School me on Pipe Cleaners

[PipeIT]

Be careful with the Bristled ones, the little nylon bristles will come off and stick to the inside, and turn the inside of your shank into cobweb looking city. I found out the hard way, and I’m OCD and I like a clean sparkly, no crusty looking shanks/airways on my pipes. LOL

So if you use them, turn on your cellphone flashlight and shine the light inside, you might be surprised too at the cobwebs. 🕸 🕸

So, I now use fluffy only and no more problems, only squeaky clean airways.

I also pinch the fluffy cleaners and rub off excess fluff, otherwise fluff sometimes comes off inside, but at least it’s easier to blow/pick out.

 

[condorlover1]

Here we go - pipe cleaners! In about 90 seconds we will meet someone who puts them in the laundry with their smalls in an effort to reduce their carbon foot print!

 

[petes03]

Take your pick….. They all work, just some better than others.

 

[Briar Lee]

Harry Hosterman was a Ray Price fan, but back then I suppose we all were.

It takes my Yamaha Rhino to get there today, but sixty years ago my father might hitch up a trailer to his Massey Harris and off we’d go through Spout Spring Hollow to Harry Hosterman’s place to buy a load of firewood.

While the men loaded the firewood, Wilda Mae would invite me in for sweet tea and whatever kind of pie she’d baked, all delicious. There would be Harry’s pipe collection, all in racks, with Dill’s pipe cleaners.

I paid most attention to Nona Fern, who was Harry’s teenage daughter, who invariably made over me and took me out to see the peacocks and turkeys strutting around the yard. They’d always put on Ray Price, on their big console record player, and the sound would drift out in the yard. I was afraid of those big peacocks and turkeys, but they had no fear of me.

I guess they still make Dill’s but I buy huge boxes of these today.

Without pipe cleaners, our pipes would soon become a clogged up, dirty mess.

I suppose there had to be pipe cleaners, for the American pipe makers to sell a lot of pipe to Harry Hosterman, two miles West of Dunnegan, and two miles South of Bug Tussle.

Otherwise, he might have rolled his Prince Albert into cigarettes, and he’d have not lived to nearly ninety, you know?

 

[Chaukisch]

I started out using Blitz ("flash" in English), I even see the red packages in the posts above.
They're tapered and I only need one of them per cleaning, plus a tissue paper. I don't think I'll ever switch.
Hell, when I'm out and about I use wild grown grasses to clean out the long stem of my clay pipe.
People have been doing it for centuries, why wouldn't it work for me or anyone else?

But I gotta say that it'll never hurt to clean your pipe cleaners. Grab it tight and run your fingers up and down to remove any loose fibres, otherwise they'll end up in your pipe.
Sometimes I have to remove more fibre than I have to remove unwanted residue in my chambers,
after the initial cleaning.

 

[CallMeSangy]

Take your pick….. They all work, just some better than others.
View attachment 165788

Tell me which ones work, because these

View attachment 165792

Zens have me almost cursing out loud when using them. Now, to preface this, I use mostly BJ longs and white elephants, though i also use Brigham's now and then. Those zens bend far too easily and their hard "bristles" stick into my fingers enough to make me want to just throw the lot out from fear of potential headache and pain endured using them. After that experience, I'll be sticking to the two or three brands I use currently and never look back.

 

[petes03]

Tell me which ones work, because these

Zens have me almost cursing out loud when using them. Now, to preface this, I use mostly BJ longs and white elephants, though i also use Brigham's now and then. Those zens bend far too easily and their hard "bristles" stick into my fingers enough to make me want to just throw the lot out from fear of potential headache and pain endured using them. After that experience, I'll be sticking to the two or three brands I use currently and never look back.

Yup, the Zens are probably my least favorite. For small diameter I like the BJ Longs that come in the bags (they’re a little different than the ones that come in bundles), the Castellos are really good as well. Tom and Jerrys and Dills are decent as well. For large diameter I really like the White Elephants and the Blitz cleaners. They’re both bristled but they’re very soft bristles. The BJ Long fluffy are generally good as well. For a little stiffer bristles I like the blue Brighams. As for tapered cleaners I’m generally not a fan.

 

[petes03]

Yup, the Zens are probably my least favorite. For small diameter I like the BJ Longs that come in the bags (they’re a little different than the ones that come in bundles), the Castellos are really good as well. Tom and Jerrys and Dills are decent as well. For large diameter I really like the White Elephants and the Blitz cleaners. They’re both bristled but they’re very soft bristles. The BJ Long fluffy are generally good as well. For a little stiffer bristles I like the blue Brighams. As for tapered cleaners I’m generally not a fan.

P.S. The Castellos have a very springy wire in them which is kinda nice.

 

[RudyH]

I have settled on Bryco Thoro Kleen pipe cleaners because some of my pipes have airways too small for fluffy or tapered cleaners. They are also widely available. The comparable Long's cleaners also work for me.

I also use Long's churchwarden pipe cleaners for a churchwarden and for a Savinelli Bing's Favorite.

I do not use bristle pipe cleaners. Instead I use the small nylon pipe brushes sold by some tobacconists and by the bigger mail order shops like SmokingPipes. And those only for briar pipes and for stems. I do not use bristled cleaners or brushes on meerschaum because I do not want to abrade the material or affect the quality of the airway.

 

[Hovannes]

FWIW, BJ Longs work for me and my briars.
I avoid "craft" pipe cleaners which are multi color synthetics that shed bristles, since I figure inhaling bits of escaped nylon fibers through my briars can't be healthy.

 

[Hovannes]

Regular BJ Longs do a good job on my (bent) Peterson Standard Systems.
After pulling it through the mouthpiece I double cleaner end to swab out the Standard System "Well"