Do You Rotate your Pipes?

[TheIronMonkey]

In all seriousness, I try to cycle through all of the pipes that I smoke. I usually scan the collection to see what I haven’t used in awhile, or look for a pipe that I haven’t added to a spreadsheet that I started awhile ago to keep track of what I have and smoke in it.

There are detours, though. I’ve slowly shifted to dedicating specific blends to specific pipes instead of whole genres to pipes; I have a few pipes with large chambers that I use more often and regularly than other pipes because of their long smoking times, so that I don’t have to look down and load a pipe while watching UFC fights and possibly miss a knockout that can happen in an instant—having a pipe that can provide five hours of smoking time is a nice thing when watching an action packed six hour event.

Newer acquisitions get thrown into the mix and jump the line.

I’ve toyed with the idea of splitting up pipes by marque, shape, or design (pipes with metal caps, or Meerschaum-lined pipes, etc.) and creating multiple seven day sets, then smoke those sets a week at a time.

 

[condorlover1]

Do you wear the same socks and underpants week in, week out? The same principle applies to pipes so a rotation helps your pipe not feel all groaty!

 

[jpmcwjr]

Depends if you're a wet smoker or dry smoker. Depends if you dry your tobacco enough out smoke it moist. If a wet smoker or smoking most tobacco, you'd benefit from rotating pipes. If neither, probably doesn't matter much. << Snipped bits out >>

This is straightforward.

 

[jpmcwjr]

Do you wear the same socks and underpants week in, week out? The same principle applies to pipes so a rotation helps your pipe not feel all groaty!

Except most of us wash those socks and undertrou as much as daily. True, pipes can withstand the dishwasher, but the practice is rare.

 

[cosmicfolklore]

I prefer my pipes shaken, not rotated.

I have over 100, so most days I use a fresh pipe for each smoke, but then, other days I will smoke the same pipe all day. I don't think any of it really matters as long as you keep your pipe cleaned with a pipecleaner or two after each smoke. I also rinse mine with water at the days end and ream the chambers really well with a wad of paper towel.

Really, what you do with your pipes is up to you. I was recently made aware that we have a huge population here that have never used pipecleaners. I guess if you can be that way, and still enjoy smoking, then have at it.

 

[daveinlax]

I don’t have a fixed rotation but I’ll select a group of two, three and sometimes four like pipes that I’ll have at hand for a week of more. New pipes stay at hand for a long time.

 

[ophiuchus]

I switch pipes once in a while. Rotation takes too much thought.

 

[Zero]

To quote some lyrics from Nirvana- Oh Me:
I don't have to think
I only have to do it
The results are always perfect
But that's old news...(sums up my pipe smoking experience). No rotation here.

 

[Mike N]

If you smoke a wetter aromatic, I suggest no more than two bowls same day, then a 3-5 day rest for the pipe depending on the quality and thickness of the briar. For English blends, I find you do not need as much pipe rest.

 

[Sacred_summit]

Wow, thanks guys!
I'm no longer as concerned. I deep cleaned every pipe today with rum.

I only have briars, I've never tried a Cobb or meechum.

 

[pappymac]

I only have close to 65 pipes and out of those I have maybe 10 that are just dust collectors for various reasons. (One is a three piece meerschaum I found unsmoked at a fleamarket for $10. The first time I smoked it I noticed a hairline crack near the bottom of the bowl.)

Out of the rest of my pipes there are 18 that I smoked on a regular basis depending on what I take off the rack that day. I will admit that I have three that I only use for certain types of tobacco.

 

[PA Piper Mike]

Sure.

View attachment 290620

 

[PA Piper Mike]

Depending on the pipe and my mood. Lately I haven't been smoking much, about 3-4 bowls/week, but when I was smoking 2-3/day, I would smoke the same pipe at times if it was a dry smoke and I went for the same blend.

 

[MartyA]

I usually just smoke one churchwarden a day over an old book outside. Very rarely, two. I've got maybe ten of the things, so after I clean my pipe I set it back in the rack, set a .45 caliber bullet next to it so I remember what I smoked last, and move on to another one the next day.
So... they all have at least a couple days to dry out well, but at the rate I smoke, it really shouldn't make much difference.

 

[HeavyLeadBelly]

Do you wear the same socks and underpants week in, week out? The same principle applies to pipes so a rotation helps your pipe not feel all groaty!

Embrace the groat!

 

[condorlover1]

@HeavyLeadBelly : I am reminded of the Pears Soap advert... 'Two years ago I used your soap and since then I have used no other!'

 

[bullet08]

It used to be counter clockwise. But, I might try moon cycles and tidal movements.

 

[sardonicus87]

I just rotated my pipes today. Still not sure what this accomplishes though...

 

[LeafErikson]

To quote some lyrics from Nirvana- Oh Me:
I don't have to think
I only have to do it
The results are always perfect
But that's old news...(sums up my pipe smoking experience). No rotation here.

That is not a Nirvana song. The Meat Puppets wrote that.

 

[Zero]

Was waiting on that I like their cover of the song.