Pipe cleaning kits (recommended}

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rat32

Might Stick Around
Aug 25, 2018
60
0
tx
Saw a lot on Amazon, seeing if one is better than the other. Sorry if this has been posted before.

 

rat32

Might Stick Around
Aug 25, 2018
60
0
tx
Not necessary. You will need pipe cleaners and a paper towel, though. Q-tips for the mortise.
Got that. just looking for a deep cleaning, if possible or recommended. Been smoking my Dad's Dr. Grabow an getting a not so good taste, after cleaning as you advised above. Seeing if there is anything I can do to remove the bite.

 

lawdawg

Lifer
Aug 25, 2016
1,792
3,801
I'll tell ya all about my ultra high quality, hand-assembled, custom one-of-a-kind pipe cleaning kit: 190 proof grain alcohol, paper towels, pipe cleaners, and the occasional q-tip :puffy:
I have cleaned up a couple nasty estate pipes using the above, and it has done the trick, along with a reamer and some elbow grease. For routine cleaning, it's all you would ever need.

 

jpmcwjr

Moderator
Staff member
May 12, 2015
24,565
27,065
Carmel Valley, CA
Before the alcohol treatments, I'd flush the chamber and airway with hot tap water. A light reaming with a paper towel while drying. (and pipe cleaners to clean and dry, etc.) Smokeable within an hour or two, or next day, depending on your location's humidity levels. Next higher step is fill the bowl with damp coffee grounds, let dry for several days. Then flush and dry. If it's still problematical, the salt alcohol treatment should do it. I believe in the least invasive steps first. Some feel that alcohol pulls out some of the materials (silicates?) in the briar that give it its good properties. Others will say damn, I've been using alcohol for years and no problem. If you do that, a followup hot water flush is a good idea.

 

curl

Part of the Furniture Now
Apr 29, 2014
722
461
I don’t use alcohol anymore to clean pipe stems; it’s too harsh.

I use 80 proof whiskey.

 

mikethompson

Lifer
Jun 26, 2016
11,287
23,315
Near Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Have you tried a coffee ground soak in the bowl? It has done wonders for me in the past. You just fill the bowl with warm, damp coffee grounds and pack it in. Then let it sit for a few days and rinse clean. I've had remarkable results with an old Dunhill I bought.

 

eggrollpiper

Can't Leave
Jul 27, 2018
378
38
Wow, the coffee grounds are a new trick for me, wonder how I missed that. I feel like strong alchohol makes the pipe bite more but I only tried the post rinse on the last estate I did the salt alchohol treatment on. Two treatments and still ghosts. I threw in the towel on that one.

 

eggrollpiper

Can't Leave
Jul 27, 2018
378
38
Btw rat32 if you still long for a pipe cleaning kit the one on Amazon from e.a.carrey is legit. A lot of the others are just a pile of cheap crap that u can get separately cheaper, and choose the things you'll actually try out. Also some of the pipe cleaning stuff is, how shall I say, not intended for tobacco pipes even tho they say so...

 

rat32

Might Stick Around
Aug 25, 2018
60
0
tx
Have you tried a coffee ground soak in the bowl? It has done wonders for me in the past. You just fill the bowl with warm, damp coffee grounds and pack it in. Then let it sit for a few days and rinse clean. I've had remarkable results with an old Dunhill I bought.
mikethompson, just started the cleaning process you have prescribed, and used hot water on the stem with q-tips. Amazing how clean you can get it, I guess I should have done this along time


 

rat32

Might Stick Around
Aug 25, 2018
60
0
tx
I must be a real idiot, cant figure out to post images from my desk top. Hmmmmmm

 

jpmcwjr

Moderator
Staff member
May 12, 2015
24,565
27,065
Carmel Valley, CA
HTH:

Once your photos are on a photo hosting site (such as Imgur.com; Postimage; Dropbox, etc. Photobucket), or on virtually any site, (including this site's album) such as eBay, Amazon, you-name-it, select the full sized image, then Control-click (Mac) or Right-click (Windows) on the image itself, then choose "copy image location" or similar words. Now paste that URL (the full web address, which should end in .jpg or .png) into the IMG box in the reply window of the thread you're posting to.
The site's album is also a good choice for displaying photos, and the same method works for obtaining the image's URL for copying into the IMG box.

 

rat32

Might Stick Around
Aug 25, 2018
60
0
tx
Wow, what a difference 24 hrs make, thanks mikethompson. As you prescribed warm,moist coffee grounds packed into the bowl and the shank with the grounds and set for 24 hrs. I then deep scrubbed the stem till I was sure it was clean. Took it out today cleaned the dried grounds out, and gave it a hot water flush twice and dried for 6 hrs. Go figure, you could not tell me that you could get a 40 yr. old pipe to smoke like a new one. You can...... THANKS MIKE

 
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