Pipe Cleaner Test With Bent Pipes

[mso489]

I have always accepted that the bend from the shank to the bowl in many full-bent pipes is too

great for a pipe cleaner to pass through into the bowl. I just pipe cleaner the airway to that point,

and only clean out the rest of the passage when I remove the stem, much less often than every

smoke. Yet I have often seen the pipe cleaner test recommended without mentioning the exception

of full-bent pipes. I have a few full-bents, of which I am proud, that do take the pipe cleaner all

the way to the bowl, like a hand carved Jerry Perry briar and a Giani, but I don't expect it nor downgrade

my full bent pipes that don't. Does that sound reasonable? Opinions?

 

[peckinpahhombre]

I don't have many full bent pipes. Maybe two. One is a Radice Oompaul my wife bought me because she thought it looked like something Sherlock Holmes would smoke. It doesn't pass a cleaner very well. If I turn up the cleaner at just the right angle before I insert it, sometimes I get lucky. Generally, I do the same as you though. It still smokes very well.
The other exception would be for bent (and not necessarily full bent) army mounts or spigots. I only have one, a Pete, and it also does not pass a cleaner easily, Is this also typically a problem for those type of pipes or is that just a Peterson issue?

 

[puffdoggie]

I have all bents and this is an issue. If I use a skinny pipe cleaner (not tapered or extra fuzzy) and rotate it while inserting it sometimes I can get it to go all the way to the bowl. If you are doing the test prior to purchasing a pipe this is problematic but I resort to removing the bit and examining the draw hole in the tenon. If it is centered in the shank and it exits at the right spot at the bottom of the chamber then I'm good. On Pete System pipes the hole should be centered high in the shank instead of dead center but should still enter the chamber centered at the low spot.
As for cleaning, I wait until the pipe is dead cold, remove the bit and do my thing. After I'm done I'll stick a pipe cleaner through the bit and feed the pipe cleaner down the hole in the shank so it barely sticks into the chamber.
Hope this helps,
Dave

 

[metarzan]

I have gotten pretty skilled at passing a cleaner through bent pipes. For years I have just accepted that they some would not pass a cleaner. As mentioned above, sometimes twisting works. For a while now I have been putting about a 10-15 degree bend in the cleaner about half inch from the end and inserting the cleaner with the bend following the bend of the pipe. When it stops, pull back about a quarter of an inch and twist cleaner 180 degrees and make a few easy stabs until it lines up. More times than not it will pass. The bend causes more friction so I only insert about a quarter on an inch in at a time. I have a couple nice smokers with the airway so far off, that if I connect the stem to the shank with the cleaner already inserted I have a really hard time pulling the cleaner back out. Smoke up.

 

[prndl]

I typically bat right at .500 with bents and pipe cleaners.
if I don't nail it the first try, I usually back the cleaner halfway out, turn the cleaner 180 degrees as mentioned above and re-insert...not perfect, but will usually get me to .750.

 

[macabra11]

I've had the same issue with my bent egg pipe. I think I've gotten a cleaner to the bowl only one time. My other pipe is a straight MM and I have no issues. Glad to hear that others have issues with their bent pipes. I thought I was doing something wrong or had a crap pipe :/

 

[dread]

I am not overly concerned about a full bent not accepting a pipe cleaner. I have about a half dozen and some do, some don't. I just do what the OP does, go til it stops, which normally takes care of gurgles if they come up, otherwise I just clean it out when I take it apart.

 

[mso489]

Another bent pipe that takes the pipe cleaner to the bowl effortlessly is a little compact Iwan Ries Exclusive,

which is remarkable because, although it is sold as a bent billiard, it is almost an Oom Paul in shape, almost.

But the pipe cleaner goes right through it. Those are nice pipes.

 

[yaddy306]

I don't have many bents, but I do this trick with the ones I do have: I rotate the stem 180 degrees so the pipe is shaped like a "c" instead of an "s". I find the pipe cleaner passes easier that way.

 

[cosmicfolklore]

For a straight pipe, I see this test being important in making sure that the holes line up on a pipe that you haven't bought and can't smoke yet, but actually passing a pipecleaner while smoking wasn't the main reason for this.
To make a full bent pipe, requires two holes minimum to make the curve, the mortise for the tenon and the draft, and they are going in different directions. The mortise usually goes in further than where the draft starts, so it's just luck to get a pipecleaner to pass unless you bend the end of the cleaner. And, the holes lining up isn't that relevant, unless the maker was just drunk and smoke doesn't pass the draft at all.
Having said this, I spent an afternoon marveling over how twelve of Former's artisan pipes didn't pass a pipecleaner at the pipe shop, not a one, yet all had a bend of some sort, even the partial bends. And, this from noted as a great pipemaker. So, maybe it's not that big a deal.

 

[allan]

99 percent of all my pipes are either partially or fully bent
I just don't like straights as a general rule unless it is very light
As mentioned earlier, the falcon thin cleaner will pass through almost every one, and if I'm lucky, even my dunhill oom Paul.
I have come to the conclusion that bent pipes (or at least my bents) do not gurgle any more than any straight billiard and using a tapered cleaner only as far as it will go down the stem is enough to dry out any moisture that may appear.
When cool I will take it apart and do a bristle clean followed by a smooth.

 

[mso489]

For reasons I do not know, I have never had any persistent or notable gurgling from any pipe straight or bent.

I use pipe cleaners for clean-up only, and on a few rare occasions, for removing a leaf that gets stuck early in

a smoke. The rare gurgle seems to adjust and correct itself.