Funky Smell and I Can’t Get Rid of It!

[madmick]

Okay ladies and gents, I have received my pipes that I had won on eBay. They are in okay shape and I think the individual that owned them made some very hasty attempts to restore a few of them. All of them except for the two Ropp’s look like they have been either sanded with a file or 20 grit sand paper. I have started to sand one just to try my hand at restoration. So far it is going well and I have managed to remove the deep sanding marks and was able to remove the LARGE knife gouges from interior of the bowl. I’m pleased with the look so far but now I'm trying to correct another issue. All of the pipes have a very pungent smell of what I consider to be potpourri, it’s a very floral smell. Now when I say a pungent smell I mean it to the 10th degree! The smell is so strong that you almost taste it without even drawing on the pipe itself. So far I have done 2 rounds of the salt and alcohol treatment and yet they still have this very strong odor to them. Does anyone have a trick to getting out a horrible smell out of an old pipe? I’m open to any suggestions.

 

[misterlowercase]

 

[lifeon2]

the floral scent sounds like mixture 79 to me you may have to ozone treat them to get rid of it.

 

[numbersix]

you may have to ozone treat them to get rid of it.

+1
I've never done a retort, but Walker Briar works does ozone treatments that I've heard works well.

 

[radio807]

I can vouch for Walker's ozone treatment. I bought a nice pipe at an antique shop that had a musty odor and taste that I couldn't get rid of even after two treatments of salt & alcohol, and several bowls of tobacco. I figured that the pipe would have eventually cleared up if I smoked it enough, but I got tired of wasting tobacco and precious smoking time. The ozone did the trick.

 

[kcvet67]

If the bowl was as badly gouged as you say, I'd recommend getting a Castleford reamer set. (It's also known as Pip-Net or T-Handle.) The Senior reamer is also good, but the Castleford gives more even chamber walls.

http://www.pipesandcigars.com/bjranepipetool.html#.UWgR3Too5dg

In a badly ghosted pipe, I would take it down to bare wood and rebuild the cake from there.

 

[andrew]

Comrade, before you go to the trouble of sending your pipe away you could try the charcoal technique, I've read testimonies of it that it is the most effective way to rid your pipe of any ghosts.

"I reamed the pipe almost back to bare wood, pre-heated my electric oven to 220°F, and turned it off. After removing the pipe's stem, I filled the bowl with activated charcoal pellets purchased from the local aquarium supply shop. Placing the pipe on a soft towel in the oven, I left it to sit while the oven cooled - about an hour... No perceptible difference was detected.

A couple of conversations with Trever Talbert, friend, pipesmith extraordinaire, and constant experimenter with briar, provided an important piece of information; briar heats very slowly. He explained that it could take several hours for a piece of briar's temperature gradient to reach equilibrium with the ambient temperature. Clearly, my pipe's short stint in the Sauna was insufficient to do the job.

I reheated the oven, this time setting the thermostat to 180°F, knowing from my tests that the temperature in my empty oven would vary between about 180°F and a bit over 200°F, well below the temperature at which the briar would scorch. Stemless and empty, I placed the bowl on its towel in the oven, on the upper rack, far away from the source of radiant heat, where it would be left to sit for three hours.

After removing the now hot pipe, I filled the bowl with the activated charcoal, and placed it back in the oven for an additional three hours. When the pipe was finally removed, and emptied of the charcoal, there was absolutely no trace of its prior scent ... After allowing the pipe to cool overnight, the stem was refitted, the bowl filled with a favored blend, delicate enough to allow any vestigial flavors from the pipe to come through clearly. I sat down to experience the fruits of my labors. Success! Only at the very bottom of the bowl was a slight hint of the previous aroma, and this disappeared completely after a couple of smokes."

http://pipedia.org/wiki/Pipe_care/cleaning

 

[lordofthepiperings]

I would have suggest what kcvet67 said. Carefully take it back to bare briar and start over again.

 

[madmick]

Wow thanks everyone! I do need a new stem for at least two of the pipes so I will be sending them to Walker Briar Works. I will ask them to do an ozone treatment just for good measure.
Kcvet67, thanks for the recommendation on the reamer. I have managed to get the gouges out via lots of sanding. The gouges were on just the top ¼ inch of the inside of the bowl. My best guess is that the previous owner had made an attempt to remove the char or cake with a pocket knife but removed a lot of material from the pipe. I just sanded the top 1/8th inch flat and then sanded a gentle curve into it. It looks really nice and slightly “high end”. I do have a reamer on the list of things for me to buy as I continue to learn the restoration process.
Andrew, I really like the idea with the charcoal and I will try this for sure. Anything is worth a try at this point and after looking at how the retort works I think the charcoal is a little safer then heating alcohol and risking blowing my face off. 8O I really appreciate the help from you all and as always the you guys have best advice on the web. ::

 

[andrew]

http://pipesmagazine.com/forums/topic/ghosts-be-gone#post-264077 Good feedback from forum members using the charcoal technique.

 

[skapunk1]

I have a similar problem, the musty taste and smell. It sticks in my mouth after half a bowl so bad, even after mouthwash. So disgusting. I dont want to send it away, its a Beacon Hill pipe. To my knowledge its not worth it. May just chuck it out.