Rotation of Pipes

[Cap]

Greetings,
How important is it to rotate pipes after a smoke?

I buy a pipe to smoke and not for looking at.
I smoke average of 10 bowls a day.
Do a thorough dry clean after 3 or 4 smokes with my filter pipe and the stinger pipe gets a dry clean after 2.

Alcohol clean once a week or so.

I cant afford to buy 10 pipes at this time and the old timers i knew back in the day on average had one or two pipes on hand.

Keep reading articles and seeing videos claiming its a must to rest your pipes for days after one smoke.
Seems like the lil ole lady who only drove her car to church on Sunday.

Thank You for some good insight

 

[DanWil84]

If the oldtimers did it claiming they never had to buy a new one, why not experiment? My weekly average is your daily average, I like to dedicate a pipe to a blend when possible, but I also have "taster" pipes that are seeing a bit more abuse.

 

[Servant King]

There are some who have a veritable cornucopia of pipes, and there are some who only have one, and everything in between. It's whatever works for you, and whatever provides the most enjoyment. Pipe smoking is way too subjective a pastime to have any accounting for taste. Like most things.

I myself am a minimalist. Large amounts of possessions give me anxiety, and pipes are no exception--having 100 pipes, or 50, or even 20...I can practically feel my own blood pressure rising at the thought of it. Counting cobs, I have 8, and that's more than enough for me. I have three main pipes, a Savinelli Tortuga 614 faux Oom Paul (it's more of an extremely bent billiard) for aromatics, a Savinelli Bacco 321 bent author for anything with latakia in it, and a Stefano Santambrogio bent Rhodesian for everything else, which is VAs, burleys, VaBurs and VaPers. These pipes all have fairly large bowls, so I also have a "brother" pipe for each one, all of which have smaller bowls.

I separate these blends to avoid ghosting, but I'll put anything in the cobs. It took me a while to figure out a system that worked for me, but once I did, I was happy with it, and I intend to stick with it. Some people separate even more fastidiously, some less. Which brings my diatribe back full circle to the original point--it's all a matter of individual preference. The most commonly used acronym on here (and rightly so) is YMMV: Your Mileage May Vary.

 

[cosmicfolklore]

How important is it to rotate pipes after a smoke?

I am one of those heathens that Servant King forewarns us of, ha ha. I have over 100 pipes, and just ordered a new one today. Hell, I occasionally find pipes in my home that I totally forgot I had. I don't think rotations is absolutely necessary at all. But, I have enough pipes that I can smoke 12 pipes a day and not reuse a pipe for a week. But, I will reuse a pipe if I am headed out and I don't want to wag around luggage. I notice absolutely nothing wrong with reusing a pipe several times in a day. But, I also only have really nice pipes, none of those corncob thingies.

 

[bullet08]

Very important. Just remember, bulldog counterclockwise. Rhodesian, clockwise.

 

[anotherbob]

You're good. Don't smoke it when the chamber is damp. Rotating keeps the pipe "sweet" longer just like cleaning. If i smoke the same pipe with out rest i find that cake forms faster and more unevenly. Also noticed latakia seems to make a pipe taste nastier with out rest or a light swab down of the pipe including the mortise (the slot the stem goes in). I take the stem off (don't fight it if it wants to stick) run the cleaner through the stem and air way then fold the sucker in half swab the mortise and if i have a clean section of cleaner fold that over and wipe the chamber (most optional step). I rotate but i enjoy the variety).

 

[OverMountain]

Use it up, wear it out, patch it up, toss it out.

 

[cigrmaster]

I am one of those people who clean the piss out of my pipe after every bowl and then let it rest at least a couple of days. In my experience I get a much better smoke with a dry clean pipe. I only smoke flakes and plugs and I expect to get as close to a perfect smoke every time I light up.

When I clean a pipe after just one bowl, I see all kinds of dirt in the stem, shank, and not much dirt in the mortise as my pipes are made to some exacting standards. I have known guys who have one pipe that is usually disgusting with chewed through stems and they smoke one blend like Borkum Riff. If that is what they enjoy more power to them. I prefer my system. I bought expensive tobacco when I filled my cellar, and have been aging it for a long time and when I crack a ten year old tin, I want the best flavors possible.

I forgot to add that I dedicate every pipe to a certain genre or to a specific blend.

 

[mso489]

My dad only smoked one pipe at a time, until burn-out. He might save a burnt out pipe as a back-up if it was still semi-functional, but that's how he rolled. He smoked only Granger from the pouch, only smoked from a tub if it was a gift, and then he transferred the tobacco into a used pouch. He smoked from waking up to going to bed, time out for meals, including at his desk at work in those days. As I have often said, he quit at age 65 to take a second-career job at a no-smoking campus, and died at 89 licensed to drive without glasses. And he of course smoked his pipe through WWII as the skipper of a YMS class minesweeper, when the smoking lamp was lit. Rotation was a word he would have related to tires, not pipes.

 

[Searock Fan]

Greetings,
How important is it to rotate pipes after a smoke?

I buy a pipe to smoke and not for looking at.
I smoke average of 10 bowls a day.
Do a thorough dry clean after 3 or 4 smokes with my filter pipe and the stinger pipe gets a dry clean after 2.

Alcohol clean once a week or so.

I cant afford to buy 10 pipes at this time and the old timers i knew back in the day on average had one or two pipes on hand.

Keep reading articles and seeing videos claiming its a must to rest your pipes for days after one smoke.
Seems like the lil ole lady who only drove her car to church on Sunday.

Thank You for some good insight

And now, does that answer your question?

