Sidebar

Pipe Cleaners

Log in

Forgot your password?

SmokingPipes.com Updates

Watch for Updates Twice a Week

PipesMagazine Approved Sponsor

Site Sponsors

Al Pascia
Blue Room Briars
Cigar World
Danish Pipe Shop
LePipe.it
Missouri Meerschaum
Pipes2Smoke.com
PipeStud.com
Seattle Pipe Club Tobaccos
SmokingPipes.com
Tabaccheria Corti
TinBids.com

PipesMagazine Approved Sponsor

PipesMagazine Approved Sponsor

PipesMagazine Approved Sponsor

PipesMagazine Approved Sponsor

Status
Not open for further replies.
oldmansmoking

oldmansmoking

Part of the Furniture Now
May 13, 2017
587
65
UK
I thought I would share you my thoughts on pipe cleaners.

Resently Jay posted that he had a problem with a pipe cleaner stuck in his stem.

I have also noted the price of pipe cleaners have gone up greatly.

I got a few hundred some years back at around £1.00 for a hundred. The price has nearly doubled.

I saw a recent eBay listing, we'll actually two by the same person

eBay pipe cleaners

£5.00 postage is double the cost to ship within the UK.

I was concerned how many were too be dispatched, they updated with a gestimount.

I didn't want coloured and as I have a few Falcons wanted them to pass through the tight flimsy air tube.

That got me thinking, and today I visited my local hobby craft. With an online voucher for 15% off you could get 100 long pipe cleaners for £3.00 - 15%

They were so long that I could cut a piece off to make a Falcon filter then cut what was left in half making two pipe cleaners.

So 200 pipe cleaners and 100 Falcon filters for £2.55.

And yes they go through a Falcon, actually better cleaners than any I have had so far.

OK a little time consuming cutting them up.

Designed for hobbyists but great for pipe smokers.

Hobby craft pipe cleaners

Anyone else tried this out or do you stick to branded cleaners?

 
thomasw

thomasw

Part of the Furniture Now
Dec 5, 2016
862
24
Are those hobby pipe cleaners made out of cotton? I can't tell from the link. I've tried dollar store pipe cleaners made out of a synthetic fiber but they are not as absorbant as cleaners made out of cotton. I like Longs cleaners...

 
oldmansmoking

oldmansmoking

Part of the Furniture Now
May 13, 2017
587
65
UK
I think it's synthetic material, not cotton. They are quite absorbant.

The eBay listing for pipe cleaners is going - crazy prices.

 
jpmcwjr

jpmcwjr

Moderator
Staff member
May 12, 2015
24,748
27,346
Carmel Valley, CA
I use all manner of pipe cleaners, most of them free handouts. I also (shame!) reuse them, but as I flush the airway with water, the cleaners stay fairly clean. Just let them dry out.
I thought I would share you my thoughts on pipe cleaners.

Resently Jay posted that he had a problem with a pipe cleaner stuck in his stem.
Click to expand...
The lesson here is don't try to pull a tapered cleaner through a bit that starts to resist.

 
paddypiper

paddypiper

Starting to Get Obsessed
Mar 20, 2017
158
0
Ontario, Canada
I tried pipe cleaners from a local hobby store once. I thought it was a great deal because you got 500 for $3, turns out they were some sort of synthetic material that had no absorbency whatsoever and were to soft to scrub with.

 
mso489

mso489

Lifer
Feb 21, 2013
41,210
60,459
Re-use is an interesting question. When a used pipe cleaner doesn't show much ash, and once it dries, I may re-use it. Once it is well darkened, I don't; that seems like spreading the ash around. I want the airway cleaned, not coated from a different pipe. If only one end is used, I'll certainly use the clean end. I go one at a time, to see if it looks useful.

 
jpmcwjr

jpmcwjr

Moderator
Staff member
May 12, 2015
24,748
27,346
Carmel Valley, CA
Well, mso, am I going to convert you to the water rinse? = no ash at all! But the cleaners get gross over time anyway. The black that appears isn't ash, but, well, I am not sure I want to know exactly what it is, but I just call it gunk.

 
deathmetal

deathmetal

Lifer
Jul 21, 2015
7,714
32
It's tar and other resinous substances. Over time, especially when wet, it ferments, so I tend to pitch the pipe cleaners. They rust and put iron in the soil, so it's ashes to ashes, dust to dust.

 
mawnansmiff

mawnansmiff

Lifer
Oct 14, 2015
7,426
7,369
Sunny Cornwall, UK.
George, personally I would steer well clear of hobby pipe cleaners. As mentioned above, they tend to be made of synthetic fibres therefore they will absorb next to nothing.
I generally use Wilson's unbleached tapered cleaners (£2.49 per 100) and their bristled cleaners (£1.49 per 50) which I buy from Mysmokingshop.com.
I think the unfortunate incident I had was possibly avoidable had I used Falcon cleaners. They of course are thinner than regular cleaners.
Regards,
Jay.

 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Top Bottom