Does Retorting Ruin an Established Curing Process?

[morescnj]

Does retorting (or any use of salt and alcohol bath) to de-ghost pipes have any ill effect on estate pipes that were cured in a particular fashion? For example, Ser Jacopo pipes used a specific curing process which gave its pipes a sweet and nutty smoke.
While I want a clean pipe, I’m not interested in ruining the effect of the curing that was done.

Any thoughts?

 

[Groot5225]

My understanding was that after some use the oil curing goes away. It’s initially good to break in.

https://www.smokingpipes.com/smokingpipesblog/single.cfm/post/briar-curing-from-sawmill-smoke#:~:text=Perhaps%20the%20method%20most%20familiar,during%20the%20break-in%20period

 

[xrundog]

If anything was going to screw up a bowl it would be hot alcohol. Other than that, the pipe needs to be clean as a starting point. And if it has an off putting ghost it needs to be dealt with. Do what you need to and no more.

 

[captainsousie]

Never found it to do so. I save the retort for the nasty ones anyway. If it's bad enough to need it, you wouldn't be getting the briar flavor at all. So, if excessive gunk and cake are your thing, skip the retort. If you'd rather hit reset on the briar, retort away.

@Groot5225 was correct for how long oil curing "lasts" as well

 

[bullet08]

It's nasty pipe vs. smokable pipe. It's your pipe. You decide.

 

[morescnj]

Thanks for the replies. I don’t have a nasty or even a bad pipe. Smokes great, cleaned after every smoke, cake is kept down and pipe is dedicated to a single tobacco.

The more I get into smoking, the more you see and then you start to question whether you should be doing something too. In this case salt baths alcohol and retort cleaning.

Just because it’s there, doesn’t mean you need to do it.

That’s where the question originated.

 

[jpmcwjr]

I try to use the least harsh treatment for a fouled pipe, which for me is hot water flush, followed by coffee grounds, followed by another flush, then pipe cleaners, etc. If no joy, onto other methods.

 

[Sigmund]

I think there is a lot of hype when it comes to the taste of a pipe. Once a pipe is broke i I so not believe the briar contributes to the taste. Now draw and all the other elements do have a say in how tobacco burns and tastes.

 

[Sigmund]

Coffee grounds are magic. On one nasty pipe that tasted like old lady purfume I used coffee grounds plus alcohol instead of water saturated grounds. It was so clean I could taste a hit of alcohol on the first smoke.

 

[briarblues]

I'm with jpmcwjr .... always start with the least intrusive method.

As far as the question .... IF you use a retort with an incorrect alcohol, or overdo the length you process the cleaning, you can go too far and need to re break in the pipe.

I've always used a retort as the last method and only on pipes that every other refreshing / cleaning method has failed on.

 

[Alejo R.]

I'm with jpmcwjr .... always start with the least intrusive method.

This applies to all types of cleaning and restoration.
I hate it when I find a sanded pipe on the outside that only needed a water clean.