Salt and ̶a̶l̶c̶o̶h̶o̶l̶ benzine?

[Briar Lee]

Gentleman, the Good Lord put some invisible “good mojos” inside of the burl of the heather shrubs that grew around the rim of the Mediterranean. He put the most good mojos inside old Algerian burls, but they all have a good dose of the goodie.

To be usable a burl has to be soaked or boiled or steamed to remove as many bad mojos as possible and when we smoke the briar we keep up the good work of driving out the bad mojos. That’s why briar pipes get better, with use, but only to a point, then they go backwards.

In the late thirties KB&B sold $3.50, $5, and $10 Kaywoodie pipes and $1, $1.50, and $2.50 Yello Bole pipes.

The pipe on the bottom was a top grade $2.50 Yello Bole about 80 years ago. The pipe on top is a $10 Algerian briar factory pipe that is brand new, from some old stash of Revolutionary Algerian government factory about fifty or sixty years ago.



The Yello Bole just missed being shipped as a $10 Flame Grain. It’s turned black but if I hold it to the light there is spectacular grain under the black.

I have given the Yello Bole at least five salt and everclear treatments and each time the salt got cleaner and whiter until I’ve got all the tars out that are coming out.

Then I gave it several more cotton ball and vodka (60% water in vodka) to dissolve any salt left inside.

I’ve scrubbed it using toothpaste until it’s as brown as it will ever be.

The thing is just plain worn out. All the good mojos have been smoked out and won’t ever come back.

Now, my worn out Yello Bole Imperial is not a bad, nasty smoker. If it was your only pipe you’d like it.

It’s as bland as unsweetened oatmeal. It mutes every tobacco I try in it.

My El Morjane Algerian billiard was the world’s crudest pipe. But if you don’t belive in good mojos you’ve never smoked a fresh Algerian with the same tobacco as a worn out briar pipe.

Algerian briar only smokes a little better than any other briar that still has good mojos.

In this case it’s off the charts better.

The best place to keep a worn out pipe is where you can find it to remind yourself there are so many good smokes a pipe has, and not one more.

Even this fresh machine turned and unfinished $5 no name briar smokes head and shoulders better than a worn out briar pipe.




Good mojos inside all briar, provide a zest and zing and whang to a smoke until they are just, all used up.

 

[jpmcwjr]

OK, enough already with Algerian briar, though maybe it will die as a good smoker, unlike any of the pipes I've have for 60 years.

 

[renfield]

Benzine in my pipes? Yikes. I’ll stick with Brakleen and rubbing the stem with Hoppes No. 9.

Seriously, I only use neutral food grade stuff like Everclear or mineral oil.

 

[georged]

I'm becoming more certain every day that an AI was given trigger subjects and phrases, supplied with a core vocabulary to respond to them that's also highly subject specific, and was turned loose on Kevin's forum.

 

[kcghost]

No benzene for me, thank you.

 

[Briar Lee]

OK, enough already with Algerian briar, though maybe it will die as a good smoker, unlike any of the pipes I've have for 60 years.

All briar, Italian, Greek, Spanish, probably even Manzita and Mountain Laurel, was incredibly dimensionally stable.

The tiny few of my briar pipes that had slightly loose stems are fixed by smoking them hard a few times.

Evebtually taking them apart would wear down either the wood mortise or rubber or acrylic tenon.

But not in the lifetime of the pipe.

 

[itsnotuitsme]

Benzine in my pipes? Yikes. I’ll stick with Brakleen and rubbing the stem with Hoppes No. 9.

Seriously, I only use neutral food grade stuff like Everclear or mineral oil.

maybe im just lost in translation, but what exactly do you think mineral oil is?

 

[jpmcwjr]

Mineral oil can be food grade.

 

[sardonicus87]

I'm becoming more certain every day that an AI was given trigger subjects and phrases, supplied with a core vocabulary to respond to them that's also highly subject specific, and was turned loose on Kevin's forum.

It's not just here, I see it all over the place lately of people trying to reinvent the wheel or just trying to fix something that isn't broken. To me, many of the questions are bizarre. Never in my life before the past year or so have I so often asked myself "but why though?" or "wtf?!" in response to stuff people ask.

Like, last month, someone started a thread on the motorcycle forum I am on about how Harley makes two wheeled motorcycles and three wheeled motorcycles, but why don't they make four wheeled motorcycles.

I shit you not, someone actually asked why Harley Davidson doesn't make four-wheeled motorcycles. There's basically no such thing as a 4 wheeled motorcycle (I'm sure some concept weird thing has been made before with 4 wheels). If it's got 4 wheels and isn't a car, then it's an atv/quad or side-by-side... the definition of motorcycle is literally "a two or three-wheeled motor vehicle steered by a handlebar from a saddle-style seat".

 

[georged]

It's not just here, I see it all over the place lately of people trying to reinvent the wheel or just trying to fix something that isn't broken. To me, many of the questions are bizarre.

