Regular or Bristle?

[FLDRD]

I've been using regular BJ Long tapered cleaners for a while and they work fine so far. But I looked at my stash and found that over my orders, I also have gotten some that are "bristled".

My question is whether or not there is any potential to damage the internals of a stem with those that are bristled? I am mostly a Peterson P-lip user, some acrylic, but more generally, the older vulcanite stems. I already have a concern about feeling the tip of the wire scraping the internals, and try to twist during insertion to minimize any damage.

Should I keep these out of my vulcanite stems? Should they be used only in acrylic stems? Should I use them only in the chamber and draught hole?

Do any others have facts / information regarding the bristled ones and my concern? Valid? Invalid? I haven't opened them or checked out their roughness yet...

Thanks in advance.

 

[Green Hill Hermit]

I use the bristled ones all the time on all my pipes including meerschaum and have never had any ill effects, I think they clean the shank out better but that's my opinion

 

[Green Hill Hermit]

The bristles are plastic not wire

 

[xrundog]

Regular for a wipe after smoking. Bristles for deep cleaning. You maybe don’t want to use bristles on an artisan pipe that the maker has painstakingly polished the airway on. But otherwise they are fine. In my opinion that is.

 

[dog_park_piper]

I use the bristled ones all the time on all my pipes including meerschaum and have never had any ill effects, I think they clean the shank out better but that's my opinion

Agree fully.

 

[Bbailey324]

I use the regular ones for everyday use and bristled occasionally for more intense cleaning. I typically use a shank and mortise brush for the serious cleaning so the bristled cleaners don't see much use. I don't think they hurt anything at any rate.

 

[sablebrush52]

I've been using regular BJ Long tapered cleaners for a while and they work fine so far. But I looked at my stash and found that over my orders, I also have gotten some that are "bristled".

My question is whether or not there is any potential to damage the internals of a stem with those that are bristled? I am mostly a Peterson P-lip user, some acrylic, but more generally, the older vulcanite stems. I already have a concern about feeling the tip of the wire scraping the internals, and try to twist during insertion to minimize any damage.

Should I keep these out of my vulcanite stems? Should they be used only in acrylic stems? Should I use them only in the chamber and draught hole?

Do any others have facts / information regarding the bristled ones and my concern? Valid? Invalid? I haven't opened them or checked out their roughness yet...

Thanks in advance.

I wouldn't use the bristled cleaners with a stem as they could score the airway. Personally, I prefer White Elephant pipe cleaners for scrubbing out the stem airway. Not only are the wire spines much stronger than BJ Long, the type of bristle used is softer than the BJ Long and can scrub out an airway without scoring it. If White Elephant made a wider pipe cleaner I'd replace the BJ Longs for most of my needs.

The other alternative is buy some nylon shank brushes, which will last much longer than regular pipe cleaners and cut the cost of pipe maintenance.

 

[kcghost]

I've used B.J. Long 7 inch cleaners since sometime before the flood. Never had any problem with them.

 

[bullet08]

Regular. I break down my pipes after each smoke and clean out all the surfaces. Including mortise. Don't need bristle brush.

 

[irishearl]

I use bristle most of the time as I think it removes the gunk better and no ill effects.

 

[jbfrady]

If the question is regular or bristle, my answer is yes.

 

[FLDRD]

Thanks all, much appreciated.
As my late mother used to say: that's as clear as mud.
I intend to follow your recommendations down to the very last detail...............

 

[burleybreath]

If they do anything at all, I don't care. I never use them. If they're too big for the bore, the bristles will lie flat when passing through. If too small, they won't do itshay. I've cleaned too many gun barrels to be impressed by anything that's not made to fit. Pipe cleaners are pretty much just wipes, but better than nothing.

 

[dottlejockey]

Rarely use bristles, like others said, save for deeper cleaning (also very rare) or when purchasing estates that need some work.

 

[Danish Estates]

The other alternative is buy some nylon shank brushes, which will last much longer than regular pipe cleaners and cut the cost of pipe maintenance.

I am glad I am not the only one! I bought a multi-pack with several sizes of nylon brushes. I use them for heavy cleaning.

I typically use bristled BJ Long pipe cleaners for daily cleaning, but will use them more sparingly after reading about the scoring that takes place.