I have 4 pipes in rotation now, I smoke about 4 bowls a day, I have some good cake being built up.
When does one ream a pipe and why?
When does one ream a pipe and why?
When to Ream
- Thread starter salmonfisher
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You ream whenever the cake gets to the thickness of a nickel, very slowly and carefully, until you're down to the thickness of a dime. Careful you don't break off any chunks of cake. That's valuable stuff.
An erstwhile member of considerable pipe knowledge and I suggested from time to time that if you
scour out a pipe after each smoke with a paper towel or tissue (after scooping out any dottle and ash
and blowing out any loose bits) you will rarely if ever need to ream. This also involves not working at
building much carbon. I've done this over the years, with pipes I bought new and have smoked for
decades. I don't own a reamer. There's no right or wrong on this. Some people feel building a cake is
a key part in developing a good smoking pipe. But it works well the other way, in my opinion. In the
long run, a pipes lasts better, or that's been my experience.
scour out a pipe after each smoke with a paper towel or tissue (after scooping out any dottle and ash
and blowing out any loose bits) you will rarely if ever need to ream. This also involves not working at
building much carbon. I've done this over the years, with pipes I bought new and have smoked for
decades. I don't own a reamer. There's no right or wrong on this. Some people feel building a cake is
a key part in developing a good smoking pipe. But it works well the other way, in my opinion. In the
long run, a pipes lasts better, or that's been my experience.
+1 on both MSO and Mikes's suggestions--two different methods of achieving much the same thing. I scour the bowl with a folded over pipe cleaner after every smoke. This ensures a very slow buildup of cake. MSO's method is similar, except that it's far more aggressive, meaning that any cake will build up at an infinitesimal rate. I prefer to have a bit more cake, so I'll settle for reaming on occasion. However, you can teach an old dog new tricks, and I'm going to follow Mike's advice: ream cautiously and slightly, and complete the task with fine sandpaper. That way you'll never have to worry about chunks breaking off. I did such a lousy reaming job some thirty or so years ago that I had to take the pipe down to bare wood. What an awful taste that was. Not certain that I or the pipe ever recovered from it.
Anyway, you've been exposed to two different techniques, both effective. Pick your poison.
Anyway, you've been exposed to two different techniques, both effective. Pick your poison.
It's been many a year since I let the cake build to the thickness of a nickel or, for that matter, even a dime ...
I fold a bristle pipe cleaner in half, then use that to 'brush' the interior of the bowl after every smoke ... even so, the cake WILL build up, albeit rather slowly ... when it gets a little crusty, I scrape it out using the blade of a Sheffield pipe knife much like the one pictured below, which has a rounded tip and won't gouge the bottom of the bowl ... doing so DOES take a bit of a practiced hand, but I began doing this more than 35 years ago, so I've become fairly adept at not getting too aggressive ...
I fold a bristle pipe cleaner in half, then use that to 'brush' the interior of the bowl after every smoke ... even so, the cake WILL build up, albeit rather slowly ... when it gets a little crusty, I scrape it out using the blade of a Sheffield pipe knife much like the one pictured below, which has a rounded tip and won't gouge the bottom of the bowl ... doing so DOES take a bit of a practiced hand, but I began doing this more than 35 years ago, so I've become fairly adept at not getting too aggressive ...
I'd modify the remark above about building cake to a nickel's thickness and bringing it down to the thickness of a dime to say ream at a dime's thickness and bring it down to the thickness of a business card, not that there is any more rhyme or reason for my vote than what was already stated. It's a preference. I'm sure you've seen pictures of pipes all but clogged by cake, with only space to load a pencil's diameter of tobacco. That's too much cake
. On the other hand excessive reaming that bears and scars the wood is too much. In general keep an ongoing, careful check of where you are at while reaming, three or four twists of the reamer at a time, no more. You can always continue reaming but losing wood is not the goal. Hope this helps!
. On the other hand excessive reaming that bears and scars the wood is too much. In general keep an ongoing, careful check of where you are at while reaming, three or four twists of the reamer at a time, no more. You can always continue reaming but losing wood is not the goal. Hope this helps!
My only (admittedly personal) issue with Mike's method is that I prefer more cake. Over the years, and after a few mistakes, I have learned to ream my pipes properly, maintaining a level of cake thickness that is congenial to my own tastes. I may decide to use the sandpaper method in the future but I still want a certain amount of cake because I believe it helps the flavor develop and is good for both tobacco and bowl.
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