Specific definitions are repeatedly asked for about subjects that have no specific definition, and the sole response to being told that is an endless, carousel-style list of digressive declarative assertions which are nonsensical.

Rinse and repeat.

Over and over again.

It's like a snake swallowing its own tail.

It's either an AI, or, if human, a bizarre expression of some sort of obsessive compulsion.

 

[itsnotuitsme]

Mineral oil can be food grade.

That's exactly what i was talking about, when i said that there are relatively safe formulations available for household use...

Maybe it is a translation issue after all....

So the question again stands - to be clear: what speaks against using a low boiling mineral oil consisting of only non-hazardous MOSHs?

 

[Sigmund]

Way too much poison for me. Alcohol works fine. Its not like there are moving parts in a pipe. I use meer chips in my pipes and a filter which also has the results of keeping the pipe very clean. I rarely need to do deep cleans. Heck…i can use the same pipe cleaner over and over. The moisture and a lot of the tars get absorbed with just a small layer

Anyway benzine is far too toxic to consider. Aside from the issues of using it on a porus surface you expose yourself with each use.

 

[Pyrodoc]

I have thoroughly enjoyed this thread and all the input! Organic solvents like benzene and toluene have no place in pipe restoration. The toxicity, degradation of the wood matrix and the fact that these solvents can soak aromatic amines further into the briar are just a few big reasons to avoid these types of chemicals. I don’t use petroleum based products either like mineral oil, as it is non-drying and fine collector of all the funk that you are trying to eliminate!!
Elbow grease, tincture of time and the KISS principle are best applied. 190 grain alcohol bowl soaks are a good start. ‘Wet,’ bowl cake can be carefully removed by scraping/reaming. ‘Dry’ sanding and reaming are effective also. Don’t forget the shank vent and stem! Bristle pipe cleaners and small ‘bottle brushes’ are very effective. Warm water with dish detergent cleaning helps before and after the alcohol soak. Sometimes multiple bowl soaks and cleaning are needed and rarely, do you have to take things to the bare bowl briar.
Once you have removed the malodorous components, usually comprised of ‘treatments’ that have become rancid and enshrined in carbon, a good bowl season is in order!! This is to season, not to mask the offending gunk that must be removed first! I like OzPiper’s suggestion of not using anything you would not drink, but be careful to avoid high sugar alcohol soaks, as they caramelize, scald and act as culture media for bacteria when the alcohol evaporates. High proof bourbon in the 114-125 range soaking a bowl for 24-48 hours greatly enhances a new pipe or restore for the first several smokes, IMHO. A good non-dairy bowl black may be helpful to start a new cake also. I prefer to avoid pumice there, as that can spend a lifetime in the lungs and not a huge fan of honey either (sugar content), but that can be very effective.
The answers to cleaning, deodorizing and sanitizing a beloved briar are found in simplicity and patience. Respect and follow the wood. There’s no need to re-invent the wheel, nor go mosquito hunting with a bazooka!

 

[jpmcwjr]

Love your last paragraph, but unless de-ghosting, de-caking or very deep cleaning, hot tap water does it quicker and with less fuss. No need for alcohol except for the above.

 

[telescopes]

It's ... some sort of obsessive compulsion.

That last one is most likely it. Very soon, everything will be about corn cobs.

 

[itsnotuitsme]

I have thoroughly enjoyed this thread and all the input! Organic solvents like benzene and toluene have no place in pipe restoration. The toxicity, degradation of the wood matrix and the fact that these solvents can soak aromatic amines further into the briar are just a few big reasons to avoid these types of chemicals. I don’t use petroleum based products either like mineral oil, as it is non-drying and fine collector of all the funk that you are trying to eliminate!!
Elbow grease, tincture of time and the KISS principle are best applied. 190 grain alcohol bowl soaks are a good start. ‘Wet,’ bowl cake can be carefully removed by scraping/reaming. ‘Dry’ sanding and reaming are effective also. Don’t forget the shank vent and stem! Bristle pipe cleaners and small ‘bottle brushes’ are very effective. Warm water with dish detergent cleaning helps before and after the alcohol soak. Sometimes multiple bowl soaks and cleaning are needed and rarely, do you have to take things to the bare bowl briar.
Once you have removed the malodorous components, usually comprised of ‘treatments’ that have become rancid and enshrined in carbon, a good bowl season is in order!! This is to season, not to mask the offending gunk that must be removed first! I like OzPiper’s suggestion of not using anything you would not drink, but be careful to avoid high sugar alcohol soaks, as they caramelize, scald and act as culture media for bacteria when the alcohol evaporates. High proof bourbon in the 114-125 range soaking a bowl for 24-48 hours greatly enhances a new pipe or restore for the first several smokes, IMHO. A good non-dairy bowl black may be helpful to start a new cake also. I prefer to avoid pumice there, as that can spend a lifetime in the lungs and not a huge fan of honey either (sugar content), but that can be very effective.
The answers to cleaning, deodorizing and sanitizing a beloved briar are found in simplicity and patience. Respect and follow the wood. There’s no need to re-invent the wheel, nor go mosquito hunting with a bazooka!

