Why so anal over your pipe?

I agree, there's a difference between taking care of something, and making it another job. I can't imagine enjoying a pipe if I knew I would have to go through so much after every smoke. Don't get me wrong, I take great care of my pipes, but I bought them to enjoy.

different strokes for different folks, ....some people NEVER clean their pipe. 8O

Three letters: O C D :crazy:
I think over Over Cleaning Dottle never lets the pipe reach its full potential.

i have wondered about this myself. while i dig my pipes and i want them to last, i too bought them to smoke them. i carve them up and refinish them so they are what i want and then i smoke the hell out of them. but i have a very utility focused mind, and i like seeing the wear on things as they are used. i could never buy a pipe i wasn't going to use and i don't mind the ones i do buy getting a little bit of life on them.

All I normally do is run a cleaner through it and wipe any dirt/soot/skin oils off the outside with a clean cloth. I do less than that with my corn cob, just running a pipe cleaner through and getting the dottle out of the bowl. I get a little more crazy with the meer, usually rubbing some beeswax into it at some point during the smoke. I do a thorough cleaning with alcohol once in awhile if I feel like one needs some TLC.

i don't clean mine untill the warden says, "damn, what IS that smell?" or she says, "those things STINK again!"

What ever happened to simply smoking your pipe, and running a cleaner through it once a day?

Once a week a little olive oil rub down, and then smoke the damn thing....enjoy it!

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Lots of people do that. Others are more meticulous. BTW, the olive oil thing is silly. It may shine your pipe in the short term but over the long haul, you are just clogging the pore with it and creating a hotter smoke.

Why are some people so anal over keeping a pipe in such pristine condition, so much so that it looks as though the damn pipe is never used?
Even on the forums, every time a pipe is shown it looks as though the thing is never smoked?

Is it just for resale value?

Sometimes don't you think it is best to say the hell with money, and just enjoy the pipe.

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Because they want them to look their best for no matter how long they have it. Some people have hundreds of pipes and tens of thousands of dollars invested in them. For some people the pipe itself brings as much joy as the smoking. I have a small collection of about 40, 35 of which I keep in pristine condition because they will never be sold. I'll own them for a lifetime and want to have them be nice for as long as I own them. The other 5 I beat the hell out of. Personally, I don't go that far in keeping my pipes clean. When I am done smoking for the day, I run some cleaners through them, put a little Obsidian on the stems and call it a day. About 4 times a year I'll thoroughly clean each pipe in part because I like taking care of them.
Its not much different from the rest of life. Some see their pipes are just yellow #2 pencils to be used and discarded. Others see them as a fountain pen and all the care they require. Some see dinner as a time to just refuel and others see it as a gourmet opportunity to delight the senses. Neither is wrong, just different.
My pipe pet peeve are people who don't take care of their pipes. I can't tell you how many times I've walked up to some old fart at a pipe show with a brilliant collection of pipes for sale but the stems were all oxidized and the bowls haven't been polished since they left the factory.

I own two pipes that's all now I have only been smoking pipes for about two months. I will smoke one all day long at the end of the day run a pipe cleaner through it give it a wipe down and let it rest. now im sure I'll probably buy more pipes I don't think ill ever own more then I can smoke within the same week.

I want my pipe to be a reflection of myself and other pipe smokers.
We are individual ambassadors of our hobby. Gary B. Schrier's book Confessions of a Pipeman ... An irreverent guide for today's pipe-smoking man talks about this at some length.
I want someone to see my pipe and see the artistry of the carver and the beauty of the briar. I want it to look inviting both to hold and admire and inviting to the nose and the mouth.
I keep mine looking as new as possible for this reason.

Man, Haunted--as I scrolled down the thread, composing my reply to the topic in my mind, I ran across yours and realized, to paraphrase Dylan Thomas, ...after the Myst's post, there is no other... . In fact, I'm rather frightened by how alike we are in this regard, down to the timing of the quarterly cleaning regimen; I only hope I don't start passing gas like you.

8O

Oh crap.

:mrgreen:

Ranger... I'm with you on this one, but if cleaning their pipe is something they enjoy... well what the hell let them have their fun.
Now when it comes to some of the pictures posted here often... well at least in my case the pics were taken when I first purchased the pipe or just had cleaned it. I save the pictures and just repost them when I feel like it... ::

Not in the anal pipe smoker category. I run cleaners through them after a smoke and polish the stems every now and again to avoid oxidation issues in the future. some may have a little rim darkening. It wasn't intended but like family you accept character traits regardless of how they get them.

i'm anal about some things: wipeing with a furniture polish sprayed wash cloth my fly fishing rods and reels and fly line after saltwater fishing. just a rinse with spin and casting.

excessively anal under the hood and chasis of my van, wifes, daughter and grand daughter's cars.

love the royal purple synthetic oils and k&n oil filters. anal enough to add a couple quarts r-purple break in oil twice a year to replenish zink and phosphorus qualities on the moving engine parts. a good air filter twice a year. dont believe in the washable reuseable k&n air filters only because of that fact. rotate and inspect tires and breaks and repair or replace whats needed. then instead of washing my grimey hands will hand wash the car and kill two birds. dont let anyone touch my "cars" except my mechanic who recently flushed van's transmission and fill with royal purple auto tran. fluid. feels like a hydrostatic tranny now.

should have a great grand daughter born today and by the grace of God will live long enough to take care of her car too :mrgreen:

pipes not anal enough. will run a pipe cleaner even while smoking to get rid of my drool. tobacco is mouth watering good :clap:

not anal at all with house cleaning :lol:

If my care of my pipes is interpreted as being anal....then so be it. But I believe that a clean pipe tastes better...and I enjoy my pipes more when they look good and don't smell bad in the pipe rack. Aloha!.... :clap:

I agree with ranger about enjoyin the pipe. I have some estate pipes I bought off line. They look really nice and smoke very well. But by no means pristine or new looking. And I like them the way they are. I clean them and I clean them well. But I like a pipe with character one that looks like its got a few stories to share. Just my opinion. Thanks and Happy Smoking! ::

Wow! This is a great thread. I am with hilojohnny on this one. In my book - if I want to eat a beautifully marbled, grilled steak - why would I want to eat it off a dirty plate...then complain about it? Yecch!
When I am done with a pipe for the day - I clean it with pipe cleaners and Everclear, wipe it down with Mineral Oil and let it rest. Some pipes get a work out during the day - some may only get smoked once - they all get the same treatment.