RE: pipe rotation

[KevinM]

So where do you smoke all these pipes then ? :scratch:

:face:

Back deck, sunporch, three local taverns (a fourth is available, but not my style), my Jeep, walking dogs (until I lost both last summer).

Neighborhood taverns. One of Pittsburgh finest resources, and seldom fully appreciated until one has left them and sees the dreadful singles hangouts and faux sports bars that suffice in other, less blessed areas.

>>I think the trick is to scrape the dottle and chunks out of the bowl after every smoke, and make sure to run a cleaner through it.<<

Yep.

 

[Anonymous]

More power to you guys who can smoke pipes outside.

I can only manage that when there's no breeze. Which, up here in the mountains, isn't all that often.

Fortunately, Mrs. Yak had a proper upbringing, & consequently associates pipe & cigar smoke with happy recollections of the Grampaws & Uncles who doted on her.

Easy shoes to fill -- and comfortable ones. 8)

:face:

 

[Anonymous]

I used to think my meager 35 pipes was too many. Then I noticed that the longer a pipe rested the better the smoke. When I say "longer" I mean in terms of weeks, or more, not hours and this after rigorous cleaning.

Then I retired and went from 2-3 bowls a day to 6 or more. Now 35 is not enough with two loads per pipe before cleaning and resting them.

Yes. This too. I've always been struck by the way a long-rested pipe just shines on its first outing.

With the regularly used ones, I'd slipped into a cavalier attitude toward the cleaning drill. I kept the interior of the bowl carefully dressed after each time out of the rack, but figured a clean cleaner sufficed for the interior of the shank -- out of sight, out of mind.

What this was forgetting is that the airways are wider than the cleaners are. The cleaners were going in & coming back out without ever making contact with the gunk that had been accumulating in there for Lord knows how long. And although the bowls, given a week's rest between times didn't, the shanks positively stunk.

Neither the Castello nor the Caminetto had tasted bad, at all. Even with the Union Square they're dedicated to (a pretty mild, subtle tobacco), they'd tasted great. But pulling the stems for a thorough cleaning afterward revealed there was enough gunk in there that it each took a lot of time to remove. First, by scraping with the square end of a cheap pair of tweezers, and then with doubled-over pipe cleaners.

Even after one round with Irish whiskey-dampened (not soaked) cleaners to hopefully kill the mildew spores and overnight rests with their stems out, they still stink.

(Cue Twilight Zone theme), and most of it seems to be from the lucite stems. It has a plastic-y odor, familiar from similarly lucite-stemmed ones in years past.

Re-booting some assumptions here.

:face:
OLD DOG, NEW TRICK

 

[Doc Manhattan]

Even after one round with Irish whiskey-dampened (not soaked) cleaners to hopefully kill the mildew spores and overnight rests with their stems out, they still stink.

(Cue Twilight Zone theme), and most of it seems to be from the lucite stems. It has a plastic-y odor, familiar from similarly lucite-stemmed ones in years past.

Re-booting some assumptions here.

I've always been curious about degradation of Lucite stems... When Vulcanite goes south, you know it by looks/smell/taste.

Did a little sleuthing and learned there is a shocking amount of research on, yep, the degradation of Lucite (PMMA). Makes sense, especially since tons of safety equipment, e.g. Plexiglas, is a variety of PMMA. You probably want to know how long before the windows of your shark tank, aircraft, safety goggles, et. are going to start to go south.

My favorite was this hoary old DoD research project:
http://www.dtic.mil/cgi-bin/GetTRDoc?AD=ADA304535

Plain-English takeaway? Light, heat, and especially UV rays will degrade Lucite eventually, extreme heat being the fastest way to perdition, followed by UV exposure... both things a pipe stem might encounter especially if it's not kept somewhere shady.

So... smoke 'em cool and keep 'em in the dark is good advice for all stems, not just rubber--it will delay and minimize degradation. But eventually, you might get that "Krazy Glue" smell, and that's the acrylic going funky.

 

[KevinM]

What this was forgetting is that the airways are wider than the cleaners are.

I find thee apt.

Couple other remedies. Take your too-narrow pipe cleaner and put a kink in it -- i.e., a bend of a few degrees 3/4" from the pipe bowl end. Spin the cleaner in use to get more action on the sides of the airway. (caveat: this is only effective on pipes that wll pass a cleaner) The paint supply section of your hardware store may have an inexpensive gizmo for cleaning paint guns. It looks like bristle pipe cleaners of various gauges on a ring. Perfect for pipe shanks. Also, you can buy a shank brush from your pipe supply shoppe of choice.

I agree that well maintainedpipes return the effort. It's kind of like the phenomena of freshly waxed cars seeming to run better.

 

[Kyle Weiss]

The winds of Northern Nevada are no less persistent. Fortunately, they're random and alternate between face-slapping and lazy. I adapt. *shrug* One day I'll probably have my dream of some kind of library, fireplace roaring, sitting in a bathrobe and smoking with some dusty tome in hand, and eat my words about choosing to smoke outside. :lol:

Also, interesting thoughts on lucite/acrylic. Neat.