 

[Servant King]

There are some who have a veritable cornucopia of pipes, and there are some who only have one, and everything in between. It's whatever works for you, and whatever provides the most enjoyment. Pipe smoking is way too subjective a pastime to have any accounting for taste. Like most things.

I myself am a minimalist. Large amounts of possessions give me anxiety, and pipes are no exception--having 100 pipes, or 50, or even 20...I can practically feel my own blood pressure rising at the thought of it. Counting cobs, I have 8, and that's more than enough for me. I have three main pipes, a Savinelli Tortuga 614 faux Oom Paul (it's more of an extremely bent billiard) for aromatics, a Savinelli Bacco 321 bent author for anything with latakia in it, and a Stefano Santambrogio bent Rhodesian for everything else, which is VAs, burleys, VaBurs and VaPers. These pipes all have fairly large bowls, so I also have a "brother" pipe for each one, all of which have smaller bowls.

I separate these blends to avoid ghosting, but I'll put anything in the cobs. It took me a while to figure out a system that worked for me, but once I did, I was happy with it, and I intend to stick with it. Some people separate even more fastidiously, some less. Which brings my diatribe back full circle to the original point--it's all a matter of individual preference. The most commonly used acronym on here (and rightly so) is YMMV: Your Mileage May Vary.

Of course, not three hours after posting this, I get an unexpected package in the mail. The contents? A La Rocca bent billiard and a BB&S bent egg! I guess I have ten pipes now, unless hazing is a prerequisite for joining the double-digit club, in which case, I'd better sell off at least one of these post haste...

 

[Chasing Embers]

If you clean them after each smoke and let them cool between smokes, rotation isn't necessary unless you just feel the need to smoke a different pipe.

 

[warren]

Do what works for you and provides a pleasant experience with your pipes. Pipe smoking is an intensely personal experience. Explore and find out what you like.

 

[Searock Fan]

Generally speaking, a dry pipe will smoke better that a wet pipe.

 

[K.E. Powell]

Rotation is largely a marketing gimmick to sell more pipes, but there is a kernel of truth in it. Most things, pipes included, will degrade with age and use. Proper care and maintenance staves off that degradation considerably, but eventually, your pipe will burn out, especially if you're smoking it ten times a day every day. Having a rotation can help you bounce from one pipe to the next, prolonging the lifespan of all your pipes. A rotation can also allow you to have a collection of different pipes to suit different needs. For example, pipes dedicated to certain blends, or maybe a pipe used while doing chores and another for leisure.

In my humble opinion, having a robust rotation of many pipes is worthwhile if you enjoy having a collection, having variety, and value pipes aesthetically. If you view pipes as simply tools, then having a large number of pipes makes little sense (to say nothing of cost). I like having a good number of pipes, at least as good a number as my budget allows. I like seeing my pipes in my racks on display; I enjoy having a variety of shapes and materials to go along with a variety of different tobaccos; I like having pipes to suit any whim or purpose; and hell, I just plain like them. They're tools, but to me, they're a little bit more than that.

Still, given the volume of smoking you do, I think maybe adding a few more pipes wouldn't hurt, once your budget allows. But is it strictly necessary? No. And you seem to take cleaning and caring for what you do have seriously, which is a good idea.

 

[huckleberry]

I have a bunch of pipes and I may get 2 to 3 “smoke breaks” out of a single bowl. It just depends on how many times I am interrupted. Yes, it may take me a while to finish a bowl, and I don’t find any issues with my method.

Although I have “enough” pipes to do the rotation thing, I’ll just change pipes after a couple bowls depending on how the pipe is doing, and how well I like the pipe. As long as the pipe can deal with the moisture in the bowl and isn’t having any issues, I’m good to go

I’ll smoke any blend I like in any pipe I have. The only exception to this rule is If I want to smoke a aromatic. Sometimes a aromatic will leave a “lasting impression “(Ghosting) in the pipe which I don’t want to deal with at the moment.

I will clean my pipe only as needed. After I finish the bowl, I wipe the bowl out with a microfiber rag, and run a pipe cleaner through the stem and shank. Deep cleanings are very rare and always used on estate pipes, or a pipe with a “bad” odor about it

I truly enjoy the process of smoking my pipes, along with the various tobacco I use in my pipe…

 

[LeafErikson]

A lot of it depends on whether you view your pipes as disposable or not. Many of the ‘old timers’ you mentioned likely smoked their pipes until they ‘burned out’ and they ended up in the bin. No pipes need rest as long as you’re fastidious and liberal enough in your use of pipe cleaners. If you plan on smoking the same briar all day, I’d recommend a pipe cleaner while smoking to keep it extra dry. This might not be needed for meers or cobs.

 

[Searock Fan]

A lot of it depends on whether you view your pipes as disposable or not. Many of the ‘old timers’ you mentioned likely smoked their pipes until they ‘burned out’ and they ended up in the bin. No pipes need rest as long as you’re fastidious and liberal enough in your use of pipe cleaners. If you plan on smoking the same briar all day, I’d recommend a pipe cleaner while smoking to keep it extra dry. This might not be needed for meers or cobs.

If you're going to be smoking the same pipe all day having a few pipe cleaners is a good idea. Also, smoking a pipe like a Savinelli that takes the balsa absorbers is another good idea. Change out the absorber every few smokes and maybe run a cleaner through it and you should be good to go.

 

[That Guy]

Hopefully someone can clarify but wouldn't a meerschaum fit the bill in this situation? From my experience They dry fast and can be smoked with little resting time. And with smoking 10 bowls a day it would color pretty quickly as well.

 

[Cap]

If you clean them after each smoke and let them cool between smokes, rotation isn't necessary unless you just feel the need to smoke a different pipe.

Totally Agree