Pipe Left in Rain
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Good question. My suggestion would be to pack it in some dry rice for a few months to let the rice absorb the moisture.
I don't know how wet it got but, you should be able to smoke it as soon as it's dry. I'd just set it aside for a few hours, let it air dry then load and light up. Shouldn't be any permanent damage to the pipe. The stain or finish might look different after a serious soaking but, structurally, the pipe should be fine.
I'd go for the rice. Dry the pipe thoroughly with a towel and pipe cleaners first, of course. The rice is to draw out the humidity. A certain amount may depend on the finish of the pipe, how it was positioned in the rain, and how the rain came down and for how long and in what amounts. I doubt this will "do in" the pipe, but for a cup of rice and a few days, play it safe. After the rice treatment, I'd give it a few days of grace on the pipe rack to let it stabilize from being extra dried out, and then smoke away.
+1 with the rice. Besides, afterwards you get the added benefit of either smoking the rice, or cooking it and enjoying the tobacco flavor.
30 minutes per lb. @ 350 degrees. or for a slow smoker...several hours @ warm inside a casserole dish filled with your pipe and either salt or rice. If you use rice, make sure it's brown rice because it's got more fiber.
Sorry about the rain. Um...no, sorry you left your pipe in the rain.
Sorry about the rain. Um...no, sorry you left your pipe in the rain.
Much ado about nothing.
Many pipe makers repeatedly rinse/wet what they are working on under a faucet, and in repair work, we WASH pipes all the time. :lol:
No need for rice, ovens, extended drying times, or special treatment of any kind. Just wait a day or two and smoke it.
Many pipe makers repeatedly rinse/wet what they are working on under a faucet, and in repair work, we WASH pipes all the time. :lol:
No need for rice, ovens, extended drying times, or special treatment of any kind. Just wait a day or two and smoke it.
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I left a briar pipe of mine in the rain two weeks ago. I let it dry for a day, smoked it and was just fine. Remember it's just wood, it's been wet before.
I left a briar pipe of mine in the rain two weeks ago. I let it dry for a day, smoked it and was just fine. Remember it's just wood, it's been wet before.
I have a friend who is a train engineer. He lost one of his pipes out the window of his locomotive. 10 months later he had to stop his train in the same area so he got out and walked the track and found it! He sent it to me and I refinished it. He still smokes that pipe.
My girlfriend washed a few of my pipes in with the dishes and they survived. Heck, they were squeaky clean :
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"My suggestion would be to pack it in some dry rice for a few months to let the rice absorb the moisture."
Or, as a flavorful alternative, pack it with Rice-A-Roni and enjoy a San Francisco treat!
Or, as a flavorful alternative, pack it with Rice-A-Roni and enjoy a San Francisco treat!
There is a difference between a pipe that has been washed and one that has been saturated with a significant amount of water (especially if the bowl was filled and then absorbed by the wood). Trapped moisture when subjected to heat will expand and can cause cracking. The rice is a wise choice.
I by no means was suggesting that anyone should wash a pipe, but it was dropped in a full sink full of dishes and scrubbed like a coffee mug. I posted a thread on it months ago. It didn't make me happy, but it survived. I realize that wood is a tricky bugger, and pipes aren't designed for water. But, I wouldn't write it off yet. I have no idea whether rice would help or not, but at least it would be doing something. If it were my pipe, doing something would make me feel better than doing nothing.
I can imagine that there are lots of variables on how the water will affect the pipe; the finish, the direction of the grain, the cut of your jib, whatever. I would think that worst case scenario would be the tenon to stem relationship. Or, maybe just cracking somewhere. But, I would find it hard to believe that just being left out in the rain would kill a pipe. If so then these surely are fragile buggers.
I can imagine that there are lots of variables on how the water will affect the pipe; the finish, the direction of the grain, the cut of your jib, whatever. I would think that worst case scenario would be the tenon to stem relationship. Or, maybe just cracking somewhere. But, I would find it hard to believe that just being left out in the rain would kill a pipe. If so then these surely are fragile buggers.
No confusion. I've had a few pipes left out in the rain in fifty years of camping. If water get into the bowl where there is little or no protection for the grain ends and left for any amount of time the wood will absorb it. I always opt for prudence. Drying it out with rice is just a prudent thing to do. I grew up in Gloucester and worked on more than a few wooden boats. I'm pretty familiar with how wood and water react seasoned or otherwise. Why put someone's pipe at risk? A few days in rice will make sure that isn't the case.
When I restore pipes for myself, I do keep them wet while sanding, occasionally dipping them in water. I didn't think of that. I first soak them in acetone, then alcohol, then wash them with water while sanding to keep from breathing the dust. I am no wood expert by any means, but my pipes didn't really do anything negative. But, like I said, rice would make me feel better than doing nothing at all. Sort of like most of the medicine we take, ha ha. It may not help, but it makes us feel like we are doing something.
Cosmic, my last comments were more to Georged and his suggestion that I didn't understand the difference between seasoned and raw wood. I'm with you. Prudence is the best course of action. There is a big difference between wetting a pipe and standing water in the bowl, even if just overnight. My overall point was that it's just common sense to take the precaution. Georged seems to disagree.
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