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Pipe Retort Vs. G.L. Pease's Activated Charcoal Treatment

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lostandfound

lostandfound

Part of the Furniture Now
Sep 30, 2011
924
44
I have a Savinelli Oscar 701 I found in an antique shop a while back, which was in pretty decent condition.
I did, oh... I don't know, two or three salt and alchohol treatments (used Everclear) on the bowl, and ran countless pipe cleaners dipped in the Everclear, both soft and bristled through the shank, and soft, soaked cleaners through the stem.
I still have a problem though: I smoked around five or six bowls in it, but I can still smell and taste that funky old pipe smell. Do you know what smell I'm talking about? It's a slightly sweet odor, and is definitely a smell that's exclusive to old pipes that have been sitting for a while. I'm pretty sure it's not a ghost from the former owner's tobacco.
Just wondering which of these two methods would be more effective. I really would like to start smoking this sucker regularly, but that taste is pretty off-putting.

 
kashmir

kashmir

Lifer
May 17, 2011
2,712
70
Northern New Jersey
When I come accross an estate like that, I'll do the salt Ever Clear treatment. It's important to let it go a week. Till the salt is fully dry. I've found if you dump it early after only a day or so, a lot of resins and tars stiil remain in the pipe. You can place the strummels sens stems in an oven set at 170F to expedite the process. If after two such runs the ghosts still linger, I'll do a few alcohol retorts till the fluid runs clear. Still ghosted? I'll clean with rum (Malibu coconut flavored). I'll also do retorts with hot rum. Then I'll smoke Carter Hall or Prince Albert five to ten bowls. If that doesn't clear the pipe, I'll sell it.

 
tombraider

tombraider

Starting to Get Obsessed
Feb 21, 2013
128
0
I've run across something like this. I got a stinky old pipe on ebay. I did the salt/alcohol treatments, retorts and many many pipe cleaners dipped in everything and still couldn't get rid of the taste/smell. While I had done everything I could to clean the bowl, it turned out to be oxidation on the inside of the stem. The fix was a couple of days soaking the stem in vinegar and then really scrubbing the inside with pipe cleaners dipped in more vinegar. If this is your issue I hope it works for you too.

 
gmwolford

gmwolford

Lifer
Jul 26, 2012
1,355
5
WV, USA
Lots of good advice already dolled out here. It seems a lot if the tastes are in the shank of stem to me at least. The distilled vinegar and water soak for a stem is a jewel oftentimes taking care of it. And if you've not scrubbed the shank well, as BB said, many nasty things maybe hiding there, even after s/a or retorting.
I have, once, used the activated carbon after none of the above worked. I filled the bowl AND the shank (crushed up fine for the shank) and baked it up; it had no adornments and the stem was not on the stummel. I must admit, all foul tastes were gone after this final process.
So, you may have 2-4 more steps to go through to get it done right. And if all else fails, Walked Briar Works offers and ozone treatment that is alleged to exorcize the strongest of ghosts. Good luck

 
lostandfound

lostandfound

Part of the Furniture Now
Sep 30, 2011
924
44
I do believe the problem is most likely in the shank. The fowl odor really only presents itself while drawing on the pipe, nothing when I sniff the bowl. I did fold my pipe cleaners and did try to scrub the best I could. I think the next thing I'll do will be to buy a shank brush and take that to her. Will any of the major hardware stores sell an appropriate brush for shank cleaning?

 
cortezattic

cortezattic

Lifer
Nov 19, 2009
15,147
7,642
Chicago, IL
I bought a bunch of these mascara brushes on eBay. They scrub the shank nicely, but the brush tips can pull out of the plastic wand if you force them into narrow passages like the stem.

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