Which Reamer is Best?

[ocpsdan]

I've been very pleased with the results of the Senior Reamer.

 

[gmwolford]

Wow, after the long weekend I have come back to a lot of great info: thanks guys!
I searched but didn't find the article Phillip linked to; thank you for that Phillip as it was very informative. The videos, including the "shoot out" were all also informative. But I'm still not sure which one to go with! I almost think I couldn't go wrong with either choice but I might be wrong in that. The one I have currently looks a lot like Bentmike's but flimsy, BTW.

 

[bentmike]

I got mine just to knock off a few high spots I've noticed forming in some of my more used bowls. I have a big enough rotation and since I only smoke once every day or two or three cake build up is a very slow process. Lately I've been wiping out the bowl with paper towel after each smoke. A couple of my newer pipes I've done this exclusively. I think it may build a denser cake although it will take longer. I am going to side with Fred Hanna and say maybe a very small layer of cake even much less than the old "dime thickness" standard is all that's needed so I'm going to give it try. I'll review my findings after 10 years or so! :D
If I was refurbing old estates I would definately look at something more industrial.

 

[photoman13]

The castleford is great for estates but I don't think I would use it for anything else because it is very powerful.

 

[cigrmaster]

I have used the Senior reamer exclusively for years, but I have a few pipes where it is not big enough. What do you guys use on your bigger pipes?

 

[photoman13]

The castleford will give you an even turn even if the bit is a little to small for the big bowls. At least this has been my experience.

 

[gmwolford]

I've been so busy I forgot to update this.
I got the Castleford set off Amazon from 4noggins. I was very pleased with their quick service, I'll say up front. And I really like this set, too. It does a great job of getting in there and getting the cake out of estate pipes, whether it be just a little that needs removed or a ridiculous amount. I had read many reviews and comments saying that the handle was cheap and broke easily, and other negatives but I disagree with them. Seems like it would take abuse to break the thing to me. The only thing I would call a negative is not being able to adjust to "in between" sizes, and that may be just my personal thought only.
I picked up a vintage Italy made buttoner type of the bay, too. I see why they are so popular now: it's great, the el-cheapo one I had was terrible.
I think in the future I'd like to add the Senior to my arsenal. It seems like it would be nice to be able to get those sizes that are in between the Castleford bits and I think Senior's adjustability would allow for that.

 

[ssjones]

I agree with Greg on his assessment of the Castleford set.

There was a set of 10, Danish made metal t-handle reamers, ten different sizes, on ebay earlier this week. I bid but was blown out, set went for $60. Too bad, those 10 different bowl sizes would have been real handy.