Giving up - A tale of 2 pipes

[atskywalker]

I have 2 pipes that I'm just about to give up on (picture below). The Brigham is a beauty but it smokes everything hot ( I tried to pace differently nothing is working) After smoking in it I usually end with a bite. The Comoy is another story. Everything tastes harsh in that pipe its really strange. Any wisdom before I toss them out of frustration?

 

[bigpond]

Have you smoked lat and/or DFK or Burley blends in the Brig?

Have you tried an American English or Aro in the Comoys?
If these are estates are they heavily ghosted? Are you ready to stripe the varnish off the brig?
Sometimes a dog is just a dog. Fortunately we have eBay.

 

[tobyducote]

How long have you had these and were they new or Estates? How many bowls have you smoked through them? And have you been mixing blends?
New pipes need to be broken in, and some take longer than others...estates need to be sanitized or else they could have a harsh ghost...
And before you toss them, I'm sure someone on this site would be willing to buy them from you...for the right price.

 

[aldecaker]

If they were mine, I would try a salt/alcohol treatment on the Comoy and see if that helps. The Brigham, I would probably look at the possibility of converting it from a Brigham system to a more conventional airway design.

 

[atskywalker]

I have both for a few months and I tried smoking everything I have in them. To me, the best of tobaccos becomes harsh and hot in both. Its really strange because the Brigham is part of a set from which I picked two. The first one is by far my favourite pipe (hence I picked up the second). I bought them both new so not estates.
I understand the process of breaking in (I've broken in about 12 so far ). These guys are actually painful to smoke hence I can't even get to stage of building a healthy cake on them.
A gentleman on the forum would like to buy them so he will drop by next week if he agrees to the price.
@adecaker, what do you have in mind re. the Comoy being treated with Salt and Alcohol?

 

[aldecaker]

I just use the conventional Kosher salt, filled to the bowl rim, prop the pipe upright, and add 3-4 drops of clear liquor. I use plain vodka, because I don't want my pipes to taste like rum or whisky. Let it sit overnight; you'll be surprised how much nastiness pulls out of the briar and into the salt! Some swear by using Everclear, but I feel that the lower proof of vodka would be a little more forgiving if you accidentally get some on the finish.

 

[seacaptain]

Might be the bowl coating on the Comoy.

 

[aldecaker]

Yeah, didn't think of the bowl coating thing. For some reason, I was thinking the pipes were more well-used; didn't read carefully enough, I guess. I am very firmly anti-bowl coating. Any new pipe I get with bowl coating gets it wiped out with a cloth dampened with alcohol. Some I have had to resort to sanding out.

 

[pylorns]

The brigham uses clay to coat the bowl. Also did you leave the filter in that brigham?

 

[atskywalker]

OK. I reamed both as well as I could and filled them with salt and a few drops of rum (I like rum - I use it to clean my pipes with good results and I like the taste it leaves). I'll report back in 48 hours I guess. I'll keep the salt for 24 then clean well then leave to dry and light them up.

 

[clickklick]

I'm unconventional. If that treat!ent doesn't work I'd try one last thing. Cigar ash mixed with a few specks of water. Also known as pipe mud. Apply a thin layer to the inside surface of the bowl completely, let dry. Carefully pack a bowl without scraping much off. Try it and see.

 

[aldecaker]

@atskywalker- I too like rum (just not for pipes). If you drink rum before 10 am, you're not an alcoholic, you're a pirate. Yo Ho! :D

 

[winton]

Years ago, there was a tread:
Help, I dropped my pipe in the toilet! What do I do?
Ebay.

 

[aldecaker]

Yet another reason I will never buy an estate pipe.

 

[huntertrw]

atskywalker:
With regard to the salt-and-alcohol treatment here is a link (The Professor's Pipe-Sweetening Treatment) to a well-written description of it. As for the alcohol I prefer Everclear 190-proof grain alcohol, as it imparts no flavor to the briar. Further, it acts as an excellent solvent. Just exercise caution, as it is HIGHLY flammable!
I hope that you find this information to be helpful.

 

[atskywalker]

Here's a quick update on progress so far. I've treated both pipes with salt and left for 24 hours. Cleaned them and filled the bowls with rum and let sit for a few hours (I've done this to many of my pipes and I love it as it imparts a certain sweetness to them along with cleaning the inside of the bowl). I let them dry for another 24 hours and then enjoyed a Romeo & Juliet. Made pipe mud out of its ashes and began to apply it to the bottom of the bowls to make the draft hole flush with the bottom (I inserted a pipe cleaner as I applied to ensure I don't close the hole ;-)). I also coated the inside walls with a thin layer of mud as clickklick suggested. I'll let dry for the next 48 hours or so and fire up...
More updates in a few days I guess. Thanks for all the suggestions.

 

[mso489]

I'm thinking you will get an improvement or complete remedy on one or both pipes. Just a hunch.

 

[atskywalker]

@mso489 Really hoping so.. I'll smoke them both tomorrow and report back. In any case I learned a lot just by going through this process.

 

[atskywalker]

Here's a quick report. I fired up the Brigham with about half a bowl of DFK. I can sense an improvement but it still smokes damn warm. The smoke is so hot the tip of the stem actually gets hot! I'm leaving the rest of the bowl to cool down and I'll fire it up again. Should I be expecting an immediate improvement or is patience required as it rebuilds the cake?

 

[aldecaker]

What is the filter situation on the Brigham? Installed, not installed, dirty, clean? This is starting to not sound like a bowl/breaking in problem to me.