Why Your NEW pipe tastes SO BAD.

[shawn]

I'll be doing this from now on.

 

[nu2pipesjd]

I'll be doing this from now on.
+1

 

[nsfisher]

I always put a light in shank and bowl on a New pipe to look for stain. I have had it happen couple years ago on a New Brigham.

 

[jchaplick]

Just another reason estates are better!

 

[juni]

I remember how horrible my Peterson Sherlock Holmes tasted when I first smoked it. It was also dipped in stain.
There are a few risks with using salt. If there are impurities and small cracks in the wood you could break your pipe. Cotton balls do exactly the same trick as salt - minus the risk (I know, it sounds weird but it is true).
One option would be to use a very high grade sandpaper and remove the stain / and also any pre-carb in a new pipe. I sort of like starting off with bare wood.

 

[jaysin]

Ive never had this issue but all my pipes up to recently have been Garbows that i have had no issues with. Thanks for the heads up

 

[logandow]

I will have to remember this if I ever have a pipe that tastes bad consistently, thanks!

 

[bailey331]

That is crazy. Can I use regular table salt to do that?

 

[sirsmokesalot]

Well....I let the Nording Pipe dry out over night and all day today after the treatment. I just filled it with

some Petersons "Old Dublin" and it tastes GREAT!!

As for the Pre carb stuff, I agree that it should be removed.

I take a sanding disk on a dremel tool....set it to low speed, and it works like a charm. It's one of those

cylinder shaped sanding disks and it takes the carbon off evenly without the

hassle of doing it by hand.

I also agree with the use of cotton instead of salt, But Kosher salt is what I had on hand.

 

[sirsmokesalot]

@bailey331....
If you use salt, it has to be the Kosher salt not table salt.

 

[bobby46]

I find this information both baffling and disturbing. I wish the now dry pipe-cleaners could be sniffed for a clue of what that dark stuff is.

I find it hard to believe any skilled craftsman would lovingly create something associated with human respiratory input, and last minute, dunk it in dye saturated alcohol stain. To avoid a momentary external swipe with rag? I've used (constantines) alcohol stain for decades, and there is only slight surface penetration.

Manufacturers refrain from surface varnishing and even stay clear of petroleum-based waxes for health related concerns.

I will speculate that some form of pre-carbonisation process is the reason. Perhaps a variation of the yello-bole honey treatment where the applied honey is (pre-sale) flame-singed to start the break-in. Please post with alternate theories!

ADDENDUM------Non-iodized salt is okay for the bath, you don't want to introduce iodine inside a pipe.

 

[shawn]

Let's hear how that first smoke went!?!?!??

 

[northernpiper]

To revive an old thread... I recently bought a Nording Freehand (which led me to this thread) a Savinelli and a Rossi. I smoked the Nording right off... was awful after 4 bowls I caved and cleaned the stem with some Everclear... let it dry and it was 80% better on the first bowl and after 2 or 3 was really good, no bad taste... just letting the cake build up. With the Sav, I cleaned the stem with EC and removed the precarb... after a few cool bowls, an awesome smoker!!! With the Rossi... I only cleaned the stem with EC, left the precarb... first bowl was great... almost like a broken in smoker.
Needless to say I think the original poster was 100% correct... the stain or whatever it is in the stem is causing the horrible taste.
Just to note I was smoking either SG 1792 or Irish Flake... I didn't do my normal straight Latakia RR for the breakin's as I didn't want to mask any of the unpleasantness if there was any.

 

[fitzy]

Holy dead thread.
This is the same problem with the cheaper Petersons. They dip the whole damn thing in stain so even the inside of the bowl is coated in stain. They just cover it up with that pre-carb garbage.

 

[hmhaines]

Another great zombie thread, glad to have seen it. I haven't had, or possibly realized that I had, stain on the inside of either of the briars I purchased. However, I'll be careful to check with the eventual next new briar!

 

[hextor]

wow!! I had just pulled the trigger on a brand new pipe, thanks for the insight, I will have to clean mines too when it arrives.

 

[mso489]

I've had no problem with Nordings nor Petes on this score. I did buy a new Parker poker/cherrywood blast, and though the taste was okay, my pipe cleaner brought out black stain for many smokes after the first one. Obviously the briar had been dipped, and not cleaned out in any way at the end of the workshop line. Parkers are made at the Dunhill factory, so the crafts people knew better. It's a good little pipe, an enjoyable smoker, but a disappointment on that score. Dipping the briar in stain or other finishes is a slapdash method. You'd think these outfits would have the pride not to do it. Add two dollars to the price for the extra time and send out a briar with a clear airway.

 

[crashthegrey]

I'm all for revived zombie threads when I see something like this. It had never occurred to me to check for this on new pipes. Thank you.

 

[Chasing Embers]

Never had a new pipe taste bad.

 

[foggymountain]

If a new briar tastes bad, chances are it is a bad pipe.(Bad taste from stain, wax, staining the air passage or just plain soft briar.) This does not apply to meerschaums, most of which taste bad for quite a while before becoming great smokes.