How Do You Clean Pipes with Small Bores?

[americaman]

I now have several pipes, mostly older pipes, that have little bores that do not allow a pipe cleaner to pass through. Either the normal size BJ Long or the tapered BJ Long size cleaners. I can jam them in there and make it maybe an inch or so.

Additionally, tapered (wider) pipe cleaners wick away more moisture and clean better through the air passage.

So what do you do with pipes that have little bores if you can’t even pass a pipe cleaner through the stem?

 

[olkofri]

Water flush? ?

 

[smudgersmissingleg]

I use the Falcon extra thin cleaners for stems with a smaller bore.

 

[B18]

Depends on where, but i would take a drill bit an widen the bore

 

[dmcmtk]

A good question. For what it's worth, I have found the banded regular Tom & Jerry pipe cleaners (made by BJ Long) are narrower than the cleaners in the plastic bag.

6 Inch Pipe Cleaners – Blue Room Briars - https://www.blueroombriars.com/collections/all-accessories/products/6-inch-pipe-cleaners

BJ Longs Pipe Cleaners - https://www.marscigars.com/bjlongspipecleaners.aspx

The other thing one could do, if you have a Senior Reamer is use the drill part to open up the airway by gently turning it by hand.

 

[anotherbob]

like missing leg I use falcon cleaners and then make sure to blow through the stem to dislodge cotton debris.

 

[americaman]

I use the Falcon extra thin cleaners for stems with a smaller bore.

View attachment 84890

Excellent. Do they wick away moisture and/or clean well? I’ve noticed in my experience regular sized pipe cleaners come out clean, but tapered (wider) pipe cleaners come out with all the grime. So they seem to clean better. Do these little ones do the trick?

 

[sablebrush52]

Just curious, are the airways clean? I've cleaned out a few antiques where a regular pipe cleaner was a tight fit, but after soaking away a thickness of crud that had formed over the airway walls, now can accommodate tapers and even fluffies.

 

[smudgersmissingleg]

Excellent. Do they wick away moisture and/or clean well? I’ve noticed in my experience regular sized pipe cleaners come out clean, but tapered (wider) pipe cleaners come out with all the grime. So they seem to clean better. Do these little ones do the trick?

I have 2 pipes that I use them on and they seem to do an ok job, maybe not as good as a tapered cleaner but they're the only thing that will fit.

 

[americaman]

Just curious, are the airways clean? I've cleaned out a few antiques where a regular pipe cleaner was a tight fit, but after soaking away a thickness of crud that had formed over the airway walls, now can accommodate tapers and even fluffies.

Well, I just got one of those GBD seconds from Iwan Ries and it has a tiny bore. The draw seems unrestricted, and would otherwise be a good pipe.

Even my 1915 Barling Motor has a regular sized bore that will pass my pipe cleaners.

 

[niblicck]

Another one that I have luck with on the smaller bores is Dill's. They work well on some of my harder to clean stems that a regular size pipe cleaner will not pass through. I've never tried their bristled one's but they might work better than their fluffy because usually other brands of bristle's are more rigid.

 

[saltedplug]

What I want to Know is how you clean the pipe cleaners? Or better still, where you can buy an eternal pipe cleaner; you know, you just need one, forever? And if eternal then perhaps, although not a buddha, at least buddha-like? Probably improbable as buddhahood is a state of mind only possible, from what we know, in man.

I sense that there may be no good answer to my question. Nonetheless I shall not soon give up my quest.

 

[DangerStranger]

...as buddhahood is a state of mind...

For me buddhahood is more of a state of body.

 

[sablebrush52]

Well, I just got one of those GBD seconds from Iwan Ries and it has a tiny bore. The draw seems unrestricted, and would otherwise be a good pipe.

Even my 1915 Barling Motor has a regular sized bore that will pass my pipe cleaners.

So these are just narrow airways, not blocked airways.
You shouldn't be surprised that you Barling Motor has an open draw. One of the myths is that British factory pipes had restricted draws. Charatn straights had a 4mm bore and the bents had a 4.7mm bore, long before the whole "open draw" thing became a thing.

 

[americaman]

So these are just narrow airways, not blocked airways.
You shouldn't be surprised that you Barling Motor has an open draw. One of the myths is that British factory pipes had restricted draws. Charatn straights had a 4mm bore and the bents had a 4.7mm bore, long before the whole "open draw" thing became a thing.

Interesting history. Thanks for the info!

 

[OzPiper]

I'm sure either @condorlover or @weezel have recommended the multicoloured pipe cleaners found in craft stores. I've used them with my old pipes with small bore bone tenons successfully.
And as suggested - a waterflush !

 

[newbroom]

5/32" drill bit, hand turned from mortise to bowl. replace stem.

 

[carolinasmokes]

I'd try some Dill's or Falcon pipe cleaners or a shank brush. Smokingpipes.com also sells Neerup mortise brushes.

 

[jhowell]

+1 Falcon