Exorcising a Ghost

[kane]

Greetings. I have recently acquired a nice little Dunhill estate pipe from a reputable reseller. I’ve just smoked my first bowl in it, some aged Dunhill MM965. The pipe smokes great, but I think it’s got a ghost hanging around as I am getting a chocolate flavor and aroma.
The pipe came to me very clean with a well reamed bowl, and I ran some stem/shank cleaner through the pipe before using it. I don’t smoke aromatics (unless one considers navy flake to be an aromatic), and have never encountered ghosting like this in a pipe before. Will it eventually go away on its own, and are there certain tobaccos that will help it go, or are there recommended ways to deal with this?
The pipe is nice, but as much as I love chocolate I prefer not to have it be part of my smoking experience!
I hope all are well and are enjoying the early spring.
Cheers

 

[PaulRVA]

5 Brothers or St Bruno is what I run to help get rid of a ghost thats stubborn.

 

[sardonicus87]

You can also kill a ghost with another ghost, smoke some DTM Devil's Holiday or GH&Co Ennerdale in it if you can tolerate their ghosts better (though I know you said you don't really smoke aros).

Then it's just a matter of smoking the pipe enough to exorcise the other ghost. De-ghosting a pipe can be easier with a more tolerable ghost. That's how I'd go about it if I had an estate that had a ghost that I didn't like.

 

[The Benedictine]

To exercise a pipe ghost you need to smoke the hell out of it

 

[abecox]

I'd say just keep smoking Latakia in it and it'll quickly overwhelm any remaining ghosts, it just takes a few smokes.

 

[kane]

Thank you all for your advice. Much appreciated. I have a tin of St. Bruno flake stashed away. Per Paul’s advice I’ll smoke some of it in this pipe and see if it helps. This is a good excuse to crack the tin!
My dad smoked St. Bruno regularly, and I have smoked his old pipes and have not detected any ghost flavors in those pipes. I know that St. Bruno is classified as an aromatic, but perhaps not all aromatics leave a ghost. I would love to know what the prior owner of this pipe was smoking. What ever it was is still hanging around in all its sweet chocolate glory. It’s an old pipe.

 

[VDL_Piper]

You really should be asking these guys

 

[OzPiper]

You’re going to gets LOTS of advice, so I won’t add my 2cents.

Just wanted to compliment you on a great looking Dunhill Bulldog

Happy

 

[lukasstrifeson]

Greetings. I have recently acquired a nice little Dunhill estate pipe from a reputable reseller. I’ve just smoked my first bowl in it, some aged Dunhill MM965. The pipe smokes great, but I think it’s got a ghost hanging around as I am getting a chocolate flavor and aroma.
The pipe came to me very clean with a well reamed bowl, and I ran some stem/shank cleaner through the pipe before using it. I don’t smoke aromatics (unless one considers navy flake to be an aromatic), and have never encountered ghosting like this in a pipe before. Will it eventually go away on its own, and are there certain tobaccos that will help it go, or are there recommended ways to deal with this?
The pipe is nice, but as much as I love chocolate I prefer not to have it be part of my smoking experience!
I hope all are well and are enjoying the early spring.
Cheers

View attachment 381421

Surely, you're just tasting the sugary/caramel of the cavendish?

 

[kane]

You’re going to gets LOTS of advice, so I won’t add my 2cents.

Just wanted to compliment you on a great looking Dunhill Bulldog

Happy

Thank you! It’s a neat little pipe.

 

[kane]

Surely, you're just tasting the sugary/caramel of the cavendish?

No, it’s not the tobacco, it’s the pipe. Thanks

 

[lukasstrifeson]

No, it’s not the tobacco, it’s the pipe. Thanks

Usually you'll notice the ghost before you even get to smoking it.

Either way, a 24-hour salt and alcohol soak usually clears it right out. I've cleaned a lot of estate pipes and this has never really failed me.

 

[kane]

That’s good to know. I’ve not done that. Does that also restore a bitter smoking pipe?
I’ll see if St. Bruno has any luck exorcising the chocolate demon.

 

[renfield]

I’ve always done a salt treatment on estates. At the very least there’s far less of a ghost to smoke away.

Not sure what’s causing the bitterness you’re detecting but a salt treatment (with Everclear) has always left the pipe very neutral, IME.

 

[OzPiper]

That’s good to know. I’ve not done that. Does that also restore a bitter smoking pipe?
I’ll see if St. Bruno has any luck exorcising the chocolate demon.

A lot of the funk in an estate pipe is in the shank and mortise rather than the chamber.

Even pipes arriving looking pristine on the outside can have clogged up airways.

If the shank is tarred up, alcohol and cleaners will not be up to the job.
Examine with strong light.
I often need small drill bits or jewellers screwdrivers to ream out the muck.
Then use cleaners and alcohol to finish the job.

 

[kane]

This is good info. I have a handful of old pipes that I’ve reamed the cake and swabbed the shanks on, and they smoke on the bitter side of neutral. I need to revisit those pipes with your shank treatment in mind.
Thanks

 

[Wapask]

Use cotton balls not salt for the bowls alcohol soak, salt can cause fizzures in the wood especially if the cake has been removed completely or nearly completely.

Get a strong bristled brush set on Amazon for 10 bucks and clean out the shank real good then follow with pipe cleaners.

Use only 99.9% isopropyl

When cleaning the shank hold the pipe bowl side up shank face down so no alcohol manages to find it's way onto the outside of the pipe.

Clean until the pipe cleaners come out of the shank the same color as before they went in.

That will help seriously clear up a ghost.

 

[Normski]

Greetings. I have recently acquired a nice little Dunhill estate pipe from a reputable reseller. I’ve just smoked my first bowl in it, some aged Dunhill MM965. The pipe smokes great, but I think it’s got a ghost hanging around as I am getting a chocolate flavor and aroma.
The pipe came to me very clean with a well reamed bowl, and I ran some stem/shank cleaner through the pipe before using it. I don’t smoke aromatics (unless one considers navy flake to be an aromatic), and have never encountered ghosting like this in a pipe before. Will it eventually go away on its own, and are there certain tobaccos that will help it go, or are there recommended ways to deal with this?
The pipe is nice, but as much as I love chocolate I prefer not to have it be part of my smoking experience!
I hope all are well and are enjoying the early spring.
Cheers

View attachment 381421

Easy solution: Get a more powerful ghost to take over your pipe!

Try something from G&H. Their tobaccos are the strongest , richest, and fullest in my opinion.

 

[monty55]

The ghost is probably hanging around in the airway of the stem.
Use The Pink Stuff to remove it!