After smoking -details

[bnichols23]

Hiya, mith! As you've seen, there are more different sets of advice than there are smokers. I'd say one safe rule of thumb would be to follow the shop owner's advice till you start to feel comfortable with a routine. A Czech tool is useful for a lot of things, but I wouldn't use it for reaming. That goes triple for a pocket knife. Best thing to use is always a reamer.
You can run a cleaner through it without taking the stem out, do it, otherwise wait till it's cool. I use at least one, sometimes two bristle cleaners after every smoke, & leave the second one in till I'm ready to smoke it again. (The bristles help clean out any loose bits of tobacco & tars.) When the cleaner comes out mostly dry & clean, you're good.
A stem should be ok in a pouch/sleeve/pipe-sock/etc., but if it makes you edgy, take it apart. (If you start buying estate pipes or new ones online, a good seller will wrap the pieces separately in bubble wrap or paper to protect in shipping. Most times if you're carrying your own with you, you should be ok leaving it assembled. There's more, but you've probably read enough for right now.

 

[ben88]

Couple hours to cool down, 25 seconds under running hot water, 3-4 fluffy pipe cleaners, on shelf for a week.

 

[jpmcwjr]

No need to cool the pipe one bit before running very hot water through it. Then take a wadded paper towel and dry the bowl, which will have a mild reaming effect by removing ash and bits of tobacco the water didn't flush out. Dry the airway with a pipe cleaner, wipe down the whole pipe's exterior with a towel or paper towel. It's not a bad thing to leave the pipe cleaner in the stem, but to say you must do it is moronic. (Dries better with the pipe cleaner out)
Enjoy!

 

[mithridate]

I have read that it is important to get at least some cake in the bowl to shelter the briar. Some of you say you don't build cake. So do you mean not a scrap of it? Is this also a matter of opinion that some cake must be built, or is it possible to clean it all even after every smoke?

This is a bit subject-stretching question, but it feels pointless to start a new topic for a question like this.

For your information, this has been very, very helpful and I'm well on my way with my new briar, and much stress has been thrown away. I think tonight I'll just enjoy my pipe.

 

[mikethompson]

You need to protect the briar somewhat, but after you get a few smokes in the bowl, a very thin layer of carbon will suffice. Don't worry about scraping out the cake after every smoke. I use an unscented baby wipe around the bowl When I'm done and that cleans it out just fine.
Its true that cake is very subjective. Some swear by it, some prefer none.

 

[bnichols23]

Mith, this is one of those fuzzy areas, where everybody has an opinion, & it's their preference since it works for them. Example: Vis-a-vis jpm's comments, miket's, & mine. All both slightly *&* significantly different. I don't always leave a cleaner in it till I'm ready to smoke again, but often I do. I'm one of those who doesn't religiously keep cake out, but I don't let it build till there's danger of cracking the bowl either. Everybody's got a regimen that works for them, & none of them are either automagically "best" or "worst."
In one of my pipe shops eons ago [OK, 40 years, so sue me. ], a customer brought in a pipe that I swear before God had cake built up until you couldn't fit a *pencil* into the bowl. Dead serious. no joke. It was a good 7/16ths of an inc all the way around. How he could even get tobacco into it was beyond me. I cleared it out using a series of reamers; took quite a while, since I had to be *very* careful that there wasn't already a crack that could ruin the pipe completely. The pipe ended up OK, he was happy, & I was amazed. Point of the story being, a reasonable amount of cake isn't automatically bad, but TOO much of it *definitely* is.

 

[cigrmaster]

All of my pipes have about a dimes thickness of cake. I have found they smoke cooler and more flavorful having that amount of cake. I dedicate my pipes into categories i.e Va flakes and plugs, Vaper flakes and plugs, Vabur flakes and plugs, aromatic blends. I also have a few pipes for just one specific blend.
I believe that people who do not build cake are missing out on a cooler smoking pipe, just my opinion.

 

[ignaciojn]

Related question: I have a pipe in my office. Sometimes, I leave it half full, half smoked until the next day. Is that detrimental in some way?
Whenever I'm done, I remove the dottle with the spoon, blow, then pass a cleaner through the stem, blow again, and finally clean the bowl with that same cleaner, bended.

 

[bnichols23]

Some will say yes, some no. Me, if it's at least 1/3 full I'll usually leave it. A day or so's no real problem. Never really had an issue with it. If it starts tasting "ashy" or sour, you'll know.
Bill

 

[jpmcwjr]

RE: Partially smoked bowls. Leaving it overnight or for a week is fine as long as it's not soggy at the heel. Some say the resultant smoke is even better; others will say it's awful. YMMV!

 

[ignaciojn]

As for the taste I find it acceptable, but definitely worse than a fresh bowl.
My question leans more to the potential damage of a pipe being dirty/uncleaned for 24 hours.
I sip slowly but very frequently, so there's always some moisture at the heel.

 

[bnichols23]

Nah, no real damage will be done, although you might eventually need to clean it using pipe cleaners & alcohol to remove built-up tars. Don't worry; the alcohol won't hurt briar, & if you really really clean it the pipe will smoke like new again!
Warning, though: Never. !EVER! Use alcohol to clean a meerschaum. Inside or out. Ever. You'll mess it up beyond belief, trust me!!

 

[ignaciojn]

That's good and simple advice Bill, thank you.

 

[bnichols23]

Most welcome any time!