@ofafeather , as for your question about cleaning the leather, Ive never messed with one of these pipes, but the first thing I’d try is Feibing’s Saddle Soap. Many detergents are hard on leather and will make them brittle and crack over time. Ive never had that experience with Feibing’s Saddle Soap. I use it on my Danner boots and all my leather knife sheaths if they need it. In my experience it cleans extremely well, conditions the leather, and doesn’t alter color. Take all of that with the caveat that I’ve never touched one of these style pipes, so there may be a variable here that I’m not aware of.
If you’ve never used it, the technique is to use a dry brush (probably a toothbrush for something that size) and brush away any loose debris, then dip the brush in water and dampen (not soak) the leather with the dampened brush, and then rub the brush on the soap to pick up a small amount, then brush on a very small amount of the soap until it lathers a bit, then quickly dry it off with a soft cloth.