Seeking Cleaning/Upkeep Advice

[Sam_Gamgee]

Greetings everyone,

My name is Sam. I’ve smoked a handful of times over the past several years, but just this November I’ve begun to really get into the hobby. I’m currently researching tobaccos and having fun doing it. Started with Sutliff Burley but it was too much body for me. I just tried Lane 1-Q which I liked more. Tomorrow I hit the shop to find something more vanilla forward.

My current issue is that both of my pipes- a briar and a cobb- both smell very sour and unpleasant, especially the bit of my briar. I’ve wiped/cleaned with paper towel and pipe cleaners. I’m not sure if this was wise but I even tried cleaning the briar bowl with a paper towel soaked in a nice IPA, as I read on a forum that one could do that. Anyway, my goals are 1. To take the sour stink (and presumably taste) out of that bit and the rest of the pieces of my pipes, and 2. To get some type of mild, sweet, pleasant smell/taste in the pipes. I’ve heard Frangelico and grain alcohol is a good mixture. Pipe Sweetener maybe?

Thank you I’m advance for your advice. I have felt very welcomed by all the pipe smokers I have encountered so far- thank you!

 

[ashdigger]

Get lost. Just kidding.

Don’t use beer. Use Everclear or Running Warm water from the sink.

Dip the pipe cleaner in the alcohol and go to town.

After a smoke run a pipe cleaner through them and wipe the bowl with a paper towel.

 

[cshubhra]

First you need to deep clean with alcohol. See the link below.

Once you have deep cleaned it -

1. Run a pipe cleaner inside to capture the moisture and some of the tar after every smoke
2. Fold a pipe cleaner in two, and clean the chamber after every smoke
3. Flush the chamber and the stem with hot water for 30 seconds after every few smokes

How To Clean Your Briar Pipe

www.smokingpipes.com

 

[Sam_Gamgee]

Thanks guys. This is very helpful! I will follow these steps and see what happens. Looking forward to getting my pipes in better shape!

 

[Chasing Embers]

Sounds like your stem may be oxidized.

If you clean your pipes after every smoke, they'll never sour. Pay special attention to the bottom of the mortise, swab it out with Qtips and alcohol.

 

[bullet08]

Yeah, it's good idea to clean your pipe after each smoke. If breaking down your pipe right after the smoke is not your thing (there a chance of possibly breaking mortise and/or tenon when taking apart while the pipe is still hot, or some believe..), wait till it cools down to take it apart and clean mortise and tenon. Make sure to run the pipe cleaner all the way down to chamber and clean the draught hole too.

 

[Sam_Gamgee]

Ok, thanks guys.

Can an oxidized stem be “de-oxidized”?

 

[bullet08]

Ok, thanks guys.

Can an oxidized stem be “de-oxidized”?

Yes. But, I don't have the info. Google should help. I think there is an article by Rebornpipes.

 

[ashdigger]

Ok, thanks guys.

Can an oxidized stem be “de-oxidized”?

Yes, micro mesh and a little water. Super easy. Many other kinds too, it’s the one I use.

 

[musicman]

Welcome to the hobby and the forum! I grew up in north Portland, and have fond memories of spending time in Rich's downtown once I was of age.

Is the stem discolored, or still shiny black? If it's still a nice shiny black it's likely not oxidized, and probably just needs a deep cleaning. IPA is NOT what you want to clean your pipe with, even a good one from Great Notion (that's some damn good beer!), and doing that may have even contributed to the stank coming from your pipe.

You're gonna need to deep clean. Get some q-tips, paper towels, a bunch of pipe cleaners, and some high proof alcohol (some people even use 151 proof rum, but thats better for drinking). Break the pipe down and clean each piece individually. You're gonna want to dip the pipe cleaners in the alcohol and run them through the stem until they are coming out clean. Then do the same with the inside of the stummel, using the pipe cleaners and q-tips. DO NOT let the alcohol touch the outside of the stummel as it will ruin the stain. Once the pipe cleaners and q-tips are coming out clean you've got a pretty clean pipe. Run some dry cleaners through it to soak up any excess alcohol and let it dry for a day or so and then see how it smells/tastes.

You can grab some pipe sweetener if you want, but that's essentially just a flavored/scented alcohol, and it's far more expensive than using everclear or some other high proof booze.

Also, I'm not sure if you've been smoking any English blends in these pipes, but anything with a decent amount of Latakia will add a little extra stink to a pipe. It certainly won't make it go sour, but there will be residual smell that isn't exactly "sweet."

 

[Chasing Embers]

Ok, thanks guys.

Can an oxidized stem be “de-oxidized”?

Many ways in point of fact. First determine if it is oxidation. Stems made from the ebonite family are little more than vulcanized rubber and are you're oxidation culprits. Rub you're thumb against the stem to warm it a bit, and if the stem smells like hot rubber, you have an ebonite/vulcanite stem. Next, is the stem black or does it have a brown/green discoloration. If so, that's your oxidation. There are several methods for removal but if it's something you've never done before, an easy way is to scrub it with Magic Erasers to clean it up and then polish it with Flitz metal polish. A different method was used on this pipe, but as you can see, an oxidized stem can be resurrected.



