How to Deep Clean my Pipe?

[sparker69]

I definitely continue smoking my pipe when I have to shoot people over a trench. Why put the pipe down when I can clench?

Well, think of the army mount as the possibility of turning your regular pipe into a nosewarmer when you choose to!

 

[Sobrbiker]

I have been watching Mutt-n-chop Piper on YouTube, I am guessing it's time for a deep clean of my pipes.

Have you perfected the “mouthwash swirl” while using the breath technique as he presents it?


I’m in Everclear, paper towel, ream as needed maintenance camp.
Deep cleaning happens when an estate rolls in (which has happened at a rate of about1-2 a month since I joined this forum after starting about seven months ago).

 

[andrew]

Do you have to wipe out the chamber immediately after your done smoking or can you let it cool down a bit? when my pipe is cool, I take the stem off, run a pipe cleaner through it and the shank and then give the vulcanite stem a coating of mineral oil that I buff off the next morning when I reassemble the pipe.
I have a Savinelli that has maybe the "dime" thickness of cake and I wasn't sure if I should be checking into a reamer or not. I had read about light sanding if it builds up too much, but one member suggested otherwise. For reamers, I've seen the kits - like the Castleford - but even the smallest wouldn't fit in the bowl. And then there was the option of something like the oyster knife style.

Grab a buttner style reamer, theyre pretty easy to use. I've heard you can mess up a pipe with a castleford or senior reamer if you arent sure of what you're doing. I find maybe once a year I need to use it, and not evem that. It's just a very self explanatory tool thats cheap and effective and I think you'd purposely want to destroy a pipe if you ruined one with it

 

[OzPiper]

My pinky fits! Someone on another thread suggested wooden pop sickle sticks when the bowl was cold. The cake kind of creeped up on me and I got worried about it because I don't smoke that much - four or five bowls a week with a dozen pipes to choose from. I measured the bowl of my Savinelli 626 - and it was .6" (15,24mm). I would say it has the dime thickness on it now.View attachment 235287View attachment 235288View attachment 235289

I would definitely ream that !
I don't like anything more than a very thin, hard, carbonised layer

 

[bullet08]

I definitely continue smoking my pipe when I have to shoot people over a trench. Why put the pipe down when I can clench?

Couple of obvious reasons. 1) Pipe smoke can possibly tell your enemies where you are. 2) Smoke going into your eyes can possibly interfere with aiming you rifle.

 

[itsnotuitsme]

Thank you for all the advice. I am a bit confused. I smoke at the most (on weekends) 5 or 6 bowls a day. Is it not okay to use the same pipe throughout the day? How long should I let the pipe rest before using it again? To answer some questions;

I don't consider myself a wet smoker. I sometimes get the gurgle, but not too often. It mostly happens in my Peterson System Standard 307.

I smoke only aromatics.

I always run a few pipe cleaners through my pipes after every smoke.

i found that i can smoke 2 (3 if i feel good about it) bowls in the same pipe without cleaning in between - i'll admit that sometimes i will even just change the filter after that and go for one (aka 2 or 3) more round (yeah im a swine, ok :D ). Most of the time i will just keep it to 2 bowls before cleaning, though. Before pouring out the ash i will losen it up, put my thumb over the hole and shake it a bit, to get a nice even layer of ash on the sides of the bowl, so that the oils and tar from the next smoke will distribute and set evenly.

when cleaning, i'm doing the same things as OzPiper - additionally i use Q-Tips to clean the inside of the stem.

 

[WerewolfOfLondon]

My pinky fits! Someone on another thread suggested wooden pop sickle sticks when the bowl was cold. The cake kind of creeped up on me and I got worried about it because I don't smoke that much - four or five bowls a week with a dozen pipes to choose from. I measured the bowl of my Savinelli 626 - and it was .6" (15,24mm). I would say it has the dime thickness on it now.View attachment 235287View attachment 235288View attachment 235289

That's some cake. I bet she's a triffic smoker.

