After Badbeard's experiment, it appears to me that the alcohol dipped cleaner removed more gunk than the water rinse.
Clean Your Briar Pipes the "New Way".
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The water rinse works fine for me for most of my pipes. But, 151 leaves a nice aftertaste which can be a plus. Of course I'm not a purist when it comes to blends.
This is what I like about the site, all the collectors, blend analyzers, restorers, etc. mean a lot of interesting threads.
This is what I like about the site, all the collectors, blend analyzers, restorers, etc. mean a lot of interesting threads.
One other thing I'd like to add, as my trial on this method is still ongoing - I have found that I can smoke St. Bruno in a pipe, and for whatever reason, the water rinse completely eliminates the ghost it usually leaves for a couple bowls after. I can only guess that the water is completely enveloping the entire interior of the pipe and washing way from areas of the shank and stem that an alcohol dipped pipe cleaner misses.
One other thing I really like about this method, is that there is very minimal danger of damaging finishes with water. Even just a dab of alcohol on the tip of a pipe cleaner has gone awry on me a few times and dripped down the shank, lifting the stain on it's path. I don't think I will give up using alcohol for a weekly deep clean, but rinsing with water lessens the frequency that I need to scrub out the shank. This is especially handy for folks like me who tend to smoke pipe designed for a filter, unfiltered(or perhaps fans of Peterson System pipes) as the inside of the stem and shank get funktastic in a hurry.
One other thing I really like about this method, is that there is very minimal danger of damaging finishes with water. Even just a dab of alcohol on the tip of a pipe cleaner has gone awry on me a few times and dripped down the shank, lifting the stain on it's path. I don't think I will give up using alcohol for a weekly deep clean, but rinsing with water lessens the frequency that I need to scrub out the shank. This is especially handy for folks like me who tend to smoke pipe designed for a filter, unfiltered(or perhaps fans of Peterson System pipes) as the inside of the stem and shank get funktastic in a hurry.
The answer, of course, is none of the above. :roll:
I really can't believe the simple stuff that triggers so much debate in this hobby.
The right answer---the ONLY answer---is to clean pipes the way I do it.... by tossing them into a nuclear reactor pressure vessel for a couple hours after every smoke. I guarantee that nothing yucky survives the process. Not a single solitary itty bitty molecule... :mrgreen:
I had one installed in my basement a couple years ago after discovering it was The Only Way. Here's a pic taken during the installation process. (The neighbors got a bit snitty for a while, but the clamor died down after they mysteriously began dying off. Go figure.)
Anyone traveling through KC who might want to use it are welcome, of course. :
:
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I really can't believe the simple stuff that triggers so much debate in this hobby.
The right answer---the ONLY answer---is to clean pipes the way I do it.... by tossing them into a nuclear reactor pressure vessel for a couple hours after every smoke. I guarantee that nothing yucky survives the process. Not a single solitary itty bitty molecule... :mrgreen:
I had one installed in my basement a couple years ago after discovering it was The Only Way. Here's a pic taken during the installation process. (The neighbors got a bit snitty for a while, but the clamor died down after they mysteriously began dying off. Go figure.)
Anyone traveling through KC who might want to use it are welcome, of course. :
:.
Be careful, George- in addition to the FDA, we will now have the NRC following this forum! I do hope your permits are up-to-date.... But very impressive you were able to install the reactor when you were a teenager!
I have never had a fouled pipe. I think this is because I simply don't smoke enough to develop such problems on anything other than glacial timescales. I never smoke an individual pipe more than once a day and I rarely have more than 3 bowls. In fact, I usually only have one as I hate doing anything else (apart from drinking single malt) when I'm piping. This means I am often too busy to smoke a pipe. I always clean with pipe-cleaners until they emerge clean. If I have smoked a filter pipe (I never use the filters), I dismantle the pipe and throughly clean the stem and shank (mortise/tenon) with doubled-over cleaners. I have started to wait for half an hour or so to do anything to the bowl after getting rid of the dottle/ash/unsmoked tobacco, then I run my finger inside it, to "smear" the remaining ash around the bowl, to aid the cake. Before I smoke it again, I gently clean/bang the inside of the bowl; my reasoning is that anything which hasn't adhered overnight should not remain.
