Salt and alcohol treatment for a new pipe?

[xray]

I won the following David Jones pipe on eBay yesterday:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&_trksid=p4340.l2557&hash=item43adfcc63e&item=290681833022&nma=true&pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&rt=nc&si=mj53c4b7aCu%252F8wVmvUwyTkCZe%252Fs%253D&orig_cvip=true&rt=nc
This is going to be among my few pipes that I purchased new and according to what I've read, David Jones pipes are supposed to be "good smokers." Everything I've learned about pipe smoking has been from the internet (I don't know any pipe smokers IRL). I've watched YouTube videos of various pipe smokers and I'm sometimes amazed at how long some of them can talk to the camera and pick the pipe back up and start puffing again without the need to re-light. I'm jealous.
Of course I realize there's more to being able to do this than having a good smoker (filling properly and having tobacco not be too moist are probably the other two most important elements), but at least having a quality pipe will rule out blaming the pipe and now I'll be able to see how well my abilities are.
This particular pipe is stained dipped, which means there's stain on the inside of the bowl and probably inside the shank. I've read that some people give new pipes that are stain dipped a salt and alcohol treatment first. Someone posted a thread with pics on this board of the nasty results left in the salt and the pipe cleaners shoved up the shank. My main concern with doing this to this pipe is fear that this will somehow affect its smoking qualities. In the eBay description for this pipe is he following: This pipe is new, unsmoked, handmade from plateau briar seasoned in my climate-controlled shop for more than 14 years.
Here's a three part YouTube series by SmokeRingsPipeDreams giving the treatment to his new Becker:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q4OlM8n4bAc

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3toqmDiHoOA

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wSeS6qKdIEQ
I'm worried that a salt and alcohol treatment may affect the seasoned briar negatively and render my potential good smoker to be less than optimal. Now that I've rambled on, I'll finally ask my question. Should I just smoke it the way it is and deal with the first few or more smokes tasting off because of the stain and take the risk of drawing toxins from the stain into my mouth, or should I perform a salt and alcohol treatment and not worry about negatively affecting the briar? Thanks in advance. It's a shame that a pipe maker would do this to his pipes, but his pipes sell at bargain prices compared to other homemade pipes, so there's the trade-off.

 

[uberam3rica]

my main concern with doing this to this pipe is fear that this will somehow affect its smoking qualities

It should only afect the first few smokes. after that the stain wear burn off

hould I just smoke it the way it is and deal with the first few or more smokes tasting off because of the stain and take the risk of drawing toxins from the stain into my mouth, or should I perform a salt and alcohol treatment and not worry about negatively affecting the briar?

I don't know if they give off toxins, but then again I don't know if the don't either. A salt and alcohol treatment shouldn't negatively affect the briar. Its a quite standard cleaning procedure. Personally I wouldn't mess with it, but its your pipe, so it's up to you

 

[nsfisher]

Ya mate, not really necessary on a new pipe, but whatever tickles your fancy. If you don't like the salt aspect you can always use cotton balls instead, as some of us do. Does the same job with easier cleanup afterwards.

 

[crpntr1]

I had trouble getting rid of what I finally decided was stain in a kaywoodie a few months ago, I thought it would go away but it didn't seem to be. I finally did a cotton ball alcohol treatment & then actually burned some excess alcohol out of the bowl, problem solved. I picked up a stanwell, not sure but assumed it was dipped, right after the post your referring too, with my kaywoodie & that post in mind I went ahead & cleaned it with alcohol & cb's & had no problems with it..of course there's no way for me to know if there would've ever been one. I will probably treat all of my new pipes if I think there's a chance there's stain or anything in it. Imho.

 

[cortezattic]

I cleaned the stain from a "dipped bowl" by simply wiping it with alcohol -- no soaking.

It came out looking nice and tasting clean. I'd say soak it only if you must.

 

[jaysin]

Ive known a person or 2 that have really messed up a pipe with the old salt treatment.

 

[judcole]

I don't see any reason to bother. Load it up and smoke it. It may take a little longer to break in, but not a big deal.

