Stain Shedding on Brand New Pipe

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jpmcwjr

Moderator
Staff member
May 12, 2015
24,694
27,275
Carmel Valley, CA
And, why please, do you think that??

Please put your location in your Profile, as people are forgetful.
Why:
That will save questions in the future as to where you live when you later mention local stores, weather, tobacco prices, availability, regulations, location of photos, wildfires, air quality, etc. In many instances that saves time for those who read your posts.
How:
Under your avatar, (top right, left most of three symbols) you choose "Account Details", which brings up "My Account". "My Location" is halfway down. Whatever you're comfortable with- town, city, county, state. Just country if you must.
 

jpmcwjr

Moderator
Staff member
May 12, 2015
24,694
27,275
Carmel Valley, CA
All my pipes have become dull, and had a feeling it had something to do with the water flushing. That doesn't bother me though. I didn't think that could be the reason all my fills are showing up now!
Buffing with an old t-shirt works. I put a drop of mineral oil on it, and it really makes the whole pipe- stem included- look good.

Fills show up when the wood darkens and the fill doesn't. Unless the pipe is really sooty or dirty....
 
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pauls456

Starting to Get Obsessed
Aug 19, 2020
240
478
60
Tucson, Arizona
Thanks, I just updated myself.
The surfaces will absorb water to varying extent, depending on the finish. Even pure water can alter the color and texture of unsealed wood. With tap water, impurities are left behind which can react with the stain and affect the appearance. Glossy finishes can become cloudy when exposed to water.
 
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Jul 17, 2017
1,703
6,319
NV
pencilandpipe.home.blog
I've only had this happen with one pipe and it was a brand new commission. It actually stained my hands. I basically just ignored it and it stopped in about a week. My guess is the layer of wax was too thin or the stain wasn't allowed enough time to cure before waxing.
 

seanv

Lifer
Mar 22, 2018
2,969
10,446
Canada
That's the biggest load of BS I have ever read. Washed the wax off? WTF, wax is water resistant by its very nature. Plus, it looked like that pipe was actually dissolving. Brigham just made my lists of pieces of shit never to even consider buying.

I'm sorry this is happening to your pipe, but I would have told them where to cram that piece of shit. I've washed hundreds of pipes, without the wax ever dissolving. Never.
I think the op did more than a standard water flush. I think he washed the outside with a bit more vigor than just running some water through the pipe.
 
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I think the op did more than a standard water flush. I think he washed the outside with a bit more vigor than just running some water through the pipe.
Maybe, but that response would just piss me off. But, many times I have used a toothbrush to clean up the outside of my pipes with no problems. Never has getting any part of my pipes wet caused wax or pieces of the surface to come off. That just looks like a piece of crap pipe to me. To me, as a craftsman, it sounds like a half-assed attempt to cover up the shoddy job they did in getting their pipe ready to smoke, and put the blame on the customer. I would Never do that.

There may not be any repercussions for them, but I for one will NEVER buy one of their crappy pipes. Bringham is dead to me.
 
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seanv

Lifer
Mar 22, 2018
2,969
10,446
Canada
Maybe, but that response would just piss me off. But, many times I have used a toothbrush to clean up the outside of my pipes with no problems. Never has getting any part of my pipes wet caused wax or pieces of the surface to come off. That just looks like a piece of crap pipe to me. To me, as a craftsman, it sounds like a half-assed attempt to cover up the shoddy job they did in getting their pipe ready to smoke, and put the blame on the customer. I would Never do that.

There may not be any repercussions for them, but I for one will NEVER buy one of their crappy pipes. Bringham is dead to me.
I can't really disagree but I'm quite happy with mine and will continue to be.
 

olkofri

Lifer
Sep 9, 2017
8,045
14,665
The Arm of Orion
Maybe it's just 'cuz I'm new here, but ...

Why are people washing their pipes with water before smoking them? Am I weird for thinking this is weird?
I disinfect all my pipes before smoking them: God knows who handled them, put them in their mouths, and/or blew through them—chief reasons I never buy used pipes.

After washing I swab them with absinthe and then they're ready for their inaugural smoke.
 

olkofri

Lifer
Sep 9, 2017
8,045
14,665
The Arm of Orion
That's the biggest load of BS I have ever read. Washed the wax off? WTF, wax is water resistant by its very nature. Plus, it looked like that pipe was actually dissolving. Brigham just made my lists of pieces of shit never to even consider buying.

I'm sorry this is happening to your pipe, but I would have told them where to cram that piece of shit. I've washed hundreds of pipes, without the wax ever dissolving. Never.
Whilst I don't discount their explanation (after all, I'm not a carver and I don't even know how to seal a block of wood with lacquer—it's lacquer that you use, right?) it does seem puzzling to me, specially because I've washed one of their Chinook pipes (a higher tier than the Tundra) when I got it brand new and it never shed any stain. I don't remember if I also washed their Heritage (upper tier than Chinook) and, again, no issues.

Weird, but whatever. Not trying to knock off the water flush thing, but just a caveat emptor: not all pipes will take to it.
 
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olkofri

Lifer
Sep 9, 2017
8,045
14,665
The Arm of Orion
I can't really disagree but I'm quite happy with mine and will continue to be.
Yeah, me too, specially with the Heritage and Chinook ones. The Voyageur not so much: I love the rustication in the Voyageur but the shitty vulcanite they use for the stems is a turn off. I only bought the Tundra because it came with an acrylic stem.
 
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Singularis

Part of the Furniture Now
Sep 11, 2019
560
2,655
Wausau, Wis
I disinfect all my pipes before smoking them: God knows who handled them, put them in their mouths, and/or blew through them—chief reasons I never buy used pipes.

After washing I swab them with absinthe and then they're ready for their inaugural smoke.
Fascinating routine.

Almost all of my pipes are estate pipes from SP.com. I understand that they disinfect them as part of their cleaning process. Besides that, I am kind of the opposite of OCD when it comes to germs. Somehow I'm still alive.

In any case, why not swab them with absinthe- (or vodka- or rum- to be cheaper) soaked pipe cleaners? That'll do the trick to disinfect.

Anyway, to each his own and whatever works for you, right?
 

olkofri

Lifer
Sep 9, 2017
8,045
14,665
The Arm of Orion
In any case, why not swab them with absinthe- (or vodka- or rum- to be cheaper) soaked pipe cleaners? That'll do the trick to disinfect.
That's what I used to do before becoming a water flush "convert". I used to use gin or vodka. Started using absinthe with the viral scare last year. Now, I use water and spirits. I wash the stems after every smoke with dish soap and water, but the stummels only rarely or when first acquiring them.
 

jpmcwjr

Moderator
Staff member
May 12, 2015
24,694
27,275
Carmel Valley, CA
Thanks, I just updated myself.
The surfaces will absorb water to varying extent, depending on the finish. Even pure water can alter the color and texture of unsealed wood. With tap water, impurities are left behind which can react with the stain and affect the appearance. Glossy finishes can become cloudy when exposed to water.
Show me the pipe maker who doesn't seal the exterior and I will show you a charlatan.

Briar just doesn't absorb water! We've soaked briars for weeks, run them through dishwashers, swimming pools, left out in the rain, etc. etc. All manner of torture tests. The pipes came out fine with a wipe of mineral oil or obsidian.

Glossy finishes will cloud faster with handling than water, unless you just leave the water on the finish, and then it will spot.
 
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