Alcohol is safe to use on an ebonite stem but avoid it on acrylic or plastic ones as alcohol can cause microfractures in the material. Bristle pipe cleaners are a great choice for deep cleaning the airways in stems and can be used in conjunction with the alcohol.

 

[Capt Morgan]

I use a hot water flush after every smoke and have never had any bitter or sour tastes in my pipes. Also when I do a weekly deep clean I find that they are much cleaner after I started water flushing. I use a flavored bourbon mixed with everclear for the stem on my weekly cleanings

 

[SoliDeoGloria]

I'm a "new guy" too, but as much research as I've done on pipe maintenance I've never seen the suggestion to clean it with beer...

I bought a cheap plastic bottle of 100 proof vodka (which I added a vanilla bean to) for cleaning, and it works great. I would think that beer would actually *add* to any stink/sourness especially something as hoppy as an IPA. In this COVID world, the distilleries around here (I live in KY) churned out a bunch of "hand sanitizer" that is just neutral grain spirits (corn based). The ones that are made as such work good as a pipe cleaner on my cobbs, and the sweet corn smell actually works pretty well on a cobb pipe!

 

[Chasing Embers]

In this COVID world, the distilleries around here (I live in KY) churned out a bunch of "hand sanitizer" that is just neutral grain spirits (corn based).

Smells like moonshine. I'm constantly getting into it ar work just to smell it!? For pipes I just use this.

 

[python]

In this COVID world, the distilleries around here (I live in KY) churned out a bunch of "hand sanitizer" that is just neutral grain spirits (corn based).

I don't know if I would use that stuff. Definitely don't drink it. We have it available where I live as well. They use the bad parts of the run (the beginning and the end) to make the hand sanitizer. That stuff is toxic.

 

[SoliDeoGloria]

I don't know if I would use that stuff. Definitely don't drink it. We have it available where I live as well. They use the bad parts of the run (the beginning and the end) to make the hand sanitizer. That stuff is toxic.

I know folks in the industry; while I certainly would NOT drink it, it is definitely still food grade/non-toxic. Again, this would vary from place to place but what I'm using is 100% (80 proof) neutral grain spirits. Safer than isopropyl alcohol, to be sure!

 

[jpmcwjr]

I am a believer in using the least toxic or harsh methods of cleaning. That'd be a hot water flush first. If ghosted, wet coffee grounds till they dry. If need be, cotton balls or salt and hi-proof alcohol for the ghost. HTH.

 

[stokesdale]

Everything everyone wrote above will get you where you need to be (sounds like good advice), but then continuous upkeep becomes the issue to prevent this from happening again. (I already know someone will bitch about what I am going to write, but this is the way I perform continual upkeep of my pipes...everyone has their own thing.)

Sort of piggybacking off of what CSHUBHRA wrote above, I do it a little differently...more work, but really cuts the smell of old pipes a lot which is important to me because my wife can't stand the smell of pipes laying around.

Something I've been doing for decades works great for me and my pipes have never smelled bad and I don't use spirits to clean them. (1) Run a pipe cleaner through them every day or after every 4 or 5 bowls whichever comes first, (2) I rotate my pipes out every 3 days (give or take a day or two); since you have two, you will let one sit for a few days while smoking the other (3) the one you finish smoking on day 3, take apart and run a couple of pipe cleaners through making sure to get as much moisture as you can (4) take a little Dawn in your fingers and thoroughly wash the bit--I use cold water which seems to work fine (5) let the disassembled pipe sit in your garage or somewhere in open air to dry for a few days (6) once thoroughly dry, lightly ream and run a draught hole brush through a few times and reassemble--this is important because in my opinion, the worst smell comes from an unreamed pipe and resined-up draught hole. (7) If you have more than two pipes, put the cleaned/reamed/reassembled pipe in a Tupperware container with Minute Rice in it until it comes back through the rotation.

Sounds like a lot, but really, if you want your pipes to stay nice and smell free, this works great and without the use of hot water (which sometimes can deform the tenon) or spirits (which of course are toxic--unless they are drinkin spirits of course).

 

[anotherbob]

or just run a pipe cleaner through it after each smoke to prevent the nasty. The only soured pipes I've had where the times I was not doing that or right after reaming out cake. Otherwise not an issue.

 

[sablebrush52]

Ok, thanks guys.

Can an oxidized stem be “de-oxidized”?

Yes, but you need to physically remove all of the oxidized vulcanite or it will infect the neighboring material. There are a number of ways to do this, but I recommend against using bleach as it causes pitting, which you then have to remove. Basically I use a set of micromesh pads to do the job. I start with the coarsest grades to remove the oxidized material then move though the finer grades, the last three under running water, to bring the stem to a glass-like lustre. It takes some skill to avoid softening the edges of the stem, but it can be done. If you have the proper type of buffer you can do the final polish on it with the stem attached to the pipe. But, a buffer isn't necessary if you use the micromesh pads properly. Then I seal the surface with either Paragon or Halcyon microcrystalline waxes. This retards the return of oxidation.