too hard... Not that I could as my arm strength is lacking (haha.)
As usual, I apologize if the answer is posted somewhere else. I do some searching before each post to try and eliminate repeats, but I could have missed something. There are a lot of posts!
Any advice, information, corrections, comments, tips, etc. would be extremely helpful, and, as always, much appreciated.
Smokey :
:
