Reaming A Pipe Down To Wood

[Milleniumsmoker]

Hello Everyone,
I have an old Peterson pipe inherited from my father, not worth much but of sentimental value. I went and reamed it out and did a salt cleaning of it with alcohol to get rid of the old caked up residue and flavor. The reamer I have has a faulty spring, and thus I wasn't able to adjust it to the bowl, I just used it as a scraper. The result was some wood coming off the top of the bowl as I bore down to get the middle and bottom of the bowl reamed out.

Will this bit of wood damage the pipe irrevocably? My guess is not but it could build up a lopsided cake down the road. Any thoughts on what damage I may have done? Thanks

 

[Chasing Embers]

Hello Everyone,
I have an old Peterson pipe inherited from my father, not worth much but of sentimental value. I went and reamed it out and did a salt cleaning of it with alcohol to get rid of the old caked up residue and flavor. The reamer I have has a faulty spring, and thus I wasn't able to adjust it to the bowl, I just used it as a scraper. The result was some wood coming off the top of the bowl as I bore down to get the middle and bottom of the bowl reamed out.

Will this bit of wood damage the pipe irrevocably? My guess is not but it could build up a lopsided cake down the road. Any thoughts on what damage I may have done? Thanks

Should be nothing more than cosmetic. Wipe the chamber out with a paper towel after each smoke and the cake will be even.

 

[anotherbob]

Hello Everyone,
I have an old Peterson pipe inherited from my father, not worth much but of sentimental value. I went and reamed it out and did a salt cleaning of it with alcohol to get rid of the old caked up residue and flavor. The reamer I have has a faulty spring, and thus I wasn't able to adjust it to the bowl, I just used it as a scraper. The result was some wood coming off the top of the bowl as I bore down to get the middle and bottom of the bowl reamed out.

Will this bit of wood damage the pipe irrevocably? My guess is not but it could build up a lopsided cake down the road. Any thoughts on what damage I may have done? Thanks

can't really fix it but I've seen worse things on pipes that have lived for years after.

 

[hoosierpipeguy]

Smoke it a few times, you'll never know the difference.

 

[danimalia]

I bought a knock-off Pipnet tool and it's great, but I was a little over-zealous on a couple pipes early on and went down into the wood. Hasn't had any effect on the smoking qualities... Agree with the other guys that you should be fine.

 

[Chasing Embers]

I bought a knock-off Pipnet tool and it's great, but I was a little over-zealous on a couple pipes early on and went down into the wood. Hasn't had any effect on the smoking qualities... Agree with the other guys that you should be fine.

I've got an original Pipnet, Buttner, and Senior Reamer. Honestly I have better control with the clip blade on my Case XX.

 

[logs]

It happens. I have a Mr Brog reamer that always reams wider at the top regardless of adjustments. I've reamed the upper portion of the bowl down to wood on several occasions. It was a bit alarming the first time it happened but as hooiserpipeguy said, once you smoke your pipe the wood darkens and you'll never notice the difference.

 

[smudgersmissingleg]

I've got a Buttner knock off and a Senior, the Senior is useful if the cake is thick but overall I prefer using my Rodger's pipe knife. It takes a bit of practice but once you get the hang of it you have more control. I practiced on my cob so if I was over zealous it wasn't a big deal.

 

[saltedplug]

I cut into the wood so many times thinking that I was in control. In the end I just used my pen knife held at a 90 degree angle to the walls, which was effective to remove cake more gradually than a cutting edge at a angle of 20 degrees.

 

[jpmcwjr]

I use a Buttner and if not handy, a sharp knife. Never wanted to take it back to the briar.
A hot water flush keeps build up to a minimum, and what is there is a nice hard cake. Building cake with ash means a crumbly cake.

 

[mso489]

I echo the consensus that this is not a problem. Build a carbon coating gently and all should be well. However this is a good lesson on reamers. A reamer in perfect repair is a destructive tool in inexperienced hands. I jokingly think that pipe retailers love to sell reamers because it means they'll get to replace all of the ruined over-reamed pipes. I do point out, repetitiously, that if you don't build cake but only maintain a thin carbon layer, wiping out the bowl with a paper towel after scooping out the ash, you won't build cake and you won't need to own a reamer. Some Forums members also follow this method. It works for us.

 

[Milleniumsmoker]

Thanks Everyone! that is super helpful!

 

[Milleniumsmoker]

I echo the consensus that this is not a problem. Build a carbon coating gently and all should be well. However this is a good lesson on reamers. A reamer in perfect repair is a destructive tool in inexperienced hands. I jokingly think that pipe retailers love to sell reamers because it means they'll get to replace all of the ruined over-reamed pipes. I do point out, repetitiously, that if you don't build cake but only maintain a thin carbon layer, wiping out the bowl with a paper towel after scooping out the ash, you won't build cake and you won't need to own a reamer. Some Forums members also follow this method. It works for us.

Yes I also agree, I have been wiping out the bowl on my newer pipes and it has not only increased the flavor of the smoke but also made it unnecessary to ream. I have seen cake build up before and am noticing that it isn't happening with my current pipes. Thanks!