A pipe mud question.

[mawnansmiff]

Now I am not 100% convinced as to the efficacy of pipe mud (how on earth can ash & yoghurt mixed together set onto something 'solid'?), yet I am prepared to give it a go. Only problem is that I don't smoke cigars and I wondered if ash from my pipe bowl (NOT dottle) would give me the same results.
All constructive replies much appreciated.
Regards,
Jay.

 

[cosmicfolklore]

Lucky dog, you get to smoke a cigar. :: Yogurt? I just use spit and cigar ash.

 

[orobusto]

I've had good results with cigar ash and water mixed to a peanut butter consistency. Pipe ash doesn't seem to set as strong for me. I don't think I would use yogurt because I would be afraid of spoilage or mold.

 

[ericthered]

The most common argument I've seen FOR cigar ash is that it's easier to obtain in a constant, fine consistency. I think pipe ash could be used, but to achieve the same consistency you would probably want to filter it through a very fine screen and/or give it a hit with a mortar & pestle.
There is an old thread here discussing pipe mud options, where one guy swears by a complex recipe that includes hardwood ash from his fireplace.
Forum member tbradsim and a couple others here advocate fireplace cement available from your local hardware store.
I haven't yet had occasion to learn which is best by experience, but that is what I remember reading here and there about pipe mud.
One thing I did learn from experience, is that you find out very quickly if a pipe has been repaired using pipe mud when you give it a salt & alcohol treatment. It's a bit of a surprise to see a sizable chunk of what you thought was the heel of the pipe scrape away with the saturated salt!

 

[cosmicfolklore]

I think that the problem with using pipe ash is that far too often pipe tobaccos are heavily cased or incompletely burned, to where youy rarely get the fine white ash of a completely burned, additive free tobacco, like you do in a cigar.

Come on, try a cigar. Unless you only smoke aromatics, you might actually like it.

 

[Chasing Embers]

Cigar ash and water works wonders. Fireplace mortar works miracles.

 

[derfatdutchman]

I also used just used water and cigar ash to make pipe mud. I have seen a few recipes that call for a mixture of ash and sodium silicate (water glass), but none using yogurt.

 

[tbradsim1]

BOUGHT an old PEpino Ascorti free hand,pixaxe style but not to the extreme. Fellow had dug a hole at the btm about a 1/4 inch below the draw hole,still had lots of meat to fix it. Pumped some fireplace mortaand slid a fluffy pipe cleaner in shank to see if I was at proper depth it was,fired up the hair drier,made a skin,waited couple hrs,loaded that booger up and puffed like a choo choo train,heat sets it up. Poured out the ash, not all and I loaded it up again.Pulled hard again. Set it down overnight and next morning it was hard as a rock.It has been one of my good smokers for years.Warning you have to clean area very good.

 

[mawnansmiff]

Thanks so much chaps. I have actually used fire cement (and a 2 part epoxy for a large area) and am pleased with the results, I just wanted to try out this fabled pipe mud trick.
Best I lash out on a pack of small cigars then :wink:
Regards,
Jay.