How Thorough Do You Clean Estate Pipes?

[dkmdvm]

I've been accumulating a few estate pipes in various states of cleanliness. What is the bare minimum that one should do prior to smoking. I've been doing a light reaming, wiping down the outside, soaking and cleaning stems with oxyclean and using Everclear on a pipe cleaner to swab out the stem. I don't have a buffing wheel. I just want to limit the chance of catching some disease. What do ya think? Good enough?

 

[greeneyes]

You can do enough to protect yourself from disease and yet still have a filthy pipe that tastes awful, so I'd recommend going "above and beyond" what you're aiming for.

At a minimum, alcohol inside the stummel and stem until the pipe cleaners don't come out dirty. That's my standard anyway. I don't like "off" tastes when I smoke.

 

[jdb67]

I have pretty much all estate pipes in my collection. I clean as greeneyes says. Then I basically smell the bowl and decide if I am going further. If it looks or smells like goopy aro or even shows signs of being heavily smokes, then I go to the salt treatment where you fill the bowl with salt and pour that alcohol in there to soak it and then let it sit. It leaches out the nasty stuff into the salt. That has always been enough to get me going with a new tobacco.

 

[BROBS]

I’m going against the grain as I don’t put alcohol in briar. I feel it damages the briar. I only use alcohol in stems

 

[mothernaturewilleatusallforbreakfast]

Sounds alright to me, but don't forget micro mesh. I'm not big on chemicals. Reamer, spit and paper towels, alcohol and pipe cleaners, micro mesh and water, red, white, clean buff, and wax. Get a buffing wheel, pull the trigger. I sometimes pull out my Nicholson's when I want to really screw up an estate. I'm sorry, what I meant to say is that the last Made In London England (probably Ben Wade second from the mid to late 70's) that you bought somewhere randomly, that had that comfortable bit and button, and opened airway; sorry for ruining your pipe.

 

[hoosierpipeguy]

Clean with pipe cleaners soaked in Everclear until they come out clean. Team if necessary. If I happen to buy one that is really used (rarely) I'll send it off to be refurbed.

 

[captainsousie]

I'm the guy who used an alcohol retort on anything that didn't have an acrylic stem. I don't have one anymore but unless you clean the stem, airway and mortise as well as cleaning, and often scraping and polishing the stem it's not clean enough for this pipeman. Bowl treatment depends on cake, smell and visual. If the bowl looks and smells pretty darn clean, a tiny bit of everclear flamed off is what I do.

Ain't no minimum here.

 

[Chasing Embers]

I clean everything inside with alcohol, bristle pipe cleaners, Q-tips, and a Case knife until everything comes out clean. I won't use Oxyclean or sandpaper on stems. Causes putting and removes too much material.

 

[mikethompson]

I knew that picture would get posted!

When I get an estate, the stems get soaked in oxy clean. A wire brush is run inside the stem until it comes out clean, with warm water. Then the stem goes through various stages of micromesh until all oxidation is removed. Then mineral oil is applied to the finished stem.

The inside of the bowl and shank are cleaned using coarse salt and vodka. I let it sit for a day or two. You will be amazed by the junk that this gets out. Sometimes two or three treatments, until the salt remains white. Then the shank is cleaned with a wire brush until it is clean. Then the inside of the bowl and shank gets moist coffee grounds to suck up any ghosts.

The outside of the bowl gets warm water and Murphy's oil soap. When it is all cleaned some mineral oil and carnauba wax really make grain pop.

 

[Kilgore Trout]

I soak the stems in either Oxyclean or a beach/water mix, and run a bristled pipe cleaner through them to loosen up any crud. The bowl gets a reaming if needed, then a salt/Everclear treatment. After that I'll clean the outside with Murphy's oil soap. Then I'll put the stem back in and do an alcohol retort, you would be shocked at the horror that comes out even after a salt treatment. After that I'll use bristled/regular pipe cleaners and alcohol until they come out clean.
Then I'll lightly sand off any stem oxidation with 2000 grit wet/dry, and a buffing wheel with some white diamond. Finally I'll rub the whole thing down with Howard Butcher Block Conditioner, which is a mix of food grade mineral oil and beeswax. and carnauba wax. Then I'll lightly buff that out on a clean wheel. I don't worry about sanding the rim to remove imperfections or getting small bite marks out of the stem, etc. Those are just part of the pipe's story. But I'm an OCD germophobe, so I guess I go way overboard with the cleaning. ?‍

 

[dcon]

+1 to mikethompson (-) the Murphy’s Oil Soap. I have seen woodworkers even decry the residue it leaves.

 

[mikethompson]

I have seen woodworkers even decry the residue it leaves.

Really? Murphy's oil soap is fairly standard practice I thought. I learnt to use it from several members whose restoration work is incredible.

 

[BROBS]

Really? Murphy's oil soap is fairly standard practice I thought. I learnt to use it from several members whose restoration work is incredible.

Not something I’d put on a pipe. Ever

I wouldn’t even use it on wood of any kind, period.

 

[BROBS]

Clean with water, shine with wax. Pretty simple. Anything else is unnecessary and leaving residue and oils in your pipe.

 

[tbradsim1]

Retort for me.

 

[Country Bladesmith]

Clean with water, shine with wax. Pretty simple. Anything else is unnecessary and leaving residue and oils in your pipe.

Water will get out a lot of dirt/grime, but I find that a little high-proof booze works better if the pipe is really dirty. I have used water first on darkened rims before, and could only get them so clean before the paper towel would stay white. Switched to bourbon and more crap lifted out of the briar. Bourbon/rum/whatever and a kids electric toothbrush does a pretty amazing job on cleaning up rim darkening on plateaus or cleaning up dirty rusticated pipes. The alcohol won’t hurt the briar. It’s a short exposure, and it’s not a very absorbent wood.
Edit to add: Be sure how the alcohol will behave with any varnish-type finishes. I suppose you could theoretically get some finishes to lift or dissolve.

 

[BROBS]

Water will get out a lot of dirt/grime, but I find that a little high-proof booze works better if the pipe is really dirty. I have used water first on darkened rims before, and could only get them so clean before the paper towel would stay white. Switched to bourbon and more crap lifted out of the briar. Bourbon/rum/whatever and a kids electric toothbrush does a pretty amazing job on cleaning up rim darkening on plateaus or cleaning up dirty rusticated pipes. The alcohol won’t hurt the briar. It’s a short exposure, and it’s not a very absorbent wood.

Alcohol will pull out the stain. I just use a stiff bristled toothbrush and if anything a bit of dish soap.
after that point I use a polishing cloth. ?

 

[BROBS]

Wood and Cellulosic Chemistry, Second Edition, Revised, and Expanded

This text details the principal concepts and developments in wood science, chemistry and technology. It includes new chapters on the chemical synthesis of cellulose and its technology, preservation of wood resources and the conservation of waterlogged wood.

books.google.com

Read the section on wood and alcohol. Alcohol changes the structure of wood.

 

[Kilgore Trout]

Really? Murphy's oil soap is fairly standard practice I thought. I learnt to use it from several members whose restoration work is incredible.

Right? I've found that rather than leave a residue it strips everything off the wood almost TOO aggressively.

 

[mikethompson]

Are you guys using Murphy's directly on the wood?

You just add maybe half a capful to some water and clean the EXTERIOR with a soft toothbrush. I've never noticed any residue, or smell for that matter.