I have been using the salt/ever clear method to de sour a pipe. But I think I'm doing something wrong. Am I supposed to let the alcohol completely evaporate till there isn't any left??? About how many days should I leave the salt/alcohol mixture in the pipe?? Thanks
Sweetening A Sour Pipe
- Thread starter pipeude28
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If the salt is pretty dry, it's time. I then rinse the chamber and airway with very hot water, towel dry, and smoke it right away in most cases.
I did this salt trick'leaving the pipe sitting overnight and morning come emptying salt out of bowl
Let the alcohol evaporate completely. 2-3 days should do it. You can also use cotton balls. Do not rinse with hot water. It's unnecessary and could crack your pipe. If salt remains after dumping, swab with an alcohol soaked pipe cleaner.
On nothing more substantial than a hunch, I quit doing the salt & alcohol treatment
and began thoroughly cleaning only the shank with alcohol-soaked pipe cleaners.
This clears the acrid and sour tastes so effectively that I think the fetid stuff resides
mainly in the shank -- not the bowl.
The only attention I give to the bowl is to scrape it with a pipe knife after every smoke,
followed by swabbing it with a folded pipe cleaner, and occasionally reaming it with a wad
of crushed printer paper.
I find that this is a much easier, yet very effective regimen.
and began thoroughly cleaning only the shank with alcohol-soaked pipe cleaners.
This clears the acrid and sour tastes so effectively that I think the fetid stuff resides
mainly in the shank -- not the bowl.
The only attention I give to the bowl is to scrape it with a pipe knife after every smoke,
followed by swabbing it with a folded pipe cleaner, and occasionally reaming it with a wad
of crushed printer paper.
I find that this is a much easier, yet very effective regimen.
That's simply not true. Hot water will no more crack a pipe than hot tobacco. Less so, in fact. A hot water rinse has many benefits. Please don't spread old wive's tales.
cortez says- true; sometimes the problem is purely in the mortise, which should get cleaned periodically. The end of a pipe tool blade- the blunt kind- can be used for hardened gunk; otherwise Q-tips or folded cleaners do fine.
IMO, water is not incompatible with a briar pipe. It happens all the time in condensation. Of course, excessive exposure would eventually ruin the wood. So don't leave the pipe submerged for any length of time.
"Do not rinse with hot water. It's unnecessary and could crack your pipe."
Furthermore, alcohol also contains water. Ex., 70% isopropyl is 30% water. You'd be hard pressed in finding an alcohol, consumable or otherwise, at 100%. Like John stated, a hot water rinse will in no way damage a pipe.
Furthermore, alcohol also contains water. Ex., 70% isopropyl is 30% water. You'd be hard pressed in finding an alcohol, consumable or otherwise, at 100%. Like John stated, a hot water rinse will in no way damage a pipe.
Actually, using hot water will cause the pipe to melt. If controlled properly, using hot water judiciously will enable the carver to bend and twist the shank for expressive purposes. The French had known about this for decades but jealously guarded the secret.
Alfred Dunhill learned this secret while smoking in the tub. Blissfully reading the Times while relaxing in the steaming water, he became aware that the weight of the bowl was causing the shank to bend. Realizing the enormous implications, Dunhill is reported to have leapt out of the perfumed water, sagging pipe in hand, yelling, "Egad! So that's how those damned Frenchies do it!". Thus was born the famous 120 "swans neck", well known to have been copied from a Genod design.
True story.
Oh, and hot water won't hurt a pipe. That's an old wives tale.
Alfred Dunhill learned this secret while smoking in the tub. Blissfully reading the Times while relaxing in the steaming water, he became aware that the weight of the bowl was causing the shank to bend. Realizing the enormous implications, Dunhill is reported to have leapt out of the perfumed water, sagging pipe in hand, yelling, "Egad! So that's how those damned Frenchies do it!". Thus was born the famous 120 "swans neck", well known to have been copied from a Genod design.
True story.
Oh, and hot water won't hurt a pipe. That's an old wives tale.
I agree with Cortez. I have never actually done a Salt/alc treatment in 20 years, and have no "sour" pipes. Pipecleaner with a little rum here and there. Easy as pie.
Pipes can taste awful if the mouthpiece is oxydized too. But the bowl? Barely even worth looking at imho.
Pipes can taste awful if the mouthpiece is oxydized too. But the bowl? Barely even worth looking at imho.
Goodness. My point is that hot water is totally unnecessary. Water is not a (very good) solvent of the rancid tars and oils you're trying to remove. If it's excess salt you're trying to remove, a dry pipe cleaner will do it. Alcohol if it seems stubborn. But water is unneeded. If a lot of salt is sticking, you're not letting it dry long enough. But no need to lecture about old wives tales. Do what works for you, just make sure there is logic behind it.
"Do what works for you, just make sure there is logic behind it."
Logic (and experience) tells me that to occasionally flush out a pipe in hot running water does it far more good than bad.
Once treated with quality high proof alcohol and allowed to dry a damned good water flush brings forth much of the grot that the (cold) alcohol did not.
Regards,
Jay.
Logic (and experience) tells me that to occasionally flush out a pipe in hot running water does it far more good than bad.
Once treated with quality high proof alcohol and allowed to dry a damned good water flush brings forth much of the grot that the (cold) alcohol did not.
Regards,
Jay.
I admit that I have used the salt and alcohol treatment once and to no avail. Like you, Cortez, I simply stick to maintaining the pipe in a clean condition.
However, I was wondering whether or not wiping the chamber walls with alcohol is a good idea to slightly wear thin the layer of cake and somewhat refresh the pipe.
Also, I have once read on a forum that Coke may be used as a solvent to clean and sweeten pipes. Can anyone confirm that?
Thanks.
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