When my pipe has cooled sufficiently I break it down and first begin work on the stem. Many of my pipes can take two BJ Long Fluffy Tapered pipe cleaners next to each other and I can drag then through the stem and that gets a lot of dirt. Other pipes I can't use 2 stems at the same time so I use one at a time. I then double over those cleaners and wipe out the inside of the bowl. I make sure I get any loose tobacco or ash. I also inspect my cake to see if anything needs trimming.
Then I take a BJ Long Tapered Bristle pipe cleaner, double it over and begin cleaning out the shank. Cleaning the shank is the more difficult task. They have different sizes so I have to adjust the pipe cleaner to make sure it is scraping the inside the way I like.
Next I take a bristle cleaner double it over twice and go to town on the mortise. The tenon gets clean when I am doing the stem.
When I am done I then put on a coat of Obidisian Stem Oil. The directions say to leave it on for half an hour then rub it off.
I learned through experience that if I coat my stems with the Obidisian and then leave it on till the next time I smoke the pipe, I get a stem that never shows any oxidization. I wipe the stem good before I put it in my mouth and I am off and running. I think they tell you to wipe off the oil after only half an hour is so they can sell you a lot more.
My system for deep cleaning pipes is pretty much the same as above but I use a good amount of Everclear inside the stem, shank and mortise. I check the cake on every deep clean and sometimes it needs a trim but most times it doesn't. I keep my cake to about a dime's thickness and my pipes smoke cool and dry and I get great flavors because I also dedicate all my pipes. I either dedicate to genres like a Vaper or specific blends like 2007 Esoterica Stonehaven that has 2 Rad Davis Lovat's dedicated to that one blend and has been like that for a number of years. There are times when a pipe and a blend are just a magical fit and when I find them them I stick to them. The 2007 Stonehaven is the only blend in my collection that gets 2 pipes. I have a number that get one and most are genre pipes.
Some of you have probably read this and said to yourselves that guy has a bad case of ADD. I wouldn't deny that as with other hobbies I did a lot of the same things.
Same, except I buy 190 proof Everclear by the fifth, and use more grapeseed oil than obsidian oil.
And I smoke English at home on my deck in bent pipes and everything else in straight pipes.
Plus I use an Everclear soaked twisted paper towel in the chamber at the end of the day.
J never need to ream or deep clean.
I leave a very thin carbon coating completely down to the air hole, just enough to say there is a tiny bit of cake.
I own a whole bunch of pipes, hundreds, I suppose.
I can hand you any one and it’s fresh, sanitized, clean, sweet, and delicious when you smoke it.
