How to store a pipe?

[rottingcorpse]

Hi,
I'm new at this hobby, and I really enjoy sampling all these wonderful blends, but I'm having a bit of a problem. I smoke outdoors only, and I really cannot stand the smell of the smoke or the pipe after smoking. The pipe itself smells like a cigarette or an ashtray. Anyways, I've only been at this for about a month, and I've been storing my one and only pipe in my backyard, because when I try and store it in my house or garage, it stinks the place up (windows in house open or not). It took me a good day of cleaning to get it out of my house. Anyways, I don't particularly like storing my pipe outside for some reason. I was thinking about placing it in a tightly sealed container inside or in my garage, but I hear you're suppose to let them have air. Are there containers made specifically for pipe storage that I could purchase?

 

[igloo]

Hmmm, for you in a coffee can with a few holes and with some coffee left in it to absorb the odor .

 

[rottingcorpse]

I'll give it a shot once I buy a can and fill it with coffee. I hope it works. Any other suggestions?

 

[waxmojo]

Did you clean the pipe or your house? Make sure you clean the pipe including wiping the inside of the bowl. I can smell the pipes in my rack when I am right next to them but not from a few feet away and they have never stunk up my entire house.

 

[jazz]

Hmmm interesting. I find mine really do not smell much at all. People are keen to point out that when they have a nose at my collection when they are here. I would say get a small pipe cabinet but if you have only one pipe it would be overkill. Just put it in a tin or something.
Anyway, having noticed your name I am surprised you can smell your pipe frankly.

 

[shaintiques]

Yes you need to clean the pipes, if you don't they will stink. It doesn't have to do with a clean house. Ash of different tobaccos can smell stronger than others.

 

[warren]

You've got the wrong "hobby!" The smell comes with the activity. The smoke is in the drapes, carpet . . . we've been through this before, and is indeed insidious. Either learn to abide it, indeed enjoy it, or take up another pastime.
Pipes do reek and the smell gets worse if they are not properly cleaned. Also, the sensitivity of your nose is part of the problem. You'll become inured to the normal smell of a used pipe in time, much as cat or dog owners do.

 

[voorhees]

I'm with warren. Smoking a pipe can and does bring smells into the home no matter how hard you try to keep them out. I find my den/pipe room has a pleasant tobacco smell. Even the wife doesn't object. I keep my pipes clean and rest between smokes. I do have to dump the ashtray more often as that is where the acrid smell comes from.

 

[rottingcorpse]

Of course I clean my pipe and house. I'm a very clean person, one might say too clean. And I do really love this hobby, and I'm not going to just switch because of the after scent. I'm going to try the coffee can method in my garage after work tonight. Thanks, Igloo. By the way good one, Jazz. =)

 

[lordofthepiperings]

I usually have a bowl outside, mostly in the garage because the desert sun and wind is a bit much most of the time. I don't get a stale smoke or ashtray smell in the house. I store my pipes in a pipe cabinet in the living room. Sometimes the inside of the cabinet will get a bit of the smell if I've gone two days before cleaning the pipes I've used. If I've kept up on the cleaning though there really isn't much of that smell when I open the cabinet. Even the smell of the blends I store in the bottom half doesn't creep into the living room.

 

[raevans]

I would recommend that you get a pipe rack and hang it up in you garage. That way they are not left laying around where they can be easily stepped on and broken. (The garage may smell like smoke, but that's better than the house right?) I would also invest a few dollars in a smoking jacket, (or some type of outerwear that you can keep on while smoking your pipe and then hang it up to air out in the garage as well). You may want to get a smokers candle for inside the house. No matter how hard you try, you will always bring in some of the smell after smoking a pipe and having a scent eliminating candle will help keep the "aroma" to a minimum. Make sure that you have a lot of pipe cleaners and don't be afraid to use them. Run a few through your pipe after you finish smoking it and then wrap the soiled cleaners in a plastic bag and make sure that it goes directly to the trash can. I would also say that you should try and have multiple pipes. Using just one pipe over and over without giving it a break will not only make it smell really bad in a very short time, but will also deprive you of the full flavor of the tobacco. (Also known as a sour pipe) I know that briar can be expensive, so you may want to try a "seconds" bag from Missouri Meerschaum Co. They are pretty cheap and you get ten pipes. Best of luck to you and welcome to the brotherhood.

