Pipe Has Gotten More Bitter . . .

Its oxidation..you'll need to clean it well before you go any further

@loseth
Hey mate, welcome to the forums, hope you enjoy your time here. Lots of good info to be had and given. Sounds to me as though the stem is very badly oxidized. If you need help tackling it, just hollar. If you wish, you can send it to me and I'll fix er up for you, you just have to cover the shipping.

Welcome to the forum.

+1 on the cleaning. My pipes turned very sour last week and then I realized I hadn't cleaned them in ages. Pulled out the Everclear last night and went to town. Tonight all is well.

Gotten More Bitter??? Are you saying you always have a hint of bitterness? I am new to pipesmoking but have never had a bitter taste yet.

Likely because you religiously clean your pipe after a smoke

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My pipe routine is this, I smoke anywhere from 5-10 bowls daily, pipe gets cleaned at the end of the day and I grab a new one from my rotation for the next day. Approximately once per week they get a deeper cleaning with vodka/pipe cleaners.

No problems thus far :puffpipe:

Most likely your pipe only needs a through cleaning. You also described some stem oxidation which is common on vulcanite bits. There are plenty of stem polishes out there that will clean up the external appearance of the vulcanite. Ideally, to get your bits back to the mirror finish of a new pipe you will need to use a buffing wheel with EEE compound followed up with Diamond E compound. I've used simple rubbing compound and some elbow grease followed up using a stem polish with acceptable results.
You are getting most of the bitter/sour taste internally from your shank and stem. Grab a handful of bristle type pipe cleaners and your favorite hard liquor, (preferably 90 proof or greater - 151 rum or ever-clear works best). Soak the pipe cleaner in the booze and commence cleaning the shaft and stem. Repeat the process with new pipe cleaner until the pipe cleaners are coming out clean after the scrubbing. The first ones will be filthy and will get better with each subsequent cleaner.
Next, carefully open your pipe. Using Q-Tips repeatedly clean the mortise (opening the stem fits into) until the Q-tip returns clean.
More than likely you will also need to ream the cake in the bowl. Be careful not to go so far to remove any of the briar. Ideally you should leave about 1/4" of cake. Get yourself a pipe reamer and ream the bowl. If you intend to ream, do this first before cleaning.
I hope this helps. PM me if you have any questions.

loseth, welcome to the site. You have received some great advice. I would like to add a couple of thoughts. When I am done smoking a pipe, I will let it cool for at least a few hours then take it apart. I will take a fluffy pipe cleaner, double it and run it around the inside of the bowl to get rid og ash and loose tobacco. I then blow through the shank to blow out any excess. I then take a bristle pipe cleaner, double it and run that through the shank and keep using a new bristle cleaner until it is clean. It usually takes 2 but sometimes three to get it clean. I will then take a bristle cleaner and run it through the stem, then take a fluffy and run that through the stem. I do this religiously after every bowl. After 7-10 bowls in the one pipe I will then do a deep clean. I get my Everclear( grain alcohol) shank brush, bristle pipe cleaners, Obidisian stem oil( for vulcanite stems) and Denicare briar polish and then proceed to clean my pipe. If you follow this type of routine( everyone has their own ways but are similar to this) you will never have a bitter pipe again. Pipe tobacco is not cheap so making sure you have a clean pipe is essential to getting the most out of your favorite blends, nothing will make a blend taste worse than a dirty pipe. I use the BJ Long tapered bristle and extra fluffy pipe cleaners that I buy from smokingpipes.com. At 1.99 for the 80 tapered bristle pack and 100 tapered extra fluffy pack, represent the cheapest prices on the net. I go through hundreds of pipes cleaners a month and usually buy 20 of each when ordering. I have never had a pipe turn sour or go bitter on me ever.
nashvilleric, welcome to the site. I tried using the Q tips like you suggested but found that quadrupling a bristle cleaner soaked in evercelar gets my mortise cleaner with less work. It is interesting how we all have our little ways of cleaning that works best for each of us.

I'd give it a bath in some Oxy-Clean. You'll be amazed at the funk that comes off your stem. Soak it in the Oxy-Clean for a few hours, then scrub it with a wash cloth and hot soapy water. That will get the worst off. Use some bristle cleaners and everclear to scrub the inside of the stem after that. Then you can oil it up until it's shiny again.
Do a thorough cleaning on the bowl and shank like the others said, too.
If you find the stem showing too much oxidation after that, it may have to be sanded off, which you can do with some water and varying grits of sandpaper (1000 to start and work up to micro-mesh).
The easy way is to send it to Walker Briar Works and he'll make the pipe and stem like brand new for about $15 or $20.

Greyish, Green Stem and bitter taste = Oxidized stem. You may be getting some nasty flavours from a dirty shank as well, but most of your "Bitter" taste is coming from the Oxidization. I'll be willing to bet that the "taste" is more on the lips and tounge tip than the inside of the mouth.

bought some 600 sand paper (finest I could find) and scrubbed the living crap out of it

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you'll want to order micro mesh off ebay or amazon to finish the job