Moisture and Cracking
- Thread starter James8855
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Never heard that one before. They'll get nasty if you don't clean them, but the only cracking I've experience was smoking an unsmoked 110 year old pipe. You should see some of the estates I've cleaned. Filthy with a cake so think you can't put tobacco in them but no cracks.
The moisture will evaporate but will leave tars in the stem/shank which will sour the pipe. So it is best to clean the stem of the pipe with a pipe cleaner diped in a spirit after every few smokes to keep the pipe fresh
I have 7 pipes that I smoke every day. One or two pipes get used each day.
I ream and clean every 4 to 6 months. During and after smoking I always run a pipe cleaner through and leave the pipe cleaner in until they cool down.
Never had any issues. Been smoking pipes for 45 years.
I ream and clean every 4 to 6 months. During and after smoking I always run a pipe cleaner through and leave the pipe cleaner in until they cool down.
Never had any issues. Been smoking pipes for 45 years.
Other than when cleaning and sanitizing estate pieces, I never use alcohol on a pipe. Over time it can damage the briar. I smoke the same pipe 2+ times per day, sometimes for weeks at a time, disassemble and clean with pipe cleaners and paper towels after each smoke, and in thirty years I've never had a pipe sour. Higher proof alcohols can also cause crazing in acrylic stems.
If you wipe the chamber out with a paper towel after each smoke you may never have to ream again. I haven't for years.
After I run my pipe cleaner through my pipe, I fold it in half and use it to wipe/clear out the bowl. Is paper towel more effective / better in any way? Thank you.
Lot of myth. Just run pipe cleaner and let the pipe rest, if you wish. Some smoke same pipe multiple times a day without any issue. Pipe will sour if you leave it wet for long time probably due to bacteria growth. Moisture, warm temp and no light lead to germ factory.
Then how come every pipe site says to use alcohol to clean the Mortis and Shank? I do agree about not to use alcohol to clean acrylic stems. Plastic and alcohol don’t mix well.
I wrap the paper towel around my finger and wipe the chamber out. It removes gunk and compresses carbon to prevent a loose flakey cake. You end up with a thinner, denser layer of carbon. Then I shine the bowl with another paper towel and often wax it.
To make you buy more. The alcohol damages the fibers of the briar over time and eventually will make a pipe smoke wet. You're better off using hot water if any liquid at all.
Very welcome. It really takes a lot of work out of the maintenance.? Welcome to the forum by the way.
The story with cracking the bowl due to lax maintenance had to do with not ever trimming back the cake. I've seen numerous old estates with very thick cake, such that the chamber can barely hold any tobacco. The story was that thick cake would expand enough to crack a briar bowl.
Alfred Hitchcock was a meticulous film maker and a slob with his pipes. He seems never to have trimmed back the cake from what I saw of his pipes. I practically had to use blasting caps to get the chamber cleared.
For sure, what cracks briar is smoking too hot and too wet.
Alfred Hitchcock was a meticulous film maker and a slob with his pipes. He seems never to have trimmed back the cake from what I saw of his pipes. I practically had to use blasting caps to get the chamber cleared.
For sure, what cracks briar is smoking too hot and too wet.
In my mind, and that is in my mind, that is, to me, wood does not tolerate water without damage. Thus to me cleaning pipes under running water is like microwaving tobacco, exposing objects to substances and environments to which they were never intended.
I only used liquid on my pipes, alcohol that is, once a year to dissolve tobacco deposits.
Question about using a towel to wipe out the chamber after every smoke and thereby keeping the cake at ammonium. I found cake to add flavor, although I could be wrong. Some go so far as to say to never clean your pipes, as the reside adds flavor.
I only used liquid on my pipes, alcohol that is, once a year to dissolve tobacco deposits.
Question about using a towel to wipe out the chamber after every smoke and thereby keeping the cake at ammonium. I found cake to add flavor, although I could be wrong. Some go so far as to say to never clean your pipes, as the reside adds flavor.