Am I The Only One?

[avail]

Strictly filter pipe guy here. I'm in the "after each smoke take apart, run pipe cleaner, replace filter, reassemble" category. When in the woods, on a river, or camping at times I will re-fill the pipe on the same filter. When I started out my practice was to wipe the bowl with paper towel, and I wondered why I never saw any cake build-up. Only do that occasionally now.

Recently I got an estate Stanny 9 mm freehand with a tight draw, especially with the filter in place. It's hard to run a pipe cleaner into the bowl, so I'll try some vodka on the cleaner to see if there is any improvement.

 

[paulfg]

Pipe cleaners during and after every smoke. But only take them apart every few weeks. I do wipe my bowls out after each smoke also.

this is my routine.
only take apart and alcohol pipe cleaner after about every12 smokes,which with my rotation could be once a month.
the rest of the time just a dry cleaner until it comes out clean

 

[Merton]

Strictly filter pipe guy here. I'm in the "after each smoke take apart, run pipe cleaner, replace filter, reassemble" category. When in the woods, on a river, or camping at times I will re-fill the pipe on the same filter. When I started out my practice was to wipe the bowl with paper towel, and I wondered why I never saw any cake build-up. Only do that occasionally now.

Recently I got an estate Stanny 9 mm freehand with a tight draw, especially with the filter in place. It's hard to run a pipe cleaner into the bowl, so I'll try some vodka on the cleaner to see if there is any improvement.

Lots of us prefer no cake or very minimal buildup if at all

 

[avail]

Lots of us prefer no cake or very minimal buildup if at all

Lately, I've been scraping a lot with the czech tool when cleaning, seems to effectively reduce the cake. I really don't care either way, except I don't like the reduced bowl capacity from cake build-up.

 

[Chasing Embers]

Immediately after every smoke minus the alcohol.

 

[sablebrush52]

My assumption is that the tenon extends far enough into the mortise so that there is no gap between the end of the tenon and the bottom of the mortise. If there was a gap, then funky stuff would accumulate there and eventually affect the smell and taste of the pipe. I have not noticed any problems so that is why I don’t take them apart for cleaning.
Oh did I say "whiskey?" I meant "special cleaning fluid." ???

There's often a small gap between the end of the mortise and the end of the tenon to allow for expansion, contraction, even though it's a tiny amount. Crap will build up in the mortise.

 

[sablebrush52]

Yep. I've heard people say that the pipe should never be disassembled, lest you lose the fit, but I've never experienced that problem.

 

[cigrmaster]

Yep. I've heard people say that the pipe should never be disassembled, lest you lose the fit, but I've never experienced that problem.

I remember hearing that years ago and thought to myself this guys pipes must be nasty. When I buy tobacco I expect it to taste as it should. If it made it into my cellar it is quality stuff and I want the best flavors possible. My fanatical cleaning practice gives me the flavors I expect. What is the sense of aging tobacco ten or more years only to smoke it through a dirty pipe. I can't even imagine trying to clean a pipe if it were not taken apart.

 

[krizzose]

After each smoke I take the pipe apart and ream the bowl with a paper towel, then warm water rinse the stummel. Then I scrub the shank with a shank brush (then I wash the brush with dish soap to get all the bery visible funk off of it). Nearly all of my pipes have acrylic stems, so those get a rinse as well and a swab with a pipe cleaner.

I will deep clean a pipe with Everclear and bristle brushes maybe once every 50 smokes. It used to be every 10 or 12 before I started water rinsing, and I use fewer bristle cleaners now.

 

[FurCoat]

same but not with alcohol

+1

 

[bbqpiper]

I used to do that when I started but at this point I'll run a pipe cleaner through the pipe keeping it intact. I'll pull the stem off and perform a thorough clean with alcohol about 2x a year.

 

[gubbyduffer]

I smoke with a filter. Take mine apart each time to remove the filter and run a pipe cleaner through. Never dip the cleaner in whisky though. Seems sacrilegious to me. I can't stand to see whisky (however small an amount) be absorbed into a pipe cleaner.

 

[nolan613]

Run pipe cleaner through stem. paper prowl in shank, double over for inside of bowl then a little bit of rum on the paper towel with final wipe of inside of bowl. Takes maybe 60 seconds and pipe is fresh for next bowl.

Works for me and so that is all I care about. ?

 

[Briar Lee]

Curious if I am the only one who takes their pipe apart every time I clean them? I also use alcohol (whiskey) on the pipe cleaner every time. Not for the bowl though.

Lots of guys talk about sour pipes and clogged airways, both of these things are inconceivable to me and my cleaning process is so simple.

The very best way to join a hard rubber stem to a briar stummel was invented by Lee 76 years ago.

No Lee pipe must wait to cool to be taken apart.

An old Kaywoodie also has a screw stem, but no removable stinger, and it’s far more troublesome than a Lee to index if the stem over clocks.

The only conventional pipe to compare with a Lee for ease of cleaning is a military mount.

And those are uncommon in the standard briar pipe shapes.

I sometimes will clean a Lee during a smoke, and always after one day of use.

 

[Honkytonk Man]

Curious if I am the only one who takes their pipe apart every time I clean them? I also use alcohol (whiskey) on the pipe cleaner every time. Not for the bowl though.

Lots of guys talk about sour pipes and clogged airways, both of these things are inconceivable to me and my cleaning process is so simple.

Yeah, me too. Except I use high grade vodka.

 

[simong]

The very best way to join a hard rubber stem to a briar stummel was invented by Lee 76 years ago.

No Lee pipe must wait to cool to be taken apart.


Really Mr. Lee, most people are aware army mounts appeared on the scene decades before your loathsome lees reared their ugly heads. If you knew what you were on about you'd realise this too, but you don't.

 

[Dr. Van Loafer]

I deep clean them about once every year or two as I don’t smoke enough to deep clean more than that. I found Muttenchop Pipers Cleaning method to work great. The main thing is using cheap whiskey to clean the inside of the briar bowl and stem. Just make sure none gets on the outside. I use bristle and non-bristle pipe cleaners, and wetnaps for the outside of the stem. And cuetips come in handy as well!

 

[Chasing Embers]

No Lee pipe must wait to cool to be taken apart.

No pipe does, that's just decades long superstition.

The only conventional pipe to compare with a Lee for ease of cleaning is a military mount.

And those are uncommon in the standard briar pipe shapes.

I've never seen a military fit on anything but standard shapes.

 

[avail]

I deep clean them about once every year or two as I don’t smoke enough to deep clean more than that. I found Muttenchop Pipers Cleaning method to work great. The main thing is using cheap whiskey to clean the inside of the briar bowl and stem. Just make sure none gets on the outside. I use bristle and non-bristle pipe cleaners, and wetnaps for the outside of the stem. And cuetips come in handy as well!

Is there some reason you prefer to use whiskey versus vodka or Everclear...?

 

[warren]

No Lee pipe must wait to cool to be taken apart.

Very good! I know of no pipe which needs to be cool before being taken apart. So, a Lee is really no different than any other brand. (I always reassemble before a pipe cools. I disassemble simply to run a one or two cleaners through the stem and bit.) Lee's are simply like most other brands or briars, easy to care for with some beauties in their old repertoire.