Cleaning a Pipe TOO OFTEN?

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vegasblue

Might Stick Around
Jan 23, 2012
58
0
so far none of my pipes have suffered damage from taking the stem off after every smoke, a lot of my pipes are bent enough to where a cleaner won't slide thru all the way. i'm just hoping that in the future it don't cause problems.

 

ahpui

Might Stick Around
Jan 16, 2012
62
0
Just clean a old pipe with some strong Chinese liquor and it seems like the blow is left with bare wood.
Hope I didn't harm it.......

 

maxpeters

Can't Leave
Jan 4, 2010
439
21
Wow. I never realized that I was such a dirty smoker. I only use the alchohol-salt treatment when I buy an estate pipe. Once it's cleaned, I only use it again when it has to be reamed.

The rest of the time it's only pipe cleaners. I only take them apart once in a while to get down into the shank. My pipes look good to me, and don't taste bad. And they are all still as tight as they were when I first got them. Whatever you're comfortable with I guess.

 

pipedisciple

Starting to Get Obsessed
Aug 18, 2011
245
0
Always run a pipe cleaner through the pipe after I smoke. Haven't done the alcohol clean because I haven't found it necessary yet. Will probably need to use some pipe sweetener at some point. I use a chamy on the bowl and stem regularly. Don't want to mess up the patina some of my pipes have. I say to each his own, I may be doing it wrong but it seems to work for me. :puffy:

 

salewis

Can't Leave
Jan 27, 2011
412
0
It is not a good idea to take the stem off the pipe every time you smoke it as you may crack the shank, especially when the pipe is still a little warm from your last smoke. Stems shouldn't be taken off the pipe unless you are going to give the pipe a good periodic cleaning which depends to a extent on what type of tobacco that you are smoking since aromatics require more cleaning then English blends because of the casing on the tobacco.
I usually only run a pipe cleaner through the pipe after every one or at most two smokes. However, I usually never separate the stem from the shank unless the pipe is a bent and I can't run a pipe cleaner through the stem and the shank unless the two are separated. I usually give my pipes a good, thorough cleaning with pipe sweetner or cheap vodka, stem cleaner, Quetips and pipe cleaners after about 15 smokes. I do not buff the outside of the bowl since I like a patina from the oils of my hands since the briar looks more athentic. I only buff about once a year because if you buff too often and don't do it right your can buff off the name, model number and date code if there is one.
That being said, everyone is different about their pipe hygene a similar to how many times we wash the car in a month.

 

nwgibson85

Lurker
Jan 12, 2012
33
0
This is why I love this site. So many opinions, and yet so much respect for one another. For someone who is new to pipe smoking like myself this thread was incredibly insightful. Thank you all.

 
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