Thanks for that elaborate answer! A few things in there i still have to try.

I suspect i will have to take it to as bare a briar as i can, as my alcohol & salt turned out with white salt, i then did it once more for good measure and still wasn't enough apparently.

And to clarify again, MOAHs are off the table at this point, but im still wondering about MOSHs.

 

[Pyrodoc]

Love your last paragraph, but unless de-ghosting, de-caking or very deep cleaning, hot tap water does it quicker and with less fuss. No need for alcohol except for the above.

Agreed, and I use more Dawn detergent in hot water than 190 grain for sure. As a restorer, especially with estate pipes, sanitization is pretty important. Soap & water just won’t do for ‘Food Safe’ transfer on those pieces. My pipes, I sip the bourbon and let my pipe bowl do the smoking!!

Thanks for that elaborate answer! A few things in there i still have to try.

I suspect i will have to take it to as bare a briar as i can, as my alcohol & salt turned out with white salt, i then did it once more for good measure and still wasn't enough apparently.

And to clarify again, MOAHs are off the table at this point, but im still wondering about MOSHs.

MOAHs and MOSHs are both considered food contaminants, but there is simply no good data on actual toxicity or thresholds. The EU is pounding this issue the hardest, but frankly both are used commonly in foods as ‘lubricants.’ These compounds seem unavoidable and no one knows if they are harmful or toxic at all, let alone in attempting to establish some threshold.
For me, I just avoid them in pipe restoration for more practical reasons and I have better alternatives. Non-drying oils are not optimal for pipe briar, nor vulcanite. While food grade MO is a fine treatment on an old bamboo cutting board, there are alternative oils, waxes and gums that provide more attractive, cleaner and durable finishes, especially on harder woods.
The kosher salt issue is a whole different discussion. Well loved because it turns brown, but other than providing a water soluble abrasive, those soaks do little to nothing on my bench that dishwashing liquid & water can’t accomplish. Ionically, it drives free water from the cake, which may be helpful to some, but the moisture content in aged/dried briar is very low, otherwise. Trying to free water soluble diamines, etc from a carbon matrix by osmosis is counterintuitive as carbon is a binder & filter used in water purification! I work my cakes, sanitize them & keep my salt in the table shaker.

 

[itsnotuitsme]

Agreed, and I use more Dawn detergent in hot water than 190 grain for sure. As a restorer, especially with estate pipes, sanitization is pretty important. Soap & water just won’t do for ‘Food Safe’ transfer on those pieces. My pipes, I sip the bourbon and let my pipe bowl do the smoking!!

MOAHs and MOSHs are both considered food contaminants, but there is simply no good data on actual toxicity or thresholds. The EU is pounding this issue the hardest, but frankly both are used commonly in foods as ‘lubricants.’ These compounds seem unavoidable and no one knows if they are harmful or toxic at all, let alone in attempting to establish some threshold.
For me, I just avoid them in pipe restoration for more practical reasons and I have better alternatives. Non-drying oils are not optimal for pipe briar, nor vulcanite. While food grade MO is a fine treatment on an old bamboo cutting board, there are alternative oils, waxes and gums that provide more attractive, cleaner and durable finishes, especially on harder woods.
The kosher salt issue is a whole different discussion. Well loved because it turns brown, but other than providing a water soluble abrasive, those soaks do little to nothing on my bench that dishwashing liquid & water can’t accomplish. Ionically, it drives free water from the cake, which may be helpful to some, but the moisture content in aged/dried briar is very low, otherwise. Trying to free water soluble diamines, etc from a carbon matrix by osmosis is counterintuitive as carbon is a binder & filter used in water purification! I work my cakes, sanitize them & keep my salt in the table shaker.

I think we have a bit of a misunderstanding here. I'm not talking about using MOSHs as a finish. Im talking about using LOW BOILING MOSHs as a solvent to get effectively rid of the cake.

I will go for the suggestions in your previous post first (and probably not for MOSHs at any point, with how the thread is going so far...), obviously, but at this point im just curious wether it could work or if somebody has done it and what that person would have to report.

 

[Pyrodoc]

I think we have a bit of a misunderstanding here. I'm not talking about using MOSHs as a finish. Im talking about using LOW BOILING MOSHs as a solvent to get effectively rid of the cake.

I will go for the suggestions in your previous post first (and probably not for MOSHs at any point, with how the thread is going so far...), obviously, but at this point im just curious wether it could work or if somebody has done it and what that person would have to report.

So similar to organic distillations & extractions?

 

[itsnotuitsme]

So similar to organic distillations & extractions?

if you want to call it an extraction, yes.

the idea was to use it as a solvent for the last cake remains. let it dissolve, pour it out, (repeat as needed), cake remains gone.

basically the same as in my understanding alcohol is widely used, but probably much more effective at dissolving.