Avoid alcohol on acrylic stems, it can cause microfractures.
Water Flush Cleaning Technique
- Thread starter hoosierpipeguy
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Somehow it dries them out.. and you get a bunch of cracks. Maybe it depends on what's in your tap water.
Don't throw the pipe in the freezer after the water rinse.
It still smokes good.. I've got a few that I rinse, those cobs are coming apart. The ones I don't wash, look like they'll last forever. Maybe the water is dissolving the glue or the plaster they use.
FWIW, the ones I wash provide a better smoke.. they will certainly last long enough to get your money's worth, even if you rinse.
Good info. Thanks.
I dream about smoking, but in daylight, nyet.
All my cobs crack eventually. Some of them take years, but they all seem to get there. I've never rinsed one in water, and I don't smoke them particularly hot or anything either. I think it's just the nature of the material, and it appears to be just an aesthetic issue where the cracks are only on the outside and do not protrude to the inside of the bowl.
I fill the cracks in with pipe mud made from pipe and cigar ash plus a little bit of water, all stirred together with a pipe tool to a thick muddy consistency. I then just smear it all over the cob to fill in the cracks, then wipe the excess off with a paper towel. I'll repeat the process as needed, but it's not needed often. Maybe once every couple years for a heavily smoked cob. I still regularly smoke some cobs from when I first starting smoking a pipe, which is probably going on ten years ago at this point. Certainly 8 or 9 years.
If the issue was as clear to both the pros cons, who seem so utterly convinced of their action, that this thread is never-ending thread, now 12 pages? Ambivalence is better when conscious.
I would be cosmically pleased if you found this conjecture, not fact.
I would be cosmically pleased if you found this conjecture, not fact.
I understand that this is a very simple process. But, is there a video somewhere on water flushing a pipe?
Turn on water faucet, warm temperature. Water flow slightly above a trickle to full on, experiment, personal preference. Hold pipe by stem, stem slightly below bowl so water will run through. Insert bowl under water flow. Let run for 30 to 60 seconds. Use paper towel to dry off exterior, clean off rim and then insert in bowl and rotate.
Do NOT use this method on wood-covered stems: the wood has no place to expand but outwards, and the stem-sleeves are likely to crack.
Simply do not get water on the exterior of wood covered stems! Or wipe if off right away
Easy peasy, and how many such stems are out in the wild?? Less than .001%??
Easy peasy, and how many such stems are out in the wild?? Less than .001%??
Now that I'd thought a bit more- how did this happen? Were you really hot water flushing or some other thing happened?
I have never run across a veneered stem, so who made it? A factory, artisan or a DYIer?
I have never run across a veneered stem, so who made it? A factory, artisan or a DYIer?
Every so often I will write why there's so much intransigence against an easy cleaning technique.
So, I blame over 100 years of manufacturers, retailers and B&M staff all repeating the mantra: "Don't use water on your pipe!" "Water will ruin your fine pipe!", when they are going to try to sell you on an alcohol based cleaner/sweetener/arthritis cure.
Then there are those who are afraid of change, or cannot admit there could be a better way than they have been doing for 40 years. Or just plain contradictory folks or flat-earthers.
So, I blame over 100 years of manufacturers, retailers and B&M staff all repeating the mantra: "Don't use water on your pipe!" "Water will ruin your fine pipe!", when they are going to try to sell you on an alcohol based cleaner/sweetener/arthritis cure.
Then there are those who are afraid of change, or cannot admit there could be a better way than they have been doing for 40 years. Or just plain contradictory folks or flat-earthers.
Folks need to get some raw briar and soak it in water. I did and was shocked at how non-absorbent it is. which is why I have no hesitation with a water flush.
Haha, I'll always have your back on this jpmcwjr. I've used water on briar pipes since these topics first starting popping up a few years back and it's been markedly superior long-term to any other cleaning approach (for me).
Would I use common sense around non-briar/non-wood materials that may be more susceptible to heat or water.....for sure. Clay, meerschaum, whatever cheap veneer/plastic pipes. Ditto for stains that may not be water/liquid-fast. But for like 99% of non-bottom-barrel briar pipes, water flush is fine.
I think there's just some natural inclination for people to build a mystique/set of commandants around a hobby with attendant enjoyment of arguing it out. It's not just water-flush...think about all the threads on 'how to cellar'. It's literally just putting something in a jar or putting a tin on a shelf.....and there's a dozen threads on it a week. Just is what it is.
Fear is at the base of it. Fear of change. Fear of discovery. Fear that the world isn't flat. The usual stuff.
I think you joined after Ashdigger, myself and others performed torture tests on smoked briars. All came through fine and ended up smoking in regular rotation. (Some finishes did not like the dish washer, but easily restored with mineral oil and/or wax)
If you flush without fear then why do you have 12 pages of posts about it? If you do it and it's good why post about goodness when you could be whining about what's bad? A non-issue requires no bandwidth.
Methinks these smokers protest too much.
Methinks these smokers protest too much.
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