 

[raevans]

Oh, and one other thing to remember, you haven't really taken on a hobby, you have taken on a mistress, and she can be very demanding. :wink:

 

[rottingcorpse]

Hahaha! Thanks, Raevans. I don't mind a bit of the smell in the house; I've grown some tolerance with my years of cigar smoking. My routine is basically, work, get home and smoke, and shower/change. If the coffee can method doesn't work, I'll look into getting a rack, but I'll hang it outside, not in my garage. The weather over here is mild, so I don't think it'll damage the pipe. Also, I did order another pipe a few days ago to cycle.

 

[tarak]

I don't have too much a smell problem in the. What I think is very helpful- after every pipe, I use my pipe tool and lightly scrape/clean out the ashes- not enough to hurt the cake, but keeping it clean. I think use a couple pipe cleaners bent in half to swab the fouling out of the bowl, and another pipe cleaner down the stem to clean that out well. (Don't take the pipe apart when hot, that can damage it).
Many others here actually use a paper towel and gently clean out the bowl after each smoke. Store it in a cabinet, tupperware, ziplock, whatever....I think you'll be okay.
BEFORE I did that though, I had more smell problems.

 

[bigvan]

This is a joke, right?
If the smell of a smoked pipe is so disagreeable to you that you feel you must store it OUTSIDE in a coffee can, then perhaps a pipe is not for you.

 

[rottingcorpse]

Bigvan, I really enjoy this hobby, but I don't like the cigarette-like after smell. I'm only looking suggestions for suppressing the smell, not which hobby is right or wrong for me. Thanks.

 

[rottingcorpse]

Thanks, Tarak. I do a simple cleaning after every smoke, but I'll go ahead and give a more thorough one when I'm done smoking tonight. I heard you're no suppose to store it in air tight bags or containers. Would a large ziplock bag work?

 

[tarak]

I don't know the magic answer to that unfortunately.
And don't let these nice fellas give you a hard time- you gotta enjoy the pipe in your terms
More than likely, as you smoke more, the smell will bother you less. I also hated the smell of my pipes the next day when I started. Between better cleaning, more experience, and smoking better quality tobacco, it's not a problem now. And I only get a few bowls a month in between our weather and the kids so it's not like I'm a battle hardened pipe warrior.

 

[phil67]

My olfactory senses must be dead and shot to hell as I don't sense any smell whatsoever emanating from my pipes unless I shove my nose into the bowl. Even then, I don't detect anything whatsoever that resembles a 'cigarette' smell, and as as much as I hate myself for it, I'm a cigarette smoker who abhors the the smell of stale cigarettes. However, that's not to say that someone who doesn't smoke would not detect a smell from my pipes, but I seriously doubt that they would unless they actually placed their nose very close to my racks of pipes. Wow... if you only have one pipe and it seems to be stinking up your home you do indeed have one hell of a fantastic sense of smell!
As for cleaning out a pipe after smoking and then placing it in any type of air tight container (such as a zip lock bag) is not recommended. A pipe MUST be able to 'breath' after smoking it and you are most definitely defeating that objective with a zip-lock bag.

 

[bigvan]

Sorry, RC, I really thought you were kidding. I've been smoking pipes for almost 27 years and I've never heard of the smell of a smoked pipe being THAT disagreeable, especially to the person who smoked it.
Personally I would never store a pipe in a sealed container, like a coffee can with a plastic lid. Pipes need to dry out after they've been smoked and sealing it up will make a stinky pipe stinkier.
I would also never store a pipe outdoors. Extended exposure to temperature variations, precipitation, humidity, changes in sunlight/shade are not good for briar.
What pipe are you smoking? Is it, in fact, briar? Or is it some exotic wood that's making the stink? What tobacco are you smoking? Assuming you're smoking quality tobacco in a quality pipe, I don't know what to tell you. A smoked pipe will smell like a smoked pipe. And merely bringing a smoked pipe into the house should not require "a good day of cleaning" to remove the smell. Are you overly sensitive to smells? I know that sounds like an odd question, but this just doesn't make a lot of sense to me.
JJ