Oxidation Help

[craig61a]

Well that would be really over doing it. And, of course you’d want to keep it straight on the pipecleaner.

What would you suggest?

When I do that, I chuck the pipe cleaner in drill. I'll pass a cleaner that's been oiled with mineral oil first. Then insert the pipe cleaner from the tenon end and work it into the draft, using a slower speed, pushing it in as it will take it without binding. I use a minimal amount of rottenstone on the pipe cleaner. I just make several passes and then run a clean pipe cleaner through it.

I normally do this after removing as much of the tars etc. in the draft as possible. It's done in order to smooth out the internals of the draft and avoid any waviness or drill marks that will cause moisture to collect.

FWIW, I've never come across a stem that had oxidation in it internally. If it's ever been smoked at all there will be a layer of tar in there that covers the vulcanite anyway,

 

[craiginthecorn]

I use an industrial sandblaster with Tungsten particles at 3,000 PSI. When I get done, there is no oxidation at all. Oh sure, their is very little stem left but the oxidation is GONE!!

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While I do not know the media or psi, a certain large reseller of estate pipes uses a form of sandblasting to deoxidize stems.

Depends a lot on the quality of the vulcanite.

I was annoyed when a new (less than 18mth year old) higher grade Peterson stem showed oxidised patches when it had been kept all its life in a closed cupboard.

To add insult to injury, after polishing with nothing more abrasive than toothpaste, a couple of pits appeared.

Quality of Petes really pisses me off.

For the most part, I believe Peterson uses pre-formed stems which are somehow molded rather than cut from rod stock. There's something about that difference in manufacturing processes that seems to contribute to faster oxidation. That said, I haven't that noticed my many Vulcanite-stemmed Peterson pipes oxidize particularly quickly.

James Upshall pipes had hand-cut stummels and molded stems. Making mouthpieces by hand is time-consuming, expensive, and under-appreciated by many buyers, so the business decision was made to use comparatively cheap molded Vulcanite stems on beautiful handmade bowls. They oxidize practically overnight.

When I get a new pipe, the first thing I do is a thorough deoxidation and buffing of the mouthpiece. It's surprising how much oxidation there can be, right out of the box. Sometimes I think a little oxidation acts like a catalyst for more oxidation. So, I want my stems as oxidation-free as possible from the start. After buffing, I'll then put on a coating of mineral oil followed by a coat of wax. I only use the wax after buffing, but oil after every smoke. I can't prove that both the wax and oil are necessary, or even helpful, but that combo has worked well for me for a long time, so I'm sticking with it.

I also keep the majority of my rubber-stemmed pipes in drawers, away from sunlight. Meanwhile, my acrylic stemmed pipes are free to traipse about in indirect sunlight. One exception is my collection of Peterson Sherlock Holmes pipes. Those are always out on display in their official rack.