 

[tbradsim1]

I bought a new Pete bowl had a lot of stain.I used everclear and q-tips took a whole lot of tips before they stopped with the red color.I believe this is the way to go, also did the inside of the shank, fired it up and had a good smoke.Tbradsim

 

[cortezattic]

I don't know why people use alcohol in the bowls of their pipes to begin with, let alone salt. :crazy:

Really? 8O Alcohol is an excellent solvent for the acrid tars that collect in the carbon cake and shank. I think a periodic cleaning makes the pipe taste better. Salt is not soluble in alcohol, so it acts as a filter, trapping the dissolved tars as the alcohol evaporates. I prefer cotton balls because the clean-up is easier.

 

[heraclitian]

The salt and alcohol treatment should make your first few bowls taste worse.

I think you could use alcohol only to wipe the stain left in the chamber, or let it be. Normally the stain doesn't have any taste.

 

[cortezattic]

soaking pipes with alcohol and salt, in over 35 years of pipe smoking I have never had to do such a thing to a pipe...

Hmmm... You're making me rethink this whole thing. When I reflect on it, I too never "soaked" a bowl until I got online, read about it, tried it, and never looked back. But now that you mention it, I really never considered whether the whole soaking thing was worth the effort, or even made a real difference. Maybe what made the difference was using alcohol on a pipe cleaner to scrub the draft hole.

 

[pstlpkr]

I too don't really think it's necessary to alcohol/salt treatment for your own pipes.

However; if you are going to "de-ghost"/clean up an estate pipe, I would definitely soak it, and use a retort to clean that sucker up.

But, like you I don't really see any point if you ream your pipes and clean them regularly... But, I do "sweeten" mine occasionally with Ezra Brooks.

 

[cortezattic]

I'm going to discontinue soaking the bowl as I do, with gin and cotton balls.

Like Lawrence said, occasionally sweetening it with an alcohol swab should do the trick.

We'll see.

 

[hnryclay]

I am interested in this as well. I have never used the salt method, I have used bourbon, or rum soaked pipe cleaners through an old stem, but never in the bowl. I smoke a lot, 4-5 bowls a night, 2-3 during the day. I rotate my pipes a lot, between every bowl at night, I bring two with me to work. Usually pipes get the same blend, or style of blend so that the "ghost" does not interfere with the taste of the tobacco. I clean the pipe after it cools with a pipe cleaner through the stem, and folded double wipe out the bowl. Following these methods I have never had a "sour" pipe. I have been smoking for 14 years. I primarily smoke estates, that usually have been well enough cared for, and for the most part filled with OTC tobaccos of various styles. After smoking them with my blend of choice for 4-5 bowls they have no "ghost". A friend of mine smokes one pipe all day every day. When it burns out he buys a new one. He only smokes Dr. Grabows loaded with OTC tobacco. He cleans his pipe once a day. He claims he has never had a "sour" smoke. I do not vouch for his methods, but he has been smoking since 1972 in this manner. To each there own, I do not put a lot of stock in "ghost" tales on the internet save Erinmore. That stuff will ruin your pipe. Take this with a grain of salt if you will, as I have not smoked as long as the majority of pipe aficionados. This "treatment" goes in the same drawer with putting honey in a new pipe to build cake. Something I just do not understand.

 

[batdemon]

I have been smoking a pipe on and off for 30 years, when you subtract the breaks I've taken it probably averages out to around 23 years. I have treid both the salt & alcohol and cotton balls & alcohol treatments a few times, but only on estates that I was cleaning up. I can't tell that it does anything that a good cleaning with alcohol & a shank brush or pipe cleaners does. I run dry pipe cleaners through the stem and shank after every smoke and wipe the bowl out. After every 6 to 10 bowls I will run a shank brush dipped in Everclear through it. After a reaming I will wipe out the bowl with a paper towel barely dampened with Everclear. Never had a problem with a sour pipe. I think many times folks will tend to over complicate things for themselves. ::