Pipe smoking myths about cleaning

[monbla256]

Very much like Mr. Teipen above, I'm not very rigorous in my cleaning, mostly because it takes about ten seconds to make a clean pipe dirty, but there are several things I have noticed in 50 years of smoking pipes.  The mortise loads up with muck, the stem loads up with something bitter, and the draft hole will get smaller and smaller as it loads up with calcified something or other.  And resting a pipe will sweeten and dry it.  That's all I know.

And patina is character, man!

This is a Character! What do your pipes look like?

Now we understand why you can count your friends on ONE finger  :twisted: :twisted: :bball: :bball: 

 

[monbla256]

Generally I just run a pipe cleaner through, then wipe the bowl with a paper towel. Maybe once a month I'll take them apart and give them a thorough cleaning with spirits. One bad habit I have is that I have a tendency to use the same pipe cleaner more than once.

I've done the same as there is two ends to each clnr !!! :twisted: :twisted: 

 

[monbla256]

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I seriously doubt that!

BTW, where does the pipe start and the hand begin? :scratch: 

It's a FREEHAND  :twisted: :twisted: 

 

[idbowman]

I always run a few cleaners through, then fold 'em over and swab the bowl.

I'd have no problem smoking the same pipe more than once in a day, or not resting in the recommended 24+ hours, but I do seem to notice that the quality of the smoke declines when I do that...maybe not so much with very dry-smoking VAs, but if the first smoke isn't bone-dry, I never seem to enjoy the second one as much.

None of this applies to cobs. I'll smoke the heck out of cobs, over and over, day after day.

 

[RDPipes]

I seriously doubt that!

BTW, where does the pipe start and the hand begin? :scratch: 

It's a FREEHAND  :twisted: :twisted: 

Your killing me man  :lol!: 

 

[huffelpuff]

So 51 bowls out of one pipe in a months time. Has the quality been compromised? Not that I can tell. I did switch tobaccos to a dryer smoking English and a Scottish blend. Other than that still a good solid smoke.

 

[Briar Spirit]

This is a very fascinating experiment you are performing Jim, I have had one Pete' System pipe go sour once before due to not taking enough care with the reservoir and my Bully went sour once due to not cleaning the mortise properly. I do clean my pipes properly after each smoke as I have no desire to experience that soured pipe smoke again but I do find this whole experiment of yours most interesting, more power to you Buddy and 'carry on'.  :cheers: :sunny: 

 

[puros_bran]

where does the pipe start and the hand begin? 

Now that Is the question!

 

[Fr_Tom]

So 51 bowls out of one pipe in a months time. Has the quality been compromised? Not that I can tell. I did switch tobaccos to a dryer smoking English and a Scottish blend. Other than that still a good solid smoke.

This is an interesting experiment. I routinely will smoke a couple of pipes in "rotation," and I have done it for long periods of time - like during my trip to Honduras last year. I do use a pipe cleaner and give the bowl a pretty good scraping with a pipe nail. I have suffered no ill effects from this and have not had a problem with a pipe going sour.

 

[DrT999]

I've yet to see any real buildup/cake on any of my pipes since I've returned to the pipes several years ago, nor had any 'go sour'. I tend to use 2-4 pipe cleaners to clean up after a pipe has cooled. I do have take a bit more time to clean up one pipe everytime (a Jobey Strawberry I bought in the mid-80s) as the actual vent from the heel to the stem seems to clog pretty easily, needing to progress from a falcon cleaner to a narrower bristle cleaner etc. using 4 or 5 in total, but that's about it.

 

[Englishman]

I pretty much do 1 maybe 2 bowls in a pipe and it gets cleaned after that. I do not worry about the actual bowl or the outside. I like tha natural patina that develops on my pipes. I also use as many cleaners while smoking as I need to. Smoking heavy latakia blends and more specifically Gaslight - it does help keep a clean and fresh smoke both cleaning while smoking and also a good clean after a bowl or two depending on the specific pipe and bowl size. I may actual get a 3rd bowl on 2 of my smallest bowls.

 

[huffelpuff]

Hit number 62 tonight. Still going strong without any real cleaning. I will continue to update as I can. Moving sucks.

Jim

 

[whiderwarde]

Excellent post!  Just a thought to add to the conversation:

Whenever I decide to sit down and "deep clean" my pipes, I find that what comes out of the shank on my alcohol soaked cleaners is mostly small (sometimes not so small) pieces of cotton soaked in tar and dried.  I'm starting to wonder if cleaning my pipes after every smoke with a pipe cleaner is contributing to them getting dirtier faster!  Those pipe cleaners are always letting little pieces go (run one between your finger and thumb for proof), and that stuff loves to stick in shanks.
Perhaps, if you're smoking nice and dry, a pipe cleaner afterwards might make things worse!

 

[RDPipes]

Excellent post!  Just a thought to add to the conversation:

Whenever I decide to sit down and "deep clean" my pipes, I find that what comes out of the shank on my alcohol soaked cleaners is mostly small (sometimes not so small) pieces of cotton soaked in tar and dried.  I'm starting to wonder if cleaning my pipes after every smoke with a pipe cleaner is contributing to them getting dirtier faster!  Those pipe cleaners are always letting little pieces go (run one between your finger and thumb for proof), and that stuff loves to stick in shanks.
Perhaps, if you're smoking nice and dry, a pipe cleaner afterwards might make things worse!

