Two pipe questions

[noxspencer]

Hey everyone. New to the forums, not new to pipes. I do however have two short questions maybe someone can help me answer. Anytime I smell an old pipe it always smells strongly of the tobacco that was smoked in it. However, alot of my pipes have a very strong smokey smell, like burnt charcoal, and do not smell anything like the aromatics or blends I smoke. I rotate my pipes like I should. What would cause my pipe to have such a smokey smell, and to smell so unpleasant even after proper cleaning?
Second question. What is a good way, aside from normal cleaning, to keep pipes smelling fresh and like the tobacco I smoke in them?

 

[spartan]

The pipes that have a strong smokey smell, are they broken in yet? There is a change you are smoking pretty hot and burning wood and then if you clean off all the ash on the walls you may KEEP burning the wood again and again.
What kind of tobaccos are you smoking in these pipes that smell smokey? It could be that you just have one STONG lat blend that over powers your other even after you smoked a non lat blend in it.
For a deeper clean you may want to try a Salt/Alcohol Treatment

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K4yzbYxFs7I
You can use any kind of alcohol but you need to use kosher salt (the thick chunky salt) sea salt works too I've heard.

 

[noxspencer]

Ahh that might be the case! The pipes that are producing the smells may not be entirely broken in yet. Tell me, after you are done with a bowl what is the best way to clean it so that it gets broken in like it should?
And, as for the types of tobaccos, I smoke things like Mac Baren Scottish blend, McClelland blends of virginia and maybe some Lak, and a few aromatics. Is it wrong to smoke many different types in the same pipe, even if the pipe has had ample time to rest? Should I have different pipes for different types of tobacco?

 

[ssjones]

Welcome! On new pipes, I want them to develop a light cake, so I just twist in a paper towel after each smoke and use a cleaner to swab the stem. You can also twist the stem around the inner circumference of the bowl with the same cleaner. A more thorough cleaning with an Everclear dipped stem every couple of months to clean the stem/shank area a little better.
Edit: added one letter. L

 

[olderthandirt]

after you are done with a bowl what is the best way to clean it so that it gets broken in like it should?

What has served me well:

Never smoke it hot

Dry "ream" after each smoke. Pipe cleaner bent into a gentle U shape, run along the sides and bottom of the bowl. Cover the bowl with thumb, give it a shake and empty whatever falls out.

I can't say this lends to the "breaking in" but it does establish a thin, solid, even cake.
Different types of 'baccy in the same pipe. Strictly up to you. If they all taste good to ya then fine and dandy. I smoke primarily Oriental and Lat blends or VaPers and do so in all my pipes. I only have 1 dedicated pipe, a Canadian that only see's SG Chocolate Flake. No reason other than just because! (-:

 

[rigmedic1]

Using several different blends in the same pipe can do that. I do the same as ssjones as far as keeping my pipes clean, but I try to smoke Balkans in one pipe, aromatics in another, so on and so forth. A couple of pipes that I really like end up being the village bicycle, and those can get pretty smelly after a time, so they get much more thorough cleanings. I use a retort every now and then as well on the heavily used pipes.

 

[noxspencer]

Mmm ok I'm starting to understand a bit more now. I had never given it much thought, but I certaintly should carefully consider how it's done.
OTD, you said never to smoke it hot. I find that if I want to enjoy it and get nice amounts of smoke that I have to constantly puff to keep it lit, though I dont think this is a packing issue. However, if I just gently puff it, it does and will go out quite fast, so I always end up with a hot bowl at some point. Ideas?
rigmedic1, would you suggest having pipes dedicated to a specific type? And if so, let's say I want to smoke aromatics all day, wouldn't using that particular pipe constantly be bad? Or would it not matter?

 

[chopz]

before i came here i always used to do that dry ream method, although i didn't know it had a name.

 

[olderthandirt]

I'm paraphrasing as best I remember this one. Anyone have the original wording please throw it out.
Dry your tobacco just a little dryer than you think it should be.

