Pipe Cleaners?

[withnail]

I use the tapered pipe cleaners. Most available in the UK seem to come from the same manufacturer with the bag printed with the name of the shop that sells them. I also keep plenty of kitchen tissue on hand as well as a couple of lint free dusters.

 

[nsfisher]

i use brigham cleaners but for shanks i use a Q-tip! hundreds for a buck and saves ur pipe cleaners! for stems

 

[Strike Anywhere]

BJ Long

 

[jchaplick]

I use bj long, just because its whats in stock, doesnt really matter too me, i have actually been on the lookout for craft stores that carry real pipe cleaners and uses "soft plain" as the label, i remember seeing them as a child, and they were sold for 4 dollars for about 300, really looking out for them again.

 

[billm67]

I have been using tapered pipe cleaners....but that is only because Boswell's give you a supply with your pipe when you buy a pipe from them. I guess I have been buying too many pipes...because I haven't yet had to buy any pipe cleaners.

 

[cyndi]

BJ Long tapers. Shaun has some that come in a little cardboard folder that work really well on narrow stems.

 

[schmitzbitz]

BJ Longs; I order 5 bundles of regular, 1 bundle each bristled, tapered and fluffy with each months TAD order. If I find I am running dangerously low, I'll scour local tobacconists and headshops for "Zen" brand (perform as well as the BJ Longs, but at 3x the cost), but usually end up settling for a pack or two of Brigham (also at 3x the cost) to tide me over.

I find that the Brigham cleaners are the most absorbant of any brand I've yet used, however they also shed an awful lot, and the wire is just thin enough to be pesky (although not too thin to use, as in other brands).
At the other end of the spectrum, I've learned to avoid Medico branded pipe-cleaners like the plague, they simply shed and bend. Old Pal brand provides the same, crappy experience (although they are fluffy enough to swab the sump in a system pipe).