How to tell if my pipes are properly cleaned / carbon caked

[piperbama29]

Hi everyone. I smoked a pipe for about two years, but about two years ago I unfortunately went into cigarette smoking and stopped pipe smoking. Well I am now away from cigs and now I am starting back pipe smoking.
My question is, how can I tell if my old pipes are truly clean? Should there be a smell to them at all?
I know there is supposed to be a carbon cake so cleaning it too thoroughly is not recommended - how can I tell if I'm starting to scrape away the carbon cake?
Any pictures of a well cleaned briar pipe would be great for reference.

Thanks

 

[B18]

I if were to clean an estate pipe, i would normally remove all the cake until the walls are brown. I usually do this by first reaming the pipe than give it 1-2 salt bathes (this normally loosen the cake from the briar) than go with 180 grit sandpaper to 240 or 360. I don't want to remove a lot of wood. the walls of heavily used pipes can become burned,etc.
With my own pipe i just give it a salt bath and remove the cake with the pick of my tamper (doing it carefully) that removes most of the cake.
The salt bathes hardens/dries the cake which can be easily be removed.

 

[saltedplug]

Unless something other has gotten into the pipes, you might pronounce them as clean and smoke forward. Cake thicker than a dime can be considered too much, but it doesn't hurt to let it get as thick as a quarter. This is extreme, but I've stopped cleaning my pipes with grain alcohol and bustle cleaners as it such a chore. The tars inside the pipe improve rather than extract from flavor. If my pipes start to clog, I'll clean. Used to clean them every year.

 

[mawnansmiff]

"I know there is supposed to be a carbon cake..."
Not necessarily so. Some folks do prefer to build and maintain a cake, some prefer not to. I fall into the latter category.
Depending on the condition you left your pipes in will determine how deep a clean you should perform. I would certainly clean out the shank with bristled pipe cleaners dipped in alcohol. Lots of nasty tars accumulate in that area. Also the stem, I would clean that with regular fluffy pipe cleaners dipped in alcohol.
No doubt you will get further cleaning tips but those two I personally regard as the most important.
Welcome to the forum by the way ::
Regards,
Jay.

 

[piperbama29]

Could someone post a pic of what a carbon cake looks like?

 

[balkisobrains]

The pipe should smell good, like toasty tobacco, especially the bowl. If they start to smell bad, then there is a problem.
I'm with Jay, cleaning the stem and shank is important. I do it after every smoke with Everclear.
I also agree that not building up a cake is OK. I have one pipe that has a repair attempt in the chamber, so I am actually trying to build up a little cake on that one, but for the rest of them I have been wiping them out with a pipe cleaner after a smoke, and burnishing down the remaining tars/oils onto the chamber walls with my finger. Most of it rolls up into little lengths and falls away, but some remains and a very thin amount, basically like a sheen, is starting to build up. ::

 

[jpmcwjr]

Here's a pipe with a thin layer of cake, and a cleaned stem, shank, chamber and mortise.
I rinse my pipes out with hot water every smoke or two or three. Cleaning the mortise is essential, but not every smoke.
Do you think you have a problem? There should be an odor, but not a skanky one.

 

[mawnansmiff]

"There should be an odor, but not a skanky one."
Unless of course you smoked Latakia in the pipe in the first place :wink:
Regards,
Jay.