Pack it just a little looser than you think it should be.

Light as needed, tamp lightly, draw gently.
Boy howdy I butchered that one!
Up front, if the bowl is hot enough to be noticeable or uncomfortable then stop and let it cool.
As for packing, frequency and force of draw, that's really just paying attention to what works for you.
Initially a little on the loose side when you load the bowl can always be adjusted with a tamper as you smoke.
Re-lights are a fact in the life of a bowl. As many as are needed are what's needed. You can reduce the number of lights for a bowl the more adept you become at keep it going with the use of a tamper to keep the ember in contact with fresh leaf.

Trying to keep a bowl going by vigorous puffing just burns up the leaf around the ember, makes the ember hotter and in turn the bowl hotter while actually defeating the whole purpose by depriving the ember of fresh leaf to burn!

 

[noxspencer]

OTD, amazing advice. I just tried a bowl using some more "delicate" methods, lighter being the keyword. Light pack, light puffs, and it did alot better. It amazes me that I'v been smoking for years of the pipe, but didn't think to consider that I was doing it too forcefully.
Thanks for all the advice everyone.

 

[pstlpkr]

Welcome! On new pipes, I want them to develop a light cake, so I just twist in a paper towel after each smoke and use a cleaner to swab the stem... A more thorough cleaning with an Everclear dipped stem every couple of months to clean the stem/shank area a little better.

+1

 

[stryder]

What I have learned holds true to the post here.

Loose pack burns cooler.

Paper towel lightly in new pipes to help develop even cake.

I do throughly clean the stem with Everclear after each smoke....maybe over kill but never have a bad taste.

 

[judcole]

Should I have different pipes for different types of tobacco?

I'm one of the guys that swears by this. I have a lat blend rotation, and a Virginia/burley rotation,and never the twain shall meet. I don't smoke aromatics often, so I have one pipe for aromatics.
I know some guys swear by the salt/alcohol method, but I know others who swear at it. I do know that the one time I rehabbed a pipe that I had acquired, at the advice of my tobacconist I stuffed the bowl with a neutral blend and let it sit a good long while, then pitched that tobacco. Worked for me. ::

 

[hauntedmyst]

I'm not sure for other but one of the things I find is that a pipe that hasn't been smoked in a while actually smells more like the tobacco you smoke. I have no clue why this is but it seems after a pipe has rested a few months, it gets this great smell to it that a newly smoked pipe doesn't have.

 

[noxspencer]

Ohh Haunted, that must be why estate pipes always smell so pure (when they dont have mold). Never the less I do clean my estate bought pipes the first time like a mad man :lol:
On a side note, what do you all think is the best way to manage a re-pack mid bowl? Say if you find it too tight, how do you loosen it up just enough to be smoke-able but not enough that it goes out?

 

[olderthandirt]

Scrap off and empty whatever ash is on top and then I'll slide a spoon down the side of the chamber in a couple of spots, press the load in towards the center. Then I'll push from the center back towards the chamber walls. If that doesn't do it I empty the thing and start over.
Can't imagine any approach that would preclude the pipe going out.

 

[shaintiques]

I clean mine with spiced rum so they always have a yummy smell when it is time to light up.

 

[rigmedic1]

We like to talk about how we need lots of pipes so that we can give our pipes a chance to rest, but years ago a person bought a pipe and pretty much smoked it all the time till it burnt out, then bought a new one. IMHO if you smoke one type of blend a day in one dedicated pipe, the heating and cooling of the bowl might stress it enough to crack. It might not, either. I only cracked one pipe in 30 years, and the bore was off center.

My dedicated pipes seem to smell of the tobacco I smoke in them, and I am still able to discern different Balkan blends in my balkan dedicated pipes, and different aros in my aromatic pipes,etc. They get muddy if I use different aromatics too often, like a vanilla then a cherry then a maple... I tend to stick with one aro at a time till its gone, then clean the pipe and choose a different flavor. Your results may vary, of course.