Salt & alcohol / Retort: do you do it routinely your pipes? And how often?

[menuhin]

I read that many pipe smokers would clean their pipes so that when they sip in air from these pipes emptied, they would taste nothing. Many of my pipes have some stubborn bitterness in the bowl, those bitterness similar to the moist dense unburnt dottle.
I haven't tried retort myself but have tried salt and alcohol treatment for quite some time. It worked well on some pipes but not on some other. Estate pipes that I bought from professional dealers such as Smoking Pipes and Danish Pipe Shop always smell nice - nothing much but a hint of sweetness like those present in slightly aromatic Virginia mixture. I wonder what cleaning and odor removal treatments they usually perform on their pipes, the treatments they use seem so effective.

:puffpipe:
Now get back to my questions.

I think perhaps it is necessary to perform salt & alcohol treatment from time to time to a pipe, and if it is the case how often do you do that? Once per 3 months? 6 months?

How effective is retort compared to the effect of salt & alcohol treatment?

 

[Chasing Embers]

I let my pipes dry for at least a week between smokes, and use a retort or the salt/alcohol treatment once per year. Have found no bitterness in my pipes, but some of my aros leave some major ghosting.

 

[sablebrush52]

A retort will pull out rancid oils that don't succumb to the S/A treatment. You may need to break in the bowl once more after using a retort. As I'm pretty meticulous with the care and feeding of my pipes, I've only used the S/A treatment on restorations, or those few times that I put something up for sale. Ditto with the retort. Some people have concerns about possible cracking from using the S/A treatment, but so far I have not experienced that issue. If you have any concerns, you can substitute cotton balls for the salt, same as you use for the retort treatment. You can also send your pipes to Mike Myers at Walker Pipe Repair and request an ozone treatment which is designed to reduce ghosts.
http://www.walkerpiperepair.com/index.html

 

[desertpipe]

I use cotton balls and alcohol or a retort on my personal pipes almost never. Once done to pipe it is almost never necessary to do it again, as long as the pipe is cleaned and rested on a regular basis. Use these methods only when the pipe reaches the point where the bitterness does not go away with regular cleaning.

 

[buroak]

menuhin, Walker's ozone treatment is very effective. I have sent in several pipes for that service. All have come back smelling fresh and smoking without ghost flavors.

 

[allan]

Once done to pipe it is almost never necessary to do it again, as long as the pipe is cleaned and rested on a regular basis.

I agree.
If you take regular care of your pipes as the way Sable does, this rather harsh procedure should not be necessary unless you are smoking goopey aros.
Or Semois! LOL
I will use it only on estate pipes from many of the sellers who do no restoration whats so ever.

 

[northernneil]

I buy all my pipes new, no estate pipes, and I have never had to use a salt and alcohol treatment or retort. As stated above, proper care for a pipe; cleaning, resting, etc. should make it so there is no need for the deep clean.

 

[xrundog]

I have a retort and used it when I was first starting with pipes. Then I started buying really old pipes. The boiling alcohol is not kind to the older stem types. And I don't think boiling alcohol is very good for meerschaum either. Especially the old ones. As a result I figured out how to get pipes pretty dang clean without a retort. So I don't use it anymore.

I know some people say a pipe isn't really clean unless it has been cleaned with a retort. But really, is your pipe any cleaner after one smoke than it was before the retort? Has anyone done a scientific study? I know the hot alcohol will pull out more brown stuff. But is the brown stuff really harmful? Aren't those impregnated oils what help make the pipe a better seasoned smoker?

I think the retort provides a secure feeling that the pipe is now germ free. But if you use alcohol soaked pipe cleaners, shank brushes and cotton balls, isn't that killing germs?

Does the boiling alcohol basically remove what made the pipe "well seasoned"? I think it might.

I'm not saying not to use a retort. I am not ridiculing or disparaging people who use them. If it makes you feel more secure in the cleanliness of your pipe that is okay with me. But I don't think it is really necessary.

 

[menuhin]

Thanks for all the tips.
@sablebrush52 & buroak

Walker seems to have really solid reputation and I'm in contact with Walker. However, I cannot so often send my pipes to the other side of the pond. It's better to manage most of the cleaning myself.
After reading from all of you, I feel really puzzled at the moment for doubting whether I have been talking care of my pipes in an acceptable way.

