On these issues of how hard to attack a chore like cleaning a pipe, I always like to remember the ingenious aspect of a torque wrench, familiar to me only in the car magazines. This is a wrench with a scale that tells the user how much torque they are applying to the bolt they are tightening to know if they are applying unnecessarily damaging pressure. I don't own a torque wrench, but I remember the principle when I'm tightening screws and bolts and doing other jobs, especially on delicate things like jewelry, pipes, and pens. So when you're scooping ash, really feel the bottom of that bowl, so you are clearing it but not gouging it. Likewise use measured strength taking off stems, or putting them on, and especially if you use a reamer. I'm not a massive person, so I only have to keep this in mind. If you're a big, powerful person, you need to make it part of your mindset, I'd guess. But mostly, as noted in earlier posts, this is a peripheral concern, and pipes given the least consideration tend to last forever. That's why they're being sold for smoking long after even their longer-lived owners are gone.
