How Do You Treat Your Pipe ?
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Thanks Bluegrass, not really. I think I once wiped the stem down with a little olive oil, here, it is pretty dull. I think I have a bottle of Haze Away just never have the time to worry about it. I've kept the cake to a minimum by always wiping with a damp towel after bowls, give the briar a little wipe with some wood replenisher like tung oil every 1-5 years and once I scrubbed down the rim with some spit and my finger to bring back the natural grain covered over with a little match-char.
It's not that I don't care but no one sees the pipes but me. If I had friends over whom I was interested in showing them off to, I might give some of them the full monte but I haven't the time. I've seen pipes here that were a 1000 times worse off that restored looking like new, so I know that not /keeping/ the pipe looking like a million does no harm to the pipe. Unless you are an animal, that shiny, brand-new looking pipe is always under there somewhere to be found! More power to the people with really large collections who can keep up with keeping them all looking their best!
It's not that I don't care but no one sees the pipes but me. If I had friends over whom I was interested in showing them off to, I might give some of them the full monte but I haven't the time. I've seen pipes here that were a 1000 times worse off that restored looking like new, so I know that not /keeping/ the pipe looking like a million does no harm to the pipe. Unless you are an animal, that shiny, brand-new looking pipe is always under there somewhere to be found! More power to the people with really large collections who can keep up with keeping them all looking their best!
I'd give myself a B-minus. I'm good about doing the basic cleaning after every bowl (or series of bowls in a row, though I rarely do that); I scoop, wipe out the bowl, do the pipe cleaner, and polish the pipe, every time. I do occasionally leave a pipe overnight and smoke up a bowl the next day. Because I wipe out the bowl, I maintain a thin carbon layer and don't have to ream, ever. On the other hand, I rarely do an overhaul cleaning, removing the stem, except with my one Kaywoodie Drinkless with a stinger. I have quite a few pipes, let's say dozens, scores. So mostly this works.
I tend to beat on my cheaper pipes, like my cobs, a little more but I bought them for working so that's what they're for. But I also try to treat all my pipes somewhat delicately because I'd rather not have one break on me.
I have 9 pipes. I rotate through them about every 9 weeks. I use Knob Creek Bourbon to clean the chamber and the smoke channel and let them sit for a day to completely dry out. Not sure where I got this from and I admit I have wondered if I am doing this correctly. My wife and son bought me a Peterson Jekyll and Hyde for Christmas - this has quickly (immediately) become my favorite pipe. I will baby it a little more than the others.
If you're enjoying smoking your pipes with this regimen, you're doing it right..... I use hot water to rinse or clean my pipes, paper towel dry the chamber, and I save some sippin' whiskey that way!
Enjoy!
Enjoy!
Several pipecleaners during each smoke. That is it. If one gets old and stinky it gets a cleaning with a tasty alcohol. Most of them have rarely if ever been taken apart, except to remove the silly inner tube.
I treat them all with respect. I clean them after every smoke. I run a alcohol soaked cleaner through and the end of the day. Polish the wood and stems when they need a shine. Use car wax with carnuba for protection and shine, especially on the rims. I clench, but don't chew my pipes. I never 'break them in', I just smoke easy on new pipes. Ream when needed.
I'm glad so many pipers don't treat their pipes with the compulsion I've seen exhibited by many--it's a pipe cleaner for me, an occasional ream with the Low Country Reamer, and once every other month a thorough cleaning of the whole gang. Cleaning the rim is a little hard to do without taking off wood or stainA few of the really special pipes, like my Teri Nielsen Brown Sparrow, go into their leather socks.
Not entirely beside the point, I smoke in two spots in the house: my office, no-man's-land for any but me, and the thoroughly ventilated dining room where the TV is (which reminds me to sometime ask what is the favorite genre of movies when smoking). Where do the pipes go? This is my horrendous secret: When I'm on a smoking bing watching TV or reading in my study, I place my straight pipes in a ceramic coffee mug tastfully illustated with pretty nude lades. The Nording and similar non-straight pipes go into a box, so I alternate between pipes between pipes in my coffee mug (stem end first) and non-straights in thje wooden box.
Not entirely beside the point, I smoke in two spots in the house: my office, no-man's-land for any but me, and the thoroughly ventilated dining room where the TV is (which reminds me to sometime ask what is the favorite genre of movies when smoking). Where do the pipes go? This is my horrendous secret: When I'm on a smoking bing watching TV or reading in my study, I place my straight pipes in a ceramic coffee mug tastfully illustated with pretty nude lades. The Nording and similar non-straight pipes go into a box, so I alternate between pipes between pipes in my coffee mug (stem end first) and non-straights in thje wooden box.
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