Soured? Stinky Estate Pipe

[MillenialCodger]

Hello everyone! I am a new poster here. I recently purchased a very clean looking estate pipe, but it has a very nasty smell. The only way I can describe it is like mothballs and latakia, but I dont think that's actually the cause. I've tried alcohol and salt, it helped a bit but not enough. Scrubbing vigorously with pipe cleaners and alcohol. Now I am trying to pack it with damp coffee grounds. If this doesnt work I am not sure what to do. Anyone have suggestions? A pipe restorer said that a retort might work, but that involves beakers and tubes and clamps. I dont have a chemistry lab and not really looking to buy all that stuff.
Edit: I meant to add that there is no cake at all and the smell is even in the stem, though not as bad as the briar.

 

[samb]

There was a fairly recent thread about removing ghosts.

 

[HawkeyeLinus]

activated charcoal and heat method – rebornpipes

Posts about activated charcoal and heat method written by rebornpipes

rebornpipes.com

Some ideas above.

 

[MillenialCodger]

activated charcoal and heat method – rebornpipes

Posts about activated charcoal and heat method written by rebornpipes

rebornpipes.com

Some ideas above.

Thank you! I have not heard of the charcoal method so maybe that will do it. Much appreciated.

 

[HawkeyeLinus]

Thank you! I have not heard of the charcoal method so maybe that will do it. Much appreciated.

Here are more ideas!

Different methods for removing a ghost from a pipe

Blog by Steve Laug The latest pipe I worked on came with a stubborn ghost so I was forced to use almost all the tools in my arsenal for removing the ghost. As I worked through the various procedure…

rebornpipes.com

 

[HawkeyeLinus]

If I have one as “clean” as I think it can be and still something there that bugs me I’ll just do a judicious sanding down to the briar and go from there. Or counter ghost and run a bunch of Grousemoor through it, lol (but I like Grousemoor!).

 

[BrightDarkEyes]

Sometimes you just need to smoke the hell out of it. Even with old estates both briar and meerschaum that are new old stock and unsmoked I find that until the pipe is ‘broken in’ that it has what is to me an antique store smell and taste while smoking. It is an off putting smell/taste that wafts in and out of the smoking experience until the fresh carbon and tars and oils saturate the pipe again. I would say try smoking it until it goes away, especially if it is as clean as you say.

 

[MillenialCodger]

Sometimes you just need to smoke the hell out of it. Even with old estates both briar and meerschaum that are new old stock and unsmoked I find that until the pipe is ‘broken in’ that it has what is to me an antique store smell and taste while smoking. It is an off putting smell/taste that wafts in and out of the smoking experience until the fresh carbon and tars and oils saturate the pipe again. I would say try smoking it until it goes away, especially if it is as clean as you say.

Yeah I considered this. Tried one bowl and it was really tough to get through lol. Might be my only option. At least the odor isnt quite as bad now. But the odor stuck to my moustache making it much worse lol.

 

[MillenialCodger]

If I have one as “clean” as I think it can be and still something there that bugs me I’ll just do a judicious sanding down to the briar and go from there. Or counter ghost and run a bunch of Grousemoor through it, lol (but I like Grousemoor!).

I hope it doesnt come to this. The bowl walls are very thin so I'd be worried to sand it.

 

[Pipke]

Hot water flush of the bowl and out the stem works well as part of a deep cleaning.

 

[BrightDarkEyes]

Yeah I considered this. Tried one bowl and it was really tough to get through lol. Might be my only option. At least the odor isnt quite as bad now. But the odor stuck to my moustache making it much worse lol.

Try Five Brothers. That reminds me. I need to order some.

 

[sablebrush52]

Make sure that the mortise is absolutely spotless. Most evil stinks originate in the mortise. When I have a particularly stubborn ghost I use the retort alcohol flush. Just be careful not to cause a fire.

 

[MillenialCodger]

Quick update for anyone interested (not sure why you would be): the coffee grounds definitely helped, though it's certainly still there. I think its tolerable enough to at least try to smoke it a bit to see if that helps. Thankfully I chose a good seller on ebay and they have no problem doing a return. Hopefully I can avoid the hassle. Anyway, thanks to all of you guys for the helpful advice! Happy smoking!

 

[romaso]

Scrape out ALL the old cake after the wet coffee grounds and do it again. If still ghosted, try sanding down to bare wood.

 

[OzPiper]

Make sure that the mortise is absolutely spotless. Most evil stinks originate in the mortise.

^^^^^. This

It takes much, much more time and effort to clean out the shanks and mortises of my estates than the bowls.

Inspect the shank & mortise with a strong light.
If the shank/mortise is full of , I use small jewellers screwdrivers and shank brushes to ream out all the muck.
Get down to bare wood, as much as is possible. Without damaging the airways

Then lots and lots of alcohol-soaked cleaners. Leave them in overnight If necessary.
And repeat ad nauseam until they come out clean

Your palate will appreciate the time and effort spent

 

[dingdong]

Quick update for anyone interested (not sure why you would be): the coffee grounds definitely helped, though it's certainly still there. I think its tolerable enough to at least try to smoke it a bit to see if that helps. Thankfully I chose a good seller on ebay and they have no problem doing a return. Hopefully I can avoid the hassle. Anyway, thanks to all of you guys for the helpful advice! Happy smoking!

When i do coffee grounds method, i kept the coffee wet (not just damp) as i flood the top of the bowl with water, then let it dried for 1-2 days. then wash/rinse with warm water. Most of the time it works.
Thin walled bowls has a lot less wood so whatever ghosts is saturating the wood pores would have been there a long time.

 

[didimauw]

Yes my bet would be in the stem/mortise.

Those can hold more crap than you would believe. I've spent hours on mortise before.

 

[bullet08]

Find the biggest cathedral in town. You'll find the holy water at the entrance..

Take the pipe apart. Clean the mortise and tenon. Check the chamber for cake. If thick, take it down to wood, but don't ream into the wood. Use pipe brush to clean the draught and stem. Try coffee grind again.

By the way, do it at home. Not at the cathedral. People might look at you funny.

 

[MillenialCodger]

Find the biggest cathedral in town. You'll find the holy water at the entrance..

Take the pipe apart. Clean the mortise and tenon. Check the chamber for cake. If thick, take it down to wood, but don't ream into the wood. Use pipe brush to clean the draught and stem. Try coffee grind again.

By the way, do it at home. Not at the cathedral. People might look at you funny.

LOL it might be the only thing to exorcise this unholy funk.

 

[kcghost]

Lot of good suggestions here. You do have the choice of passing the pipe along too someone else.