Pipe care: cleaning the bit - scratch on the inside a bad thing?

dgetzin · Jul 14, 2018

Hello, good to see this great community resource here. Recently I got a beautiful savinelli 313 and after the first quarter bowl to break it in, the thing performs amazingly. However - still being in anxious “new thing mode” when I went to clean the bit, I used cheap cleaners when I shouldn’t , the problem is the wire end was slightly splayed and got stuck scratching inside the mouth-side end of the bit.
SO am I just over protective of a new pipe? Or do scratches inside a bit make any difference at all to draw or cleaning? I’m hoping that it makes no difference to draw or cleaning and /or my continued cleanings over what I hope is decades of use will polish out that scratch on the inside of the bit.
The bit is acrylic. Should I care? I guess it could be replaced - but does anyone have solid experience with this? Thanks so much.

npod · Jul 14, 2018

It’s patina. Like your first scuff on a new pair of shoes. It’s all good. Smoke on. Earlier this year I burned the rim on a new virgin high end chimney pipe on my first light. It really irked me, but now it’s like a battle scar and I enjoy the pipe more because I don’t worry about babying it.

jpmcwjr · Jul 14, 2018

No worries.
Some take extreme care in the making of a pipe to assure that the airway is flawless: smooth and as straight as possible. Some smokers are concerned about that, too. I've not worried a bit about scratches in the airway, though I take some care not to make them.
Good question! And welcome to the forum. Fire away with any questions, observations, etc. Etc.

mso489 · Jul 14, 2018

I'd be amazed if it is a problem. But buy good pipe cleaners. By the way, according to my credible independent pipe shop proprietor, the bristles on bristle pipe cleaners are nylon so soft enough they do not scratch the airway, should that question arise. Enjoy your pipe.

Chasing Embers · Jul 14, 2018

I had that happen once, and heat and oils from the smoke further deteriorated the scratch until a piece fell out of the stem. Poor pipe. :crying:

scloyd · Jul 14, 2018

After I purchased my first Savinelli I was so careful with it that I didn't really enjoy smoking it. When I wanted a smoke I started grabbing a cheaper pipe and kept leaving the Savinelli in it's sock. Then one day I thought to myself "screw it, just smoke the damn thing". Now I smoke it just like any other pipe and I enjoy it.

jpmcwjr · Jul 14, 2018

Good!,

jaytex1969 · Jul 14, 2018

I don't consider a piece of property truly mine until I've gotten that first ding in place.
That 313 is a nice shape. Welcome to the forum and enjoy your pipe!

dgetzin · Jul 15, 2018

Thanks so much everyone, excellent feedback, I'll be enjoying this with more calm assurance now. The bottom quarter has the beginning of an excellent char.
By the way, this is an unusual 313 in that it is a 9mm filter. For anyone who enjoys 9mm filters, I had a pleasant surprise noting that unlike all my other pipes, the Savinelli has a "snap" that the filter fits into, instead of the somewhat loose fit of my Vauen and others. This tightens the draw, but it means that ALL the smoke is going through the filter, keeps things dry and cool.
Glad to be here, thanks so much.

mikethompson · Jul 15, 2018

Yeah you should be fine, like others said. Unless you're gauging out chunks with your cleaners it won't matter to the airflow.

Search

Search

Pipe care: cleaning the bit - scratch on the inside a bad thing?

Log in

SmokingPipes.com Updates

PipesMagazine Approved Sponsor

Site Sponsors

PipesMagazine Approved Sponsor

PipesMagazine Approved Sponsor

PipesMagazine Approved Sponsor

PipesMagazine Approved Sponsor

dgetzin

Lurker

npod

Lifer

jpmcwjr

Moderator

mso489

Lifer

Chasing Embers

Captain of the Black Frigate

scloyd

Lifer

jpmcwjr

Moderator

jaytex1969

Lifer

dgetzin

Lurker

mikethompson

Lifer