 

[JohnnyBeach]

i found that i can smoke 2 (3 if i feel good about it) bowls in the same pipe without cleaning in between - i'll admit that sometimes i will even just change the filter after that and go for one (aka 2 or 3) more round (yeah im a swine, ok :D ). Most of the time i will just keep it to 2 bowls before cleaning, though. Before pouring out the ash i will losen it up, put my thumb over the hole and shake it a bit, to get a nice even layer of ash on the sides of the bowl, so that the oils and tar from the next smoke will distribute and set evenly.

when cleaning, i'm doing the same things as OzPiper - additionally i use Q-Tips to clean the inside of the stem.

I use a lot of pipe cleaners. I find that there is condensation that builds at the bottom of the bowl, so I frequently run a cleaner through while I smoke. Then I use a paper towel to squeeze the moisture out of the cleaner and reuse it several times during each smoke. At the end I use a new cleaner to absorb whatever moisture remains in the pipe and leave it in until the next smoke.
I tried a more thorough cleaning using alcohol and Q-tips. Was amazed at how many Q-tips I had to use to get the shank even partially clean. I'll continue this tomorrow. Meanwhile, the pipe smells A LOT better with what I have done today.

 

[Briarcutter]

Im not a wet smoker, my pipes don't gurgle but I constantly use pipe cleaners. Sort of like preventive maintenance. I ream them when needed but rarely deep clean them. For me, pipe cleaners during the smoke prevents a lot of future trouble. Besides the pipe and tobacco I always need three things for a smoke, lighter,tamper,pipe cleaners.

 

[PiperCalvinist]

View attachment 233149

He has spread much disinformation and opinions that have raised so many questions here.

Disassemble your pipes after each smoke. Run a pipe cleaner of your choice through the stem and draft hole. Wipe the mortise out with Q-tips, and wipe the pipe's chamber out with a paper towel. With this routine, you'll nearly eliminate unwanted cake thickness, moisture, deep cleaning, and need to rest a pipe.

That exactly what I do, except instead of a q-tip I simply double over a pipe cleaner to clean the mortise. Also, I first use my pinkie finger to clean out the ash in the bowl, then follow it with a barely moist paper towel. Keeps it cake-free and very clean!

 

[AJL67]

Couple of obvious reasons. 1) Pipe smoke can possibly tell your enemies where you are. 2) Smoke going into your eyes can possibly interfere with aiming you rifle.

In basic they told us you can smell a cigarette burning up to 50' away depending on wind and much further for non-smokers, that and "light discipline" you can see the glow from a lot further than you think, that's why in fairly accurate war movies everyone that smokes cups their cigarette in their hand at night. blah blah blaah i would have killed everyone in this chat for a smoke during basic training. lol

 

[bullet08]

In basic they told us you can smell a cigarette burning up to 50' away depending on wind and much further for non-smokers, that and "light discipline" you can see the glow from a lot further than you think, that's why in fairly accurate war movies everyone that smokes cups their cigarette in their hand at night. blah blah blaah i would have killed everyone in this chat for a smoke during basic training. lol

Yeah. Cupping the smoke is something I heard about since all my uncles and some of the cousins served in ROK Army. Not that they wanted to, but serving in military is mandatory. Either that or sit in a jail for three years, and no one will hire you. Ever. I hear it's very lenient now days. Still have to serve, but there are more options.

 

[Jef]

I began my journey into the art of pipe smoking about 3 months ago. I have 3 pipes which I rotate. Each has a respectable cake buildup in the bowls and I keep them clean by using pipe cleaners every time I smoke.
Recently, I began noticing on 2 of my pipes a sour taste to the tobacco (I smoke aromatic blends, mostly black cavendish). Because I have been watching Mutt-n-chop Piper on YouTube, I am guessing it's time for a deep clean of my pipes.
He recommends using a grain alcohol and hazelnut liquor mixture (70/30). Will this not leave an aftertaste in my pipes? What are some alternatives? Please reply and tell me what materials and methods y'all use to deep clean your pipes. Also, how often do you deep clean your pipes?

I rarely deep clean. I run pipe cleaners through my pipes after every smoke. But when I do deep clean I use whisky on a pipe cleaner.