Pulling the stem off
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I only pull the stems when a pipe needs a good cleaning, upkeep and maintenance. Not after every
bowl, and in some cases, not after many bowls. I'm gentle on my pipes, since I have a rather expansive
rotation, not like some Forum's members, but pushing sixty pipes, all of which get smoked. For new
smokers, let me add, I let the pipe cool completely before pulling stems. I obey the old advice about only
turning it one way, so I don't absentmindedly twist it back and forth and crack the shank or do other damage.
I am not one of these people who removes the stem every time I show a pipe to another pipe smoker, or
nervously just handling pipes. If you have a good cleaning regime otherwise, you don't need to pull the
stems often.
bowl, and in some cases, not after many bowls. I'm gentle on my pipes, since I have a rather expansive
rotation, not like some Forum's members, but pushing sixty pipes, all of which get smoked. For new
smokers, let me add, I let the pipe cool completely before pulling stems. I obey the old advice about only
turning it one way, so I don't absentmindedly twist it back and forth and crack the shank or do other damage.
I am not one of these people who removes the stem every time I show a pipe to another pipe smoker, or
nervously just handling pipes. If you have a good cleaning regime otherwise, you don't need to pull the
stems often.
I take my stem off at will any time, hot or cold, and I have never had an issue. My stems are perfect and all of the guys that I grew up with that were pipe men never worried about it either. The physics that says that two items that cool separately will not return back to the exact same mass is very odd. I just don't comprehend it.
That said, I've watched a few guys who just yank the stems out like they are breaking a twig or pulling a pin out of a grenade unnerves me. So, I don't usually advocate this for people who don't know how to gently twist and pull the stem straight out. Pulling a stem should be done with care and gentleness, regardless of whether it's hot or cold. IMO. But, do as you want. It's your pipe. I guess it's better to err on the side of caution. :wink:
That said, I've watched a few guys who just yank the stems out like they are breaking a twig or pulling a pin out of a grenade unnerves me. So, I don't usually advocate this for people who don't know how to gently twist and pull the stem straight out. Pulling a stem should be done with care and gentleness, regardless of whether it's hot or cold. IMO. But, do as you want. It's your pipe. I guess it's better to err on the side of caution. :wink:
Seriously, I have a threaded stem stuck in a cobb like meerschaum block and can see a couple of threads in the bowl...but I can't budge it with very moderate but insistent torque. I tried some alcohol from bowl to threads...but it hasn't made a difference. I don't imagine freezing is going to help me all that much. I need a compatible solvent or something to get it off. Anybody got experience with this?
You could always just try freezing, newbroom - who knows, it may work. Someone recently posted about a stuck stem, and some sort of carpentry tool with a handle was suggested - sounded to me like a wine cork opener!
Interesting advice, cosmic! So many things, like letting a pipe cool before dissembling, we seem to follow just because we've been told or heard or read it so many times - good for experimenting, and finding what works from your own experience!
Interesting advice, cosmic! So many things, like letting a pipe cool before dissembling, we seem to follow just because we've been told or heard or read it so many times - good for experimenting, and finding what works from your own experience!
Forgot to answer the OP - used to be dissembled after every use, but lately not. Some have said they go so far as to clean with alcohol soaked cleaners after every use, others not. Such a range, I'd imagine, for a spectrum from pristine new looking and not broken in, to as grungy as a well used estate.
I remove the stem after a day's use so that I can thoroughly clean out the airway. There are some pipe makers, I can't remember whether it was Roush or Butera, who say that the stem should not be removed for cleaning, but I haven't had any issues, ever. I'm not a big fan of collecting crap in the tenon and there's no way to clean out that area without removing the stem.
I have a rusticated foursquare billiard that has such a slender bit it will barely pass a standard BJ Long pipe cleaner. It's signed 506 Italy (seems a Savinelli, but without the Sav nomenclature, a second? Dunno.) I like to use a bristled cleaner at the end of every day, so it gets disassembled once a week. I dry it with a standard pipe cleaner and much effort and let it rest overnight before disassembling and scrubbing the shank with the bristled cleaner the next day.
+1
The benefits of removing a stem to clean is:
1. Can use both ends of a pipe cleaner to clean the shank.
2. Can pull a fresh pipe cleaner straight through the stem in one pass - if it's attached to the shank, then of course you have to reverse pull it back out - which in effect takes the nastiness from the shank and bowl and places some of that back in the stem.
The key is allowing the pipe to cool - but if your pipe is a spigot, no need to wait. :
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