I started this hobby for about 13 years ago, and (unnecessarily) gone through the phase of burning my hands, burning through a pipe or two, and turning a few pipes really sour and bitter because of smoking multiple kinds of aromatics I could get wet and real hot and not resting my pipes. I learnt the lessons, and now I separate my pipes by the types of tobacco I smoke in them, e.g. a pipe that I use to smoke aromatics will never touch English, and vice versa. And after every smoke of an average 1-3 bowls, dumping the ash and digging out the dottle and unburnt tobacco with a Czech tool, I would dissemble and clean my pipe with 1-2 pipe cleaners with its tip dipped in rum alcohol, first the stem, then the shank and then wipe the chamber. Then I would let it sit for at least 24 hours and most of the time 3+ days before reaching for the same pipe. And occasionally I would use a shank brush and if the cake is too thick I would use a reamer followed by the cleaning with a pipe cleaner.
I never really sought other pipe smokers for a gathering until recently, and I never asked a fellow pipe smoker to hand me his empty used pipe for me to smell. For me, with the above care I took to handle my pipes, after a few times of smoking, most of them smell differently than the time when I first received them from the shop be it estate or new. Most of them are all right, with a few of them smell more intense, and 1-2 perhaps sour and bitter; however, none of them would taste nothing when I try to sip it empty nor they will be as fresh as when I first receive them.
I really don't know if the above procedures are enough or not.

It is possible to manage to keep a pipe smells and tastes like 'new' or at the stage when it is first restored like from an estate shop or a professional restorer?

:puffpipe:

 

[xrundog]

Is it possible to manage to keep a pipe smells and tastes like 'new' or at the stage when it is first restored like from an estate shop or a professional restorer?

Short answer: No.
But what you are doing will keep it in good smoking condition for a long time. I use pretty much the same routine after a smoke. When I start to notice the bowl diameter getting narrow from cake build up, I'll ream it. I'll also take that opportunity to do a deep cleaning of the shank and stem. Then it's ready for another cycle. I have a lot of pipes so that doesn't happen often.

 

[menuhin]

@xrundog

Can you connect the retort tubing directly to the shank and hence bypass the potential bad effect of hot alcohol steam on the stem?

 

[xrundog]

@xrundog

Can you connect the retort tubing directly to the shank and hence bypass the potential bad effect of hot alcohol steam on the stem?

I guess so. But the other thing I didn't mention is that when I can, I like to keep the original patina and finish. Hot alcohol doesn't help that. If I was getting sick, or my pipes didn't taste right, I'd figure something out. I just don't find the retort necessary. It does clean a pipe faster than scrubbing and soaking though.

 

[sablebrush52]

Can you connect the retort tubing directly to the shank and hence bypass the potential bad effect of hot alcohol steam on the stem?

You could and it would be a really bad move. You don't want to be getting alcohol on the wood finish. I've retorted dozens of pipes without damaging them. The retort that I have has a rubber flange that stretches over the button of the stem to create a tight fit. As the stems on my pipes are kept clean, if exposure to the alcohol dulls the vulcanite it's a simple matter to use a little simichrome polish to bring back the luster. If the pipe is a dirty estate that I'm cleaning up, then the stem will need cleaning and polishing anyway, so no hit, no foul.

 

[allan]

In watching the series of videos from smoking pipes.com (on you tube) the restoration process on pipes they get in for sale starts with the young lady leading the restoration proceeds with a time consuming alcohol bristle brush cleaning without using a retort. It is an interesting series of I believe 6 videos showing everything through the polishing process.
I believe they mention that a retort is used on special cases, but I can't be sure.

 

[okiescout]

You can also send your pipes to Mike Myers at Walker Pipe Repair and request an ozone treatment which is designed to reduce ghosts.

Sablebrush52, nailed it for cleaning.
In regards to cleaning, this method is used in industry for many purposes when finite deep cleaning is absolutely necessary. It will kill any germs left in the pipe and is the only proven way I have heard of that does so. As far as removing residue soaked into the brier, you might still have it coming out ( I am not sure about that ) but it would be sterile. I imagine Mike would be happy to answer an email if you requested information. An added benefit : the treatment is absolutely harmless to the pipe.

 

[zekest]

Anyone try oxiclean?

 

[rcstan]

allan

We need to make a new video on smokingpipes.com about restoration. The one you're referring to is rather dated in many ways. In my almost two years restoring for SPC I have never seen or had the need to use an alcohol retort. Just good old fashioned shank brushes, bristled cleaners, Qtips, and alcohol, plus an assortment of reamers, modified oyster knives and sanding sticks for the bowls. If the stems look as if dug from the ground, we've tried Oxyclean with mixed results, as well as soap and warm water.
I am against using large amounts of alcohol inside the bowl other than for the initial restoration of an abused pipe. Regular use of s/a treatments will screw with the natural absorbancy of the briar and yields a consistent wet smoker ( been there, done that, traded the pipe, but did not get the shirt ). It will soften Meerschaum ( which is a bad thing, unless you want to be able to carve the chamber of your favourite Lattice Billiard ).

 

[seadogontheland]

Fascinating thread...Thank you, Gentlemen, for the education.