Reamer for larger pipes.

[BigEd]

Can anybody recommend a reamer for larger bowls? I picked up the Scotti 5 piece kit and their metal adjustable reamer. The 5 piece fits a few of my pipes but the metal one not even one way too small. It barely expands so I’m wondering if one of the other brands is better. They all look the same in the pictures.

 

[Sobrbiker]

https://www.smokingpipes.com/accessories/pipe-tampers-and-tools/moreinfo.cfm?product_id=202915

 

[OzPiper]

A Pipnet set
Otherwise sand paper wrapped around a piece of dowel

 

[Chasing Embers]

A Pipnet set
Otherwise sand paper wrapped around a piece of dowel

I've got pipes that the largest reamer of that set won't touch. Sandpaper is definitely my go to.

 

[warren]

Any sharp pocket knife, sandpaper, and such, not used to aggressively, works for me.

 

[RustiePyles CPG]

A hollow ground tri-blade scrapper is my go to reamer for nearly everything.

 

[didimauw]

I like my cheap reamer set with the different sized heads. However Its just easier to use the sharpened edge blade that comes on my Rogers pipe knife.

 

[didimauw]

Speaking of which, those of you that use a "knife blade" of some sort. Do you push the sharp end, or drag it? Pushing gets the fastest results , but I've been known to do some damage that way.

 

[RustiePyles CPG]

Speaking of which, those of you that use a "knife blade" of some sort. Do you push the sharp end, or drag it? Pushing gets the fastest results , but I've been known to do some damage that way.

Blunt the tip of the knife, lay it flat against the inside of the bowl and push it. I’ve never done any damage doing that way.

 

[Chasing Embers]

Speaking of which, those of you that use a "knife blade" of some sort. Do you push the sharp end, or drag it? Pushing gets the fastest results , but I've been known to do some damage that way.

When I used a knife, I laid the blade flat in the chamber and turned the pipe against the edge

 

[didimauw]

Blunt the tip of the knife, lay it flat against the inside of the bowl and push it. I’ve never done any damage doing that way.

Yup thats how I do it. works quick.

 

[kcghost]

I know @georged uses a triangular shaped device to ream pipes.

 

[georged]

When cake is REALLY heavy, sanding and scraping takes a long time.

A batch of flea market estates that are all mega-caked? Fuggeddabout it. You'll be sanding and scraping for days.

This tool takes only seconds, though:

(the catch? ya gotta make 'em)

 

[Auxsender]

Reamer? I hardly know her!

 

[bullet08]

I think my favorite reamer is in this pix.

 

[Gimlet]

When I used a knife, I laid the blade flat in the chamber and turned the pipe against the edge

That's exactly what I do. A pipe knife should have a bull-nosed tip anyway so it can't damage the bottom of the bowl.
I do this regularly, just keeping the cake down to about a milimetre. I have reamer but I've never found it achieves anything more than I've done already with the knife so it doesn't get used.

 

[orlandofurioso]

https://www.smokingpipes.com/accessories/pipe-tampers-and-tools/moreinfo.cfm?product_id=202915

Very nice and similar to my Savinelli "fits all" pipe knives .

 

[Bengel]

I like my clam knife

 

[LeafErikson]

I use the scooper part of a Czech tool and sandpaper. I've never understood the need for reamer sets. In fact, it seems much easier to accidentally damage a pipe with a reamer than with the two tools I mentioned above.

 

[LeafErikson]

When cake is REALLY heavy, sanding and scraping takes a long time.

A batch of flea market estates that are all mega-caked? Fuggeddabout it. You'll be sanding and scraping for days.

Is this because the cake has sat there and hardened over time? I don't smoke estate pipes so I've never experienced that. I've also just never experienced cake THAT hard, especially not on briars. That might be because I smoke all of the pipes on my rack regularly and the residual moisture in the pipe makes the cake easier to scrape off. Sometimes on a meerschaum cake can be harder to remove because I can't use as much brute force. Cake usually comes right out with a few minutes of hard scraping from my Czech tool on my briars.