Keeping tally of your pipe smokes

[bentbulldog]

I just watched a YouTube video by Kel aka Smokeringspipedreams on monthly pipe maintanance. Awesome video and I wish I were that disciplined with my pipe care.

What I'm wondering is how do you keep track of the amount of times you've smoked your pipe to know when you should do a thorough cleaning, especially when you have so many pipes?

I've thought about keeping a journal near my pipe with printouts and just check off, but how do you do?

 

[Zeno Marx]

as if life cannot be tedious enough

I judge major maintenance by sight and taste. It's certainly not like changing the oil in a car. Cannot see any reasonable need for a spreadsheet.

 

[Brewdude]

as if life cannot be tedious enough

I judge major maintenance by sight and taste. It's certainly not like changing the oil in a car. Cannot see any reasonable need for a spreadsheet.

Oh for the love of G_D This^^^

KISS, or KIFS if you prefer!

:roll:


Cheers,

RR

 

[osci]

as if life cannot be tedious enough

I judge major maintenance by sight and taste. It's certainly not like changing the oil in a car. Cannot see any reasonable need for a spreadsheet.

I can't say it any better.

 

[DrT999]

I keep track in an old-fashion notebook, but more to remember to keep the pipes rotating and because I'm a touch ocd :tongue:

 

[Anonymous]

I doubt if you can be a long-term pipes smoker and not be OCD'd at least to an extent.

:face:

 

[CharlG]

You think? :roll: Should see the condition of some of this pipemakers pipes! :lol: :lol!: :lol!:

 

[Harlock999]

For me, OCD translates to cleaning my pipes after every smoke, thus no confusion over when to clean... 8)

 

[HCraven]

as if life cannot be tedious enough

I judge major maintenance by sight and taste. It's certainly not like changing the oil in a car. Cannot see any reasonable need for a spreadsheet.

Again...this.^

BTW, if you have a good number of pipes (I've got about 40), it becomes even less of an issue. You'd be amazed at what a few weeks out of rotation will do for a pipe that's getting a little funky.

 

[monbla256]

as if life cannot be tedious enough

I judge major maintenance by sight and taste. It's certainly not like changing the oil in a car. Cannot see any reasonable need for a spreadsheet.

Again...this.^

BTW, if you have a good number of pipes (I've got about 40), it becomes even less of an issue. You'd be amazed at what a few weeks out of rotation will do for a pipe that's getting a little funky.

With 90+ it get's even easier :cheers: Spreadsheets are for work, a pipe is for pleasure, never the twain the two should meet :twisted:

 

[Kyle Weiss]

as if life cannot be tedious enough

I judge major maintenance by sight and taste. It's certainly not like changing the oil in a car. Cannot see any reasonable need for a spreadsheet.

Another vote for. :cheers:

Only thing I'd add after "taste" is "performance."

I keep spreadsheets and notes about tobacco, not so much maintenance. To organize interests in subjective chaos, rather than regimens, that is.

8)

 

[Smoker99]

I don't keep track of how many times I have smoked a particular pipe. Way to anal for me. If it starts to taste a little off, I give it a good cleaning.

 

[Hermit]

I clean em after I smoke em. It's evident when they need more.
I do keep my "inventory" on a spreadsheet, though.

 

[Dutch]

Once I get a pipe broken in, I clean it after every single smoke. Not only does it make the cleaning process much easier, but it also guarantees that I will experience the best taste possible from my precious high grade tobaccos. As expensive as high grade tobacco is, it will get even more expensive in the future, and taking the time to clean my pipes between smokes seems a no brainer.

When I first started smoking a pipe, I remember thinking that all that cleaning was time consuming, and really sucked. However, that is the trade off for smoking a pipe, and keeping it in optimal condition. I could instead smoke cigars, and pay much more money for the convenience of not having to clean anything but my ashtrays.

One thing I do enjoy about smoking my meerschaums and cobs, is that I can skip the cleaning process, and maybe only clean these pipes once every 5 bowls. However, much more milage than that, and it can be difficult to get the cake to turn loose from my meers, even using a q-tip dipped in PGA.

 

[derrickyoung]

Currently playing with Foundations from pipes and tobacco magazine

 

[desertpiper]

So, when someone says clean after every smoke. What would that entail? Is it pipe cleaners and a paper towel to wipe out the bowl. or something more involved.

 

[Dutch]

So, when someone says clean after every smoke. What would that entail? Is it pipe cleaners and a paper towel to wipe out the bowl. or something more involved.

The first thing I do is use a dry Q-Tip and remove any loose ash or dottle from the bowl. Then if necessary, I will use one of my reamers to remove any excess cake that I feel needs to be removed.

Then I take a scruffy bristle pipe cleaner dipped in bourbon, and scrub out the shank and mortise of the pipe. Once I have completed that aspect, I then I will use a Q-Tip dipped in bourbon and clean out the bowl. The reason I like Q-Tips, is because they save me a lot of money on pipe cleaners, as well as the fact that they treat my pipes with kid gloves.

I usually just use a standard dry pipe cleaner to clean the stem itself, but occasionally I will give my stems a good cleaning by running a pipe cleaner through them dipped in bourbon.

I will give my briar and cob pipes about a week to dry out, before I reattach the stems, and place them in the rack.

 

[bentbulldog]

The first thing I do is use a dry Q-Tip and remove any loose ash or dottle from the bowl. Then if necessary, I will use one of my reamers to remove any excess cake that I feel needs to be removed.

Then I take a scruffy bristle pipe cleaner dipped in bourbon, and scrub out the shank and mortise of the pipe. Once I have completed that aspect, I then I will use a Q-Tip dipped in bourbon and clean out the bowl. The reason I like Q-Tips, is because they save me a lot of money on pipe cleaners, as well as the fact that they treat my pipes with kid gloves.

I usually just use a standard dry pipe cleaner to clean the stem itself, but occasionally I will give my stems a good cleaning by running a pipe cleaner through them dipped in bourbon.

I will give my briar and cob pipes about a week to dry out, before I reattach the stems, and place them in the rack.

Dutch, I'm assuming you wait until there is a reasonable cake prior to using this method am I right?

 

[Dutch]

The first thing I do is use a dry Q-Tip and remove any loose ash or dottle from the bowl. Then if necessary, I will use one of my reamers to remove any excess cake that I feel needs to be removed.

Then I take a scruffy bristle pipe cleaner dipped in bourbon, and scrub out the shank and mortise of the pipe. Once I have completed that aspect, I then I will use a Q-Tip dipped in bourbon and clean out the bowl. The reason I like Q-Tips, is because they save me a lot of money on pipe cleaners, as well as the fact that they treat my pipes with kid gloves.

I usually just use a standard dry pipe cleaner to clean the stem itself, but occasionally I will give my stems a good cleaning by running a pipe cleaner through them dipped in bourbon.

I will give my briar and cob pipes about a week to dry out, before I reattach the stems, and place them in the rack.

Dutch, I'm assuming you wait until there is a reasonable cake prior to using this method am I right?

bb, I'm not a big fan of letting cake accumulate, unless I am smoking an alternative wood pipe which would be more susceptible to burn out. I have found that my briars season with use, as they soak up the juices and resins from the tobacco. Once they have become seasoned, it takes a lot of concentrated heat in one spot to experience a burnout. If you are sipping your properly dried tobacco, you will never need to worry about overheating the pipe.

In addition, I find that keeping my cake to a minimum allows me to taste the sweetness of the briar which I really enjoy. This to me is one of the reasons I generally enjoy smoking my briars more than my meerschaums.