A link to a video on reaming was passed along through Forums not long ago. It was great to watch,
explaining both the Butner style and the senior reamers. On that post, roth explained that keeping
pipes clean makes the need for a reamer rare to nonexistent. Though a set of reamers might make
sense if, like kashmir (as mentioned in this post) one does some renovation of estate pipes.
But if you have a pipe that you scoop out, wipe out, and clean with a pipe cleaner every time, it is
not likely you will develop the kind of cake that requires a reamer. For example, I have at least three
pipes that are more than 30 years old that have been smoked quite a lot. They have a little char around
the rim of the bowl and a solid cake, but the cake has never developed much thickness, never more than
a dime's thickness. As a result, I have never bought a reamer. You can do some damage by overuse,
so it is best to only use a reamer when absolutely necessary. The video said the senior reamer was best
for cylindrical bowls whereas the Butner is best for bowls that are conical and taper toward the bottom.