Nitpicking, OCD, and Pipe Smokin'

[jpmcwjr]

Wildly unpopular with some, and wildly popular with others: A hot water flush (hot water in the chamber running out the stem) followed by a vigorous blow stem side always clears away debris in addition to removing gunk from the airway and chamber. Can be left to dry for a few hours, or towel dried, pipe cleaner, and Q-tip for the mortise. It simply works a treat.

 

[Sweet Home Alabama]

Wildly unpopular with some, and wildly popular with others: A hot water flush (hot water in the chamber running out the stem) followed by a vigorous blow stem side always clears away debris in addition to removing gunk from the airway and chamber. Can be left to dry for a few hours, or towel dried, pipe cleaner, and Q-tip for the mortise. It simply works a treat.

Just seems counterintuitive using water and wood.

 

[jpmcwjr]

That's one obstacle folks can overcome. It doesn't help that for a hundred years, merchants have been trying to sell magic elixirs by telling folks to never use water near your pipe! Patently bullshit.

 

[puff_not_snuff]

Enjoy smoking your pipes.

 

[Sloopjohnbee]

That's one obstacle folks can overcome. It doesn't help that for a hundred years, merchants have been trying to sell magic elixirs by telling folks to never use water near your pipe! Patently bullshit.

I agree 0 I usually use water

 

[cigrmaster]

My system would never allow that to happen. When I clean my pipes I break them down and first clean the stem with multiple pipe cleaners. I then double over those pipe cleaners and wipe the bowl to get rid of any loose tobacco. I might have to do this twice, other times just once. After I wipe the bowl, I blow through it a couple of times.

I then use bristled cleaners and double those over to run through the shank a few times with a fresh pipe cleaner. I take another cleaner double it twice and clean the mortise. I put the pipe away in it's homeready to be used again.

The next time I go to use the pipe I fill it and then before I ever light it I check the draw to make sure it is the perfect resistance I am looking for. With all of the steps being taken, there is no way a clogged pipe would ever happen.

 

[anotherbob]

The problem with blowing through the hole is that it tends (for me) to leave tobacco that I missed on the floor and that leads to problems with the boss.

blame the pets.

 

[warren]

How about having a Dunhill pouch swiped because some flaming sphincter thought it was a wallet?

You need to hang around a better class of "dips." A more knowledgeable group.

 

[warren]

blame the pets.

Or, cleanup after yourself.

 

[saltedplug]

In this case the problem is known and of small size. Surely procedure can overcome it.

 

[anotherbob]

Or, cleanup after yourself.

yeah it's amazing how easy to keep up with cleaning if you put in ten minutes a day

 

[PipeIT]

You forget to clean the mortise. That's where the crap builds up. I know, it means taking pipe apart. But a real man shines the bottom of the boots!

I forgot to mention the Mortise, yes I certainly pull the stem off from time to time.

I clean under the hood... LOL ?

 

[Sweet Home Alabama]

That's one obstacle folks can overcome. It doesn't help that for a hundred years, merchants have been trying to sell magic elixirs by telling folks to never use water near your pipe! Patently bullshit.

Maybe maybe not.

So some advise fixing a loose stem with water so the wood swells

 

[Chasing Embers]

Maybe maybe not.

So some advise fixing a loose stem with water so the wood swellsView attachment 82045

Or swell the tenon for a permanent fix.

 

[OneGoodBulldog]

Or swell the tenon for a permanent fix.

All this talk of swollen tenons makes my mortise wet...

 

[Chasing Embers]

All this talk of swollen tenons makes my mortise wet...

Oh, no

 

[jpmcwjr]

¡I, yi, yi!

Yes, wetting the mortise may fix a loose fit, but smoking it will too.

With a pipe, if the tenon is curved or swollen, it won't go in no matter how wet the mortise is; that generally isn't the case with mammals!

 

[OneGoodBulldog]

¡I, yi, yi!

That's what she sai...

user: OneGoodBulldog has been muted from chat.

 

[Chasing Embers]

 

[kgs]

I am as OCD as they come. That being said I take perverse pleasure in letting my pipes get a dirty as possible. I like watching the cake build up. I never wipe out the bowl. And I only run a pipe cleaner through the stem when it starts leaking.

I like to build up the grime for as long as I can. This is partly out of necessity because I don't like to waste any time with day-to-day upkeep. I smoke the same pipe day after day. It rests at night and through most of the day. I really only have one to four bowls of shag per day. Of course there are also days, even stretches of days when I don't have the time for even a 30 minute smoke.

After a certain point I decide that it's time to reset and I will do a highly obsessive deep clean of my pipe. I totally remove all cake leaving bare briar. Paper towel, Q-tips, pipe cleaners, bristled pipe cleaners, fluffy pipe cleaners, and distilled water. Also, isopropyl alcohol for the stem.

I am interested in using alcohol on the briar, but I have not yet determined if this is a good idea. I read a post explaining that the alcohol removes some component of the briar and might thereby weaken it over time. I would like to use alcohol on the briar to sanitize it and remove tars and oils, but I am not ready to try it yet.

I fill a small condiment dish with distilled water. I dip Q-tips into the water and then use the moist Q-tip to both moisten the cake and remove it. I alternate between Q-tips and the dull reamer on my pipe tool. Wet Q-tips and pipe cleaners for the stem and shank too. Bits of rolled up paper towel are great for cleaning the shank.

I would run the pipe under under the faucet, but the water here is so heavily chlorinated that I can't even drink the stuff. So I don't want that stuff in my pipe.