H
HRPufnstuf
Guest
Has anyone performed an alcohol treatment on a cob? I would try it myself but I binned the perfect candidate about a week ago.
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I would be inclined to say no, alcohol can break down the adhesives used on cobs. But, full disclosure I've never done it so I couldn't say for certain. I have loads of old cobs, maybe I'll fill one up with alcohol tomorrow and see.
I’ve tried cleaning cobs with everclear. It didn’t hurt them and I suppose it cleaned out some gunk, but cob is so sponge like, absorbing so much tar and oil, I don’t think alcohol will ever clean one the way it cleans briar. It would be a lot of work assuming it’s possible . Now I just clean my cobs with plain pipe cleaners every time I smoke, especially in the shank, wipe out the bowl, and keep the cake trimmed down nicely.
H
HRPufnstuf
Guest
I follow regular pipe hygiene with my cobs, I was curious because I'm thinking of buying something more"stylish" - if you can say that about a cob. I will certainly have a "fresh" candidate by spring and I can run an experiment then. I appreciate all the feedback.
I run Everclear dipped pipe cleaners and q-tips (when cleaning the mortise) through my cobs every ~5 smokes, just as I do my briars. Never seen a downside in doing so.
What about the hot water rinse after cooled off? Treat it like briar?
I assume it will need longer time to dry. I only have one and haven’t smoked it yet.
I assume it will need longer time to dry. I only have one and haven’t smoked it yet.
I tried the hot water rinse and it is not a good idea: it makes some of the plaster on the outside of the cob erode off. Just a pinch of sand-like grains, but I think if you do it repeatedly the damage will start to become noticeable.
If a cob gets to the point where an alcohol treatment might be considered it goes into the trash. Cobs are not meant the last forever, they are inexpensive just get a new one.
I do this sometimes. I prefer it to using alcohol. It has done no harm to my cobs. But then my favorite cobs are "naturals"--no varnish and, I think, no plaster to mess up.
Grain alcohol like Graves on a pipe cleaner swabbing the stem and draft holes and quick swab with a 12 gauge bore mop with a few drops on it is all I do to any pipe, including cobs.
No,no,no... Cob vs alcohol=bad, simply put it out in the sun for a hour. That's how it's done. Hope this helps.
H
HRPufnstuf
Guest
That can be said of any pipe but the better you take care of them, the longer they can last. I won't touch MM, but cobs are great pipes.
I generally don't like to work on pipes but usually a little Everclear on a pipe cleaner seems to work for me. I only have one cob and it rarely gets smoked.
I've never felt MM cobs need anything other than standard cleaning. Scoop the ash, wipe the chamber with an abrasive paper towel, run a pipe cleaner through it, and it's good to go. Keeping the "cake" to only a thin carbon layer means no reaming, the chamber remains the same size as new. My MM cobs are "permanent party," that is keepers. They may be disposable, but I haven't disposed of any.
H
HRPufnstuf
Guest
OK, post-treatment analysis.
The left pipe has been my daily driver for work last 2 months and the right has been my desk pipe. Same age, same usage same tobaccos. The left pipe, on the worksite, rarely got daily hygiene so I chose to try and clean it up, it stank. It also had some finish wear and charring from outdoor use in wet conditions. The right pipe, office pipe, received daily hygiene did not need additional cleaning. Had some repair for a loose shank and mudded the floor of the bowl. Prior to treatment these pipes were very similar in size, shape, and appearance despite their different "working" conditions. These are MM Legends, $13 CAN, and rightly considered disposable pipes.
Treatment protocol: Salt and alcohol fill for 24 hours. Shank stuffed with pipe cleaners. Maintained level. Emptied, rinsed, cleaned, and air dried.
All images left pipe treated work pipe, right pipe untreated desk pipe.
Treatment remove significant tar and oil build-up. However, significant amounts of dissolved oil and tar migrated through the pipe bowl.
Treatment also expanded and deformed the bowl. The finish has been eroded and expansion has created cracks in the bowl exterior and around the shank.
Treatment also created radial cracking in the bowl and expanded it out of round.
The floor of the pipe was also weakened, quite possibly beyond future use.
My conclusion, an alcohol and salt cleanse for an inexpensive cob is clearly desructive. I would hesitate to use this method for any cob, even over an abbreviated time frame. While I have not yet use the treated pipe, I am not optimistic about its performance. It may be a fresher smoke, the process obviously cleaned the bowl, but the pipe itself is irreparably altered and perhaps ruined.
I have no doubt the damage is a direct consequence of the pipe material and immersion and I would expect the same physical damages using cotton swabs rather than salt. Cob is simply too absorbant for an immersive treatment.
I will not use this form of cleaning for cobs in the future. It could easily have more expensive consequences.
P.S.: Raising the bowl floor of my office pipe (right), as can be seen in the fourth image, has been very successful.
Thank-you all for your input.
The left pipe has been my daily driver for work last 2 months and the right has been my desk pipe. Same age, same usage same tobaccos. The left pipe, on the worksite, rarely got daily hygiene so I chose to try and clean it up, it stank. It also had some finish wear and charring from outdoor use in wet conditions. The right pipe, office pipe, received daily hygiene did not need additional cleaning. Had some repair for a loose shank and mudded the floor of the bowl. Prior to treatment these pipes were very similar in size, shape, and appearance despite their different "working" conditions. These are MM Legends, $13 CAN, and rightly considered disposable pipes.
Treatment protocol: Salt and alcohol fill for 24 hours. Shank stuffed with pipe cleaners. Maintained level. Emptied, rinsed, cleaned, and air dried.
All images left pipe treated work pipe, right pipe untreated desk pipe.
Treatment remove significant tar and oil build-up. However, significant amounts of dissolved oil and tar migrated through the pipe bowl.
Treatment also expanded and deformed the bowl. The finish has been eroded and expansion has created cracks in the bowl exterior and around the shank.
Treatment also created radial cracking in the bowl and expanded it out of round.
The floor of the pipe was also weakened, quite possibly beyond future use.
My conclusion, an alcohol and salt cleanse for an inexpensive cob is clearly desructive. I would hesitate to use this method for any cob, even over an abbreviated time frame. While I have not yet use the treated pipe, I am not optimistic about its performance. It may be a fresher smoke, the process obviously cleaned the bowl, but the pipe itself is irreparably altered and perhaps ruined.
I have no doubt the damage is a direct consequence of the pipe material and immersion and I would expect the same physical damages using cotton swabs rather than salt. Cob is simply too absorbant for an immersive treatment.
I will not use this form of cleaning for cobs in the future. It could easily have more expensive consequences.
P.S.: Raising the bowl floor of my office pipe (right), as can be seen in the fourth image, has been very successful.
Thank-you all for your input.
Last edited by a moderator:
This is my approach too. The only thing I do differently is this: when I realized how much moisture collects in the shank of an mm, I began removing the stem and swabbing out the inner shank with a folded pipe cleaner every smoke. The inner diameter of these shanks—even the non-filter ones—is so wide just running a pipe cleaner through the stem doesn’t swab the inner walls much. If I had a broader rotation this might not be an issue but my cobs get heavy use
H
HRPufnstuf
Guest
Footnote: went to test treated pie and shank promptly came free of bowl. Not deemed worthy of repair, consequently binned.