One cause for concern is that every single pipe I own has a nice cake on the top 2/3 of the bowl....and none on the bottom! I have decided to only smoke half-bowls for the next several months, to even this up, although the last half-bowl of EMP I had was decidedly sharp and juicy using this method.
One cause for concern is that every single pipe I own has a nice cake on the top 2/3 of the bowl....and none on the bottom! I have decided to only smoke half-bowls for the next several months, to even this up, although the last half-bowl of EMP I had was decidedly sharp and juicy using this method.
have found this to be the most interesting thread I've read on the forum up until now. And I remain confused and unsure as to whether I should use water, alcohol. or both!
For a true deep cleaning you must DRINK water all day, then carefully fill a mason jar with your pee, mix with GASOLINE and soak overnight. Once out of the mixture fill pipe with pencil shavings mixed with PIG fat and leave in the sun for several hours. Then dump pencil shavings and clean with Q TIPS that recently deep cleaned your ears and POOF, sweet clean pipe.
I made a beautiful Danish freehand as a gift for a friend. His house burned down a couple of days ago, and he's bringing the pipe to me. He says it's covered with smoke from the fire. I've lost 2 nights' sleep trying to decide how to approach this. Any ideas on what I should do to try and save it? Or is it lost forever?
First of all, condolences to your friend. That is an awful situation.
Regarding the pipe, briar is fairly dense and nearly-impermeable stuff. Smoke is in it by virtue of its function and even after years and years of use, only the faintest of penetration from smoke and tars can be noticed in the wood. I suspect any ambient smoke particles that adhered to the pipe are superficial and can be removed with soap and water, or if more aggression is needed, Murphy's Oil Soap. The shank and chamber, I'd use a high-proof spirit to thoroughly clean, and I'd do the same for the stem with a fresh buff and polish on everything after.
I wouldn't say the briar is a lost cause. The stem may need to be replaced, but that's probably worst case.
I smoke my pipes hard and often, and rarely clean. A couple hours ago I gave 8 of them a good hot water rinse and dried them with a paper towel, then used a couple pipe cleaners. They looked ready to smoke right away, and the flavor was improved.
I've found you can smoke 'em right away, but generally let 'em dry more, as I have too many pipes in rotation.
Only tried the water method once. It was working OK until I was asked to leave the swimming pool :lol:
As a result of this thread, I've been using the hot water cleanse after each smoke for over six months from now. It has worked quite well. No adverse affects at all, nice hard cake and longer intervals between major cleanings. Almost zero reaming. I'll continue to clean this way.
Hah! Works better in the hot tub, as the water is more effective when heated....
Indiana man: Good stuff. I have gotten lazy, so I stack up a bunch of pipes to clean all at once. And often don't dry the airway with a pipe cleaner or towel dry the chamber as I recommend. Oooops! So far, so good!
I almost always do my entire daily rotation just before bed. That way, they've cooled down. I have the half bath in the piperoom set up with a small table next to the sink with pipecleaners, a towel roll, Q-tips, polishing cloth, and a block of wood with a piece of suede stretched across it to spit clean and polish the rim. It's just my routine... unless I am really sleepy, and then I just run a pipe cleaner through them and ream the chamber with a paper towel.
I’ll have to give this a try for the next deep clean. I usually use bristle cleaners with Everclear every 10 smokes or so. I can’t imagine that any water absorbed would not simply evaporate out after a reasonable amount of resting time.
It seems to me (and I have no scientific evidence to support this) that some compounds in tar/smoke residue are alcohol but not water soluble. Maybe using both, water after alcohol, would be a good approach.
As for my acrylic stems, I’ll stick to an Everclear soaked cleaner after each smoke.
It seems to me (and I have no scientific evidence to support this) that some compounds in tar/smoke residue are alcohol but not water soluble. Maybe using both, water after alcohol, would be a good approach.
As for my acrylic stems, I’ll stick to an Everclear soaked cleaner after each smoke.
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