Briar Exorcism. Can it be done?

[eaglerico]

I have a rather nice briar pipe and for a long time it was my only pipe. I am still new to the pipe world so I have been trying different blends of tobacco. I am concerned that mixing of many different blends in one pipe is contributing to a fowl smoke in my favorite pipe.
Am I stuck with the ghosts of of tobaccos past or can I remove them easily? How?

 

[cwlinsj]

You can clean/sweeten your briar pipes by using the Salt Cleaning Method. Another inexpensive method for you to not ghost that pipe is for you to purchase a few corn cob pipes ($5-7) to smoke from. When adding the alcohol, take care to not get any on the outside of the bowl as it will strip the stain right off.
Here is a set of instructions from eHow.com. Some suggest using cotton balls instead of non-iodized salt so you don't have to deal with the crust & cleaning. If you have Everclear, use that, otherwise Bacardi 151 makes a decent back-up.
Allow the pipe to cool completely. Take out any ash or dottle from the bowl. Remove the stem from the bowl. Set the stem aside on a soft cloth or paper towel.
Place the pipe so the bowl is in an upright position by nestling it in folded cloths or by supporting the pipe in a small bowl filled with rice or beans.
Fill the pipe bowl level with the brim with non-iodized salt. Add alcohol that is at least 90 proof, such as brandy or vodka, dropping it into the salt with an eyedropper. Bring the alcohol level to the top rim of the pipe bowl without overflowing it. Let the pipe soak for 24 hours without disturbing.
Take the pipe from its supporting material and break through the darkened salt crust using a pipe tool. Remove all the salt and remnants of alcohol from the bowl and shank. Wipe the bowl clean with a soft cloth or doubled-over pipe cleaners. Use the pipe cleaners to repeatedly clean the shank to remove any salt or alcohol. Continue until the pipe cleaners are not stained or moistened when passed through the shank.
Clean the pipe stem with pipe cleaners moistened with alcohol, pushing the pipe cleaner from the tenon to the mouthpiece. Then push through a dry pipe cleaner. Alternate wet and dry pipe cleaners until a moistened pipe cleaner does not contain any darker color on it from passing through the stem, and finish cleaning the stem by putting a dry pipe cleaner through it. Allow bowl and stem to set overnight to evaporate any last traces of alcohol. Then reassemble and use the pipe.

http://www.ehow.com/how_7597143_easiest-method-sweeten-tobacco-pipe.html

 

[excav8tor]

Alternatively, one can always take advice from Mr Pease (and I have tried this method very very successfully) HERE

 

[igloo]

I have used the oven method and it works .

 

[bubbadreier]

Hey check out THIS recent thread! Hope that it helps!

 

[unclearthur]

My thought is that your pipe being the only one you have has caused it to be over smoked and unrested. Snag a few cobs or cheap estates and give it a nice long break after you clean it out.

 

[fred]

Greg's method, with a few tweaks should work with Meerschaums, but I've

yet to try it. The salt & alcohol method is not a good idea with a Meerschaum

either. The more conservative approach consists of a good cleaning of the

Pipe, with Everclear, a shank brush, Pipe cleaners and paper towels, after

every smoke has served me well with maintaining my new Meerschaums and cleaning

up estate Meerschaums. It takes awhile with estates that have been neglected.

Clearly, expanding your collection is a good idea, as your budget permits.

A modest investment in a few Cobs is a good way to start when your budget is

small. As you become more familiar with Pipe smoking, estate Pipes can be an

option. I've a number of estates in my modest collection and some of them are

true finds, while others provide a good smoke.

 

[unclearthur]

Well spoken Fred. A Dr Grabow or two would go a long way toward starting a collection inexpensively. They are relatively cheap and I have yet to find one that smokes badly. (once you pitch the filter)

 

[romeowood]

There was a video series on here from a respected estate pipe restorer; I can't seem to find it now, but it was from a pipe show discussion and was in 18 parts...(any help from the mods? ). It will tell you all you need to know and more about maintenance and cleaning, and using an alcohol retort, which I wholeheartedly endorse. I've tried the salt method as well, and don't find it nearly as complete a cleaning (and takes days). Greg Pease's oven method is intriguing, and seems sound, but again takes some amount of time. I spend a total of about 10 minutes to take an estate pipe from crud to smokeable.

 

[eaglerico]

Thanks guys. I will have to give these a try. I do have a small collection of pipes now. Just for the longest time I only had the one and is by far the nicest one in my collection.

 

[romeowood]

I was the same way til I decided cigarettes were a waste of $ and found this forum, eaglerico. My one pipe was (is) a Sasieni from a long-ago ex, and until about 9 months ago I'd never even bothered to clean it (it's almost 20 years old) Now that I've really settled into smoking a pipe regularly and found this forum, I've got a couple dozen with no sign of slowing down. Your collection will undoubtedly grow with your appreciation of the hobby!

 

[mowens]

Eagle I made a similar mistake with my first pipe. I smoked it a couple times every day for about a week or two without any rest and one day I lit up and it tasted terrible. After some reasearch I realized that I "soured" my pipe. I never really reamed it out or did any of the methods listed above but I did let it sit for about 2 months. In the meantime I got a few corn cobs from me local B&M and I also purchased a second briar. The soured pipe has never restored to it's original state but it did get less sour due to extended rest times in between smokes. In the meantime I would suggest trying one of the methods listed above.