Can I bake my used briar pipes in oven to make them drier?

[menuhin]

I wonder if any forum member has tried baking their used briar pipes in oven with low temperature as a mean to re-cure them or to make the smoke drier.

And will it work? Is there any risk involved?
I know it sounds a bit naive but I am really curious to try it out.

 

[danielplainview]

A good salt and alcohol treatment and a few days rest will do wonders for a pipe.

Never tried baking one. If you do, I advise trying it one you wouldn't mind cracking apart.

 

[mso489]

Don't bake your pipe. Even if you remove the stem, which might become flexible and change size and configuration, heating the briar throughout isn't a good idea. I'd rest the whole pipe at room temperature in a dry place. For a dryer smoke, dry out your tobacco somewhat. Emphasize non-aro blends. Change pipes after every bowl and rest your pipes. Dry out the bowl after each smoke with a piece of paper towel, tissue, or paper napkin, and give it a through pipe cleaner cleaning after every smoke.

 

[sablebrush52]

You can warm your pipes at a low temperature without damaging them, but you are likely to open up a big can of worms. Warned without the stems inserted, you could lost the fit between the bowl and the stem. Warmed with the stem in, you could damage the stem or possibly crack the shank.
Here's Pease' experience using an oven to deodorize pipes copied from Pipedia:
G.L. Pease also offers a more effective method:
"I reamed the pipe almost back to bare wood, pre-heated my electric oven to 220°F, and turned it off. After removing the pipe's stem, I filled the bowl with activated charcoal pellets purchased from the local aquarium supply shop. Placing the pipe on a soft towel in the oven, I left it to sit while the oven cooled - about an hour... No perceptible difference was detected.
A couple of conversations with Trever Talbert, friend, pipesmith extraordinaire, and constant experimenter with briar, provided an important piece of information; briar heats very slowly. He explained that it could take several hours for a piece of briar's temperature gradient to reach equilibrium with the ambient temperature. Clearly, my pipe's short stint in the Sauna was insufficient to do the job.
I reheated the oven, this time setting the thermostat to 180°F, knowing from my tests that the temperature in my empty oven would vary between about 180°F and a bit over 200°F, well below the temperature at which the briar would scorch. Stemless and empty, I placed the bowl on its towel in the oven, on the upper rack, far away from the source of radiant heat, where it would be left to sit for three hours.
After removing the now hot pipe, I filled the bowl with the activated charcoal, and placed it back in the oven for an additional three hours. When the pipe was finally removed, and emptied of the charcoal, there was absolutely no trace of its prior scent ... After allowing the pipe to cool overnight, the stem was refitted, the bowl filled with a favored blend, delicate enough to allow any vestigial flavors from the pipe to come through clearly. I sat down to experience the fruits of my labors. Success! Only at the very bottom of the bowl was a slight hint of the previous aroma, and this disappeared completely after a couple of smokes."
Sasieni used to heat their bowls as part of the curing process, but that was to remove the saps and resins, and they did lost some stock to cracking. The Sasieni process went on for day and days.
As for making some permanent sort of change to the pipe's performance, I seriously doubt that cooking them will have any result.

 

[fluffie666]

I put one of my pipes through the process sablebrush52 mentions. It worked well on a nasty old estate pipe that had been neglected for years. The reason I wanted to try the process was because I didn't understand how to get all the leftover salt out of a bowl after the salt and alcohol treatment. That was before I found out what a pipe retort is. So the charcoal and heat worked. I did have to refit them stem afterwards. I put only the briar in the oven which kiln dried the wood so it shrunk. When I cleaned up the stem I hit the tenon with 3200 micromesh until I was able to fit it back into the shank. It's one of my favorite pipes now. An old Stanwell Sterling. The thing smoke like a champ.

 

[cosmicfolklore]

The Pease fix would be good for a method of last resort, but wouldn't it just be easier to dry the tobacco? If this is a gurgle issue, I don't think drying the briar is what is needed. But, that's my layman response. I'd try drying the tobacco, packing a tad looser and smoking slower first. My 0.02.

 

[ssjones]

Some folks use activated charcoal and put the pipe in an oven to banish a strong ghost, but I haven't heard of using an oven to dry out a pipe.

 

[zekest]

I put mine in a wool sock and toss it into the clothes drier with a load of wet towels.
Comes out nice and dry and I love the fresh smell of the dryer sheets.