Reviving Old Sour Pipes - Part 2

[smoker13]

I'm trying to get some old favorite pipes smokeable (a word?) again. I posed this question before and was advised to clean out the gunk in the shank with a pipe cleaner. Good advice, but it didn't quite do the job.

I've got some old bottles of a liquid put out by YELLO-BOLE, called Bee PIPE SWEETENER. I can't remember if this stuff is supposed to be used inside the shank and bowl or what (it's been a LONG time). Of course there are no directions other than to use daily and to "Keep from contacting OUTSIDE finish of bowl", which kinda intimates that it would be used INSIDE the bowl(?)

Any further help would be greatly appreciated. The buying new pipes spree seems to have tapped out a lot of my money (funny how that happens, eh?) and I DO have a couple/three real old gems I'd love to smoke again.

 

[ZeroContent]

Ream out the bowl. Reamers are cheap, like 5 bucks on amazon. Then use Everclear or any other 151 or higher proof vodka if you can get it to clean out the shank. you can use it in the bowl too if you want. Let it dry for a few days.

 

[monbla256]

Ream out the bowl.  Reamers are cheap, like 5 bucks on amazon.  Then use Everclear or any other 151 or higher proof vodka if you can get it to clean out the shank.  you can use it in the bowl too if you want.  Let it dry for a few days.  

In addition to the above get some wire shank brushes and scrub out the residues in the shank with the alchohol till a cleaner passes through clean. These folks are a good source for these:

http://wvsmokeshop.com/pipecleaningbrushes.aspx

 

[Zeno Marx]

Pull the stem. Shove a Q-tip in the shank airhole, but don't push it too far in; just far enough to act like a plug. It works, and you'll know. You can use salt, but I prefer the cotton ball method. Shove several cotton balls in the chamber. Really cram them in there. You might end up using 10-15, depending on the size of the pipe. Fill with Everclear, vodka, or even 91% isopropyl alcohol. I carefully use an eyedropper a little at a time so I can avoid getting it outside the bowl. Let it sit overnight with the shank very slightly elevated, so the pipe is barely not level. Pull the cotton balls. Be careful when you pull the Q-tip. A few drops will probably be sitting in the shank, so angle the bowl downward. Most of whatever was in there will be soaked into the cotton, and whatever remains will now be loosened/softened enough to remove with pipe cleaners and scrubby pipe cleaners. If really gunked up, you might have to repeat this a second time. You can also employ a drill bit at this point, twisting it by hand to pull any chunks. I don't normally do that. I prefer pushing Q-tips through the shaft. You might have to pull some of the cotton off the Q-tip, but the tighter the fit the better.

Oh, and wear gloves. Like medical latex gloves. This is a nasty, stinky job, and that stuff does not like to come off clothes or your hands. Your hands will stink like tobacco resin for a couple days if you barehand it.

 

[MisterE]

+1 on the cotton balls regime. Also, once the alcohol has softened up the goop in the heel, scrape with a pipe nail (one of the .99ct jobs). That'll get a lot of the tarry stuff off the wood without gouging anything. Repeat as necessary until you see bare wood is  the shank and heel. This really, really works....

Also dip a cleaner in the isopropyl and shove it the stem overnight. That'll get most of the crap out of there.

 

[SpeedyPete]

Each and every one of my pipes' shanks are drilled to 4mm.  So whenever I clean a shank I use a 4mm drill bit, clenched in a vice grip, to do the job.  I do this slowly and with great care. Afterwards I use pipe cleaners, dipped in surgical spirits, to give the final touch.

 

[ontariopiper]

You're getting great advice from everyone here. Clean pipes neither taste foul nor stink. The moral of the story, of course, is to step up (or set up) your regular cleaning regimen. The more often you smoke your pipes, the more often they need to be cleaned.

Perhaps consider this scenario. Get 7 pipes super clean and stink-free (for a 7-day rotation). Clean pipe #1 when you're smoking pipe #6, pipe #2 when you're smoking #7, etc. That way you'll always have a clean pipe waiting for your next smoke, and the extra day in between cleaning and smoking will allow the alcohol used for cleaning to fully evaporate before you fire that pipe up.

Hope that helps.

 

[smoker13]

Ontariopiper, I indeed have gotten some GREAT advice here, and I thank you all, each and every one of you. Right now I'm looking forward to acquiring all my ammunition so I can do the job RIGHT!. all the wire shank cleaners are on their way through the mail, I've got to make a run to the "packey" to get some white lightning vodka, I think I'm all set on the cotton balls...... I'm as excited as a schoolboy! Seriously, the prospect of turning some of these pipes into Lazarus IS very exciting, because, apart from the nostalgia factor, they're damn good pipes and always smoked great! And all my English blend pipes are lying dormant, waiting to be woken up. I'm having fun breaking in new pipes with various VA's and VApers, but I don't want to have to go through buying MORE new pipes and breaking them in for various English blends, too!

 

[ontariopiper]

Ontariopiper, I indeed have gotten some GREAT advice here, and I thank you all, each and every one of you.  Right now I'm looking forward to acquiring all my ammunition so I can do the job RIGHT!.  all the wire shank cleaners are on their way through the mail, I've got to make a run to the "packey" to get some white lightning vodka, I think I'm all set on the cotton balls...... I'm as excited as a schoolboy!  Seriously, the prospect of turning some of these pipes into Lazarus IS very exciting, because, apart from the nostalgia factor, they're damn good pipes and always smoked great!  And all my English blend pipes are lying dormant, waiting to be woken up.  I'm having fun breaking in new pipes with various VA's and VApers, but I don't want to have to go through buying MORE new pipes and breaking them in for various English blends, too!

Sounds like you've got things well in hand! Have fun raising those old pipes from the dead.