That's why I always blow through my pipe when I'm done running a cleaner through them. The little bits of cotton do get stuck and or drop off in the process of running the cleaner through, specially if your using the fluffy ones. And I find 99% of this lint gets ejected by blowing through the pipe afterwards.

 

[monbla256]

Excellent post!  Just a thought to add to the conversation:

Whenever I decide to sit down and "deep clean" my pipes, I find that what comes out of the shank on my alcohol soaked cleaners is mostly small (sometimes not so small) pieces of cotton soaked in tar and dried.  I'm starting to wonder if cleaning my pipes after every smoke with a pipe cleaner is contributing to them getting dirtier faster!  Those pipe cleaners are always letting little pieces go (run one between your finger and thumb for proof), and that stuff loves to stick in shanks.
Perhaps, if you're smoking nice and dry, a pipe cleaner afterwards might make things worse!

That's why I always blow through my pipe when I'm done running a cleaner through them. The little bits of cotton do get stuck and or drop off in the process of running the cleaner through, specially if your using the fluffy ones. And I find 99% of this lint gets ejected by blowing through the pipe afterwards.

This plus I also run a bristle cleaner in and out 4/5 times after I do the above before I put the pipe up in the rack. This seems to keep the "gunk" which can accumulate in the stem/tennon at a minimum for me.  :twisted: 

 

[juanmedusa]

As everybody knows I'm just an anal clean freak and like my pipes to sparkle all the time.
After each smoke I run a cleaner through them and wipe out the bowl with a paper towel, no scrubbing just insert it and a twist, then I wipe it done with a soft cotton rag and I'm done. Although I only smoke one bowl out of each pipe a day for two days, then I go to the next 3 pipes in rotation (I have 3 bowls a day). When I come to the end of my 14 pipes I start all over again. Confused yet, I'm not. At the end of the month all 14 get a thorough cleaning, ISO, wax and buff and anything else they might need like rim cleaning and maybe a ream depending. I don't do this because some old timer told me to and, I don't do this because I read it somewhere, I do it because I want to do it this way and don't really give a hoot in hell about what's suppose to or not suppose to be done. It works for me!

But 14 isn't divisible by three! Sounds like you need one more pipe in your smoking stock to me. No more hoarding collectibles until you square up that rotation.

 

[monbla256]

As everybody knows I'm just an anal clean freak and like my pipes to sparkle all the time.
After each smoke I run a cleaner through them and wipe out the bowl with a paper towel, no scrubbing just insert it and a twist, then I wipe it done with a soft cotton rag and I'm done. Although I only smoke one bowl out of each pipe a day for two days, then I go to the next 3 pipes in rotation (I have 3 bowls a day). When I come to the end of my 14 pipes I start all over again. Confused yet, I'm not. At the end of the month all 14 get a thorough cleaning, ISO, wax and buff and anything else they might need like rim cleaning and maybe a ream depending. I don't do this because some old timer told me to and, I don't do this because I read it somewhere, I do it because I want to do it this way and don't really give a hoot in hell about what's suppose to or not suppose to be done. It works for me!

But 14 isn't divisible by three! Sounds like you need one more pipe in your smoking stock to me. No more hoarding collectibles until you square up that rotation.

Ron has his own SPECIAL math he uses. He doesn't get much sun living in all those pine trees in E. Texas  :twisted: :twisted: :twisted: 

 

[RDPipes]

As everybody knows I'm just an anal clean freak and like my pipes to sparkle all the time.
After each smoke I run a cleaner through them and wipe out the bowl with a paper towel, no scrubbing just insert it and a twist, then I wipe it done with a soft cotton rag and I'm done. Although I only smoke one bowl out of each pipe a day for two days, then I go to the next 3 pipes in rotation (I have 3 bowls a day). When I come to the end of my 14 pipes I start all over again. Confused yet, I'm not. At the end of the month all 14 get a thorough cleaning, ISO, wax and buff and anything else they might need like rim cleaning and maybe a ream depending. I don't do this because some old timer told me to and, I don't do this because I read it somewhere, I do it because I want to do it this way and don't really give a hoot in hell about what's suppose to or not suppose to be done. It works for me!

But 14 isn't divisible by three! Sounds like you need one more pipe in your smoking stock to me. No more hoarding collectibles until you square up that rotation.

Monbla's right, it doesn't mater cause I don't do math, I smoke pipes.  

 

[alandadp]

Monbla right, it doesn't mater cause I don't do math, I smoke pipes.  

Yeah, but not many of them  :lol!:

 

[RDPipes]

Monbla's right, it doesn't mater cause I don't do math, I smoke pipes.  

Yeah, but not many of them  :lol!:

Oh Gees! Quit your whining already, I smoke 14 pipes a month and that's plenty, specially when it comes to cleaning all of them. And I do change up my rotation pipes from time to time but, I agree I have way too many pipes to smoke but again, that's just how I am and I enjoy everyone of my pipes whether I smoke all of them or not.