Best Way To Derp Clean a Pipe

[craig61a]

View attachment 42440

 

[cigrmaster]

I clean my pipes after every smoke. I use multiple BJ Long tapered fuffies for the stem. Once I am done with those I double them over and wipe the inside of the bowl getting rid of any loose ash or tobacco. I then blow out through the bowl making sure nothing sticks to the inside. I then take a tapered bristled cleaner,double it over and slide it back and forth down the shank multiple times till cleaners come out clean. Once that is done i take a bristled cleaner and double it 4 times and jam it down the mortise to clean out that.
Maybe once every couple of years I will do a deep clean using shank brushes, ever clear and my senior reamer.

I forgot to mention on every pipe I clean I use Obidisian Stem Cleaner to keep my stems looking great. Nothing is better than lighting up a fresh pipe.

 

[Sloopjohnbee]

Have you tried this to clean oxidized vulcanite stems?

not yet, but I plan on it

 

[seanv]

not yet, but I plan on it

Post an update after your try. I am curious to see how this works out

 

[PipesRock]

I clean a couple of times a year pretty deeply with Everclear.

After every smoke though I run multiple pipe cleaners through it until the cleaners come out clean. Typically about three or four cleaners used after every smoke

^^^ This... and I wipe bowl with paper towel after each smoke and rub down pipe and stem with clean cut t-shirt pre-dabbed/dunked in olive oil (it's not wet, just present in the cotton). Wash the t-shirt rag about once a month/6 weeks then dab/dunk it up again to prep.

Edit add: I used wet coffee grounds in a Bjarne bent egg that was ghosted badly (to me) with rancid Lakeland/English idk... let it sit in my FL garage for a couple weeks in 100+ degree temps and it seems to have worked well. I'm not sure if that's even close to how to do that but it worked well enough for me.

 

[Parsimonious Piper]

For before/after pics of what you can do with just a little effort, I just posted a Pipe by Lee bent billiard cleanup. For much better instructions than I could give, see Reborn Pipes and check their Q&A and beginners links.

 

[Wellington]

There is some really good information here, I see everclear being brought up a few times, can I use a rubbing alcohol instead? And the alcohol is ok for the INSIDE of the stem?

 

[Chasing Embers]

And the alcohol is ok for the INSIDE of the stem?

Only if it's vulcanite. Alcohol can damage acrylic, plastic, and amber.

 

[Sloopjohnbee]

There is some really good information here, I see everclear being brought up a few times, can I use a rubbing alcohol instead? And the alcohol is ok for the INSIDE of the stem?

You CAN use rubbing(70%) isopropyl in the bowl - IF and only if you let it complete dry - meaning at least 2-3 days. Many people don't because it's not potable but I do and have no problem with it. To be safe you can also wipe down with distilled water after drying or a distilled water flush right after using the alcohol. The important word is DRY. always drying the wood