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  1. Mike N

    Is This Cake or Just Crud?

    I use a Czech tool to clear out any remaining tobacco and then run a wad of paper towel inside each bowl and fresh pipe cleaner through the stem at the end of each day. I have been smoking briar pipes for 35 years and never had one crack. The idea that you need a thick cake to protect the bowl...
  2. Mike N

    I Hope You Hate Deoxidizing Vulcanite Stems As Much As I Do

    Yep. There’s a lot that Chasing Embers can teach us.
  3. Mike N

    I Hope You Hate Deoxidizing Vulcanite Stems As Much As I Do

    When I used to rehab greatly oxidized vulcanite stems I soaked them overnight in a solution of OxyClean (keep container open to let gases out) then rinsed and pulled a pipe cleaner through the stem several times. For bad tooth marks, I scraped the surface level with an exacto knife. There are...
  4. Mike N

    I Hope You Hate Deoxidizing Vulcanite Stems As Much As I Do

    Generally, red is for finer precious metal polishing but it leaves a red film on my ebonite when using a polishing wheel from a hard block (not paste) that is tough to wipe off, so I usually follow it with white diamond and then a carnauba wax polish to get the shine I want, followed by a soft...
  5. Mike N

    I Hope You Hate Deoxidizing Vulcanite Stems As Much As I Do

    The toothpaste needs to obviously be a “whitening” brand and not a sensitive teeth, fresh breath brand. The slight abrasiveness is key.
  6. Mike N

    I Hope You Hate Deoxidizing Vulcanite Stems As Much As I Do

    I follow this AI generated protocol on my low speed polishing wheel and it works fine: For cleaning and polishing vulcanite (also known as ebonite) pipe stems, it's common to use a multi-step process with different polishing compounds. Red rouge is often used first to remove oxidation and minor...
  7. Mike N

    I Hope You Hate Deoxidizing Vulcanite Stems As Much As I Do

    The benefits of smoking a softer ebonite/vulanite button over a hard acrylic stem far outweigh the daily maintenance. Wipe the stem with a microfiber cloth and dab on a bit of obsidian oil. It’s a quick routine that pays a lot of dividends. Honestly, I find it relaxing at the end of a day.
  8. Mike N

    Indiana Pipe Club Member Kirk Keener on Radio Show of July 8, 2025

    Interesting interview. Kirk is a great pipe guy,
  9. Mike N

    ***What Are You Smoking, July 2025?***

    Some Drucquer & Sons Merry Monk in a straight grain Claudio Cavicchi with birdseye on the bottom. One thing about these big old Italian briars: when you light them, it is one and done —even if you put them down for 10 minutes.
  10. Mike N

    SmithHouse Pipes By Rich Rosselli

    I was lucky to pick up another new SmithHouse on MBSD. The pipe arrived Monday and I’ve already run a half dozen bowls through it. I’m amazed at how Rich can provide such an incredible draw through such a thin ebonite stem. And most importantly for a clencher like me, the button is filed to less...
  11. Mike N

    Worth Saving or No?

    Watch a few of the excellent pipe restoration videos on YouTube, then go on Amazon and buy a small pack of 200 to 1000 grit sandpaper and some yellow Fiebing’s leather dye and have some fun learning to do this yourself.
  12. Mike N

    A New Pipe I Just Got Yesterday

    i have permanent wind caps on several of my pipes and always have some snap on temporary caps at the ready for walking (I just can’t call it “lunting”) outdoors or while smoking a bowl while driving to keep the embers off the upholstery. Great pipe.
  13. Mike N

    The Pipe Rack in Akron

    I have driven up to two of their pipe nights and stocked up on a few things. An old school pipe shop where the cigar humidor is not the central feature. Great smoking lounge and fantastic staff. Pipe smokers in the Akron area are very lucky to have a shop like this.
  14. Mike N

    ***What Are You Smoking, July 2025?***

    2017 GLP Blackpoint in one of my go-to SmithHouse billiards. Rich’s pipes never disappoint and have an incredibly slim button that I prefer for clenching. I
  15. Mike N

    ***What Are You Smoking, July 2025?***

    C&D’s Morley’s Best in an unusual canted rusticated apple by Tom Eltang This is really an underrated 3-Burley, Virginia & Latakia blend. I can detect the cube cut and white burley nuance.
  16. Mike N

    SU Danish Apple

    Picked up this plump Danish apple on MSBD, made of briar with ebonite stem. Sebahattin Urgan of SU Pipes was a former apprentice to Eskişehir’s master of meerschaum Emre Bay, but now also carves briar.
  17. Mike N

    What Was Your First "I Gotta Buy 5 Pounds of This Stuff!" Tobacco?

    There is no such thing as “contextual” honor. You are either honorable or you are not. Ashdigger did the right thing. It was a no-brainer for any gentleman.
  18. Mike N

    What Was Your First "I Gotta Buy 5 Pounds of This Stuff!" Tobacco?

    Ya just gotta shake your head at times about P&C. That said, I am sitting here wearing a P&C t-shirt my sister-in-law bought me a few years ago…
  19. Mike N

    What Was Your First "I Gotta Buy 5 Pounds of This Stuff!" Tobacco?

    I should add that I recently noticed 3 empty cans of this one on my shelf so I will likely pull the trigger on a few more this weekend during SP.com’s Fourth of July sale. Loch Ness just pushes all the right buttons for me at this stage of my “journey.“ After all, you just got to buy enough to...
  20. Mike N

    What Was Your First "I Gotta Buy 5 Pounds of This Stuff!" Tobacco?

    Mine was probably Old Toby (now Tombiggee) by the Country Squire. I literally could not get enough of it. Just delicious. But I moved on and still have a few pounds in the cellar to revisit someday.
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