New Pipe Smoker With A Question? Ask an Old Fart

[spectrrr]

got a question - I got a crapload of old pipes whose stems taste horrible. Plenty of ways to restore... whats the easiest?

[Mister Moo]

Originally Posted by spectrrr

got a question - I got a crapload of old pipes whose stems taste horrible. Plenty of ways to restore... whats the easiest?

If they're not grungy-nasty-oxydized-brown-and-green vulcanite then it's easy. Rout them out with bristle pipecleaners dipped in Everclear (or any other highproof option like 91% isopropyl or vodka). You can clean dried yuk around the buttons with toothpaste or baking soda and a soft toothbrush.

Nasty on the outside vulcanite takes a little more effort. Which is it?

[spectrrr]

Originally Posted by Mister Moo

If they're not grungy-nasty-oxydized-brown-and-green vulcanite then it's easy. Rout them out with bristle pipecleaners dipped in Everclear (or any other highproof option like 91% isopropyl or vodka). You can clean dried yuk around the buttons with toothpaste or baking soda and a soft toothbrush.

Nasty on the outside vulcanite takes a little more effort. Which is it?

Nasty on the outside, I assume its Vulcanite (they're on mid to nice briars). Some are worse than others. The really bad ones have changed colors, but most of the bad ones just have a slightly visible crystallization on the outside of them. The good ones look fine but still taste like **** when you lick the outside.

[Mister Moo]

Originally Posted by spectrrr

Nasty on the outside, I assume its Vulcanite... the good ones look fine but still taste like **** when you lick the outside.

I heard there are people who sell used pipes and they pee (or worse) on the stems before they ship them. Never knew why. I always clean and sterilize each pipe I buy in case... you know.

Scour the inside of the stem with a bristle cleaner and alcohol, then:

I never tried this but a reliable hardcase told me a tablespoon of OxiClean in a quart of water soaks nasty vulcanite clean in 30-minutes or longer and, he said, doesn't think it'll hurt any ink or nomenclature on a stem. Do a test soak first if there's any nomenclature you care about on these pipestems. Sounds like the easy way to me.

There is the traditional soak in 100% chlorine bleach. It really works well but will damage nomenclature on a stem unless it's covered with a dab of Vaseline. Bleach takes an hour or three and it leaves vulcanite black as ink but feeling a bit furry. After a bleach soak (and water rinse) it'll need to be rubbed out with mild polishing abrasive. I never used sandpaper to clean stems - only MicroMesh polishing cloth (1500-12,000 for perfection). Depending on how furry the stems are post-bleach you may be able to skip sanding and find that a paper towel rubdown with toothpaste and/or baking soda will finish things up nicely.

Finish with a light rub of olive oil.

I used a Mr. Clean Magic Eraser followed by toothpaste once. I thought it worked so-so; no trick to try it - some people swear by Magic Eraser. Personally I didn't think it worked very well (but it worked so-so, right?) on bad oxidation, I hate the feel of the things in my hand and I felt it needed a lot of rubbing pressure. Try that if you have one around. Nothing ventured. Any of these processes will make vulcanite or ebonite stems look like new and render them tasteless.

[Neuromancer]

Originally Posted by Mister Moo

...There is the traditional soak in 100% chlorine bleach. It really works well but will damage nomenclature on a stem unless it's covered with a dab of Vaseline. Bleach takes an hour or three and it leaves vulcanite black as ink but feeling a bit furry. After a bleach soak (and water rinse) it'll need to be rubbed out with mild polishing abrasive. I never used sandpaper to clean stems - only MicroMesh polishing cloth (1500-12,000 for perfection). Depending on how furry the stems are post-bleach you may be able to skip sanding and find that a paper towel rubdown with toothpaste and/or baking soda will finish things up nicely.

Finish with a light rub of olive oil.....

Olive Oil can turn rancid sitting on the stem of a pipe if you don't rotate it fast enough...you're better off buying a can of Briar Pipe Wipe and some Handi-Wipes and making yourself some great polishing cloths...Briar Pipe Wipe has Mink Oil, Beeswax, and Lemon Oil in it...much better than olive oil...

[Mister Moo]

Originally Posted by Neuromancer

Olive Oil can turn rancid sitting on the stem of a pipe if you don't rotate it fast...

I must be a fast roto-tater; never experienced a rancid pipe (neither do I coat my pipestems until they're soggy).

[woops]

Originally Posted by Mister Moo

I never tried this but a reliable hardcase told me a tablespoon of OxiClean in a quart of water soaks nasty vulcanite clean in 30-minutes or longer and, he said, doesn't think it'll hurt any ink or nomenclature on a stem. Do a test soak first if there's any nomenclature you care about on these pipestems. Sounds like the easy way to me.

I've used Oxiclean an a few ULTRA nasty vulcanite stems. I was real generous and didn't measure when I did this. Stems didn't have a nomenclature, so that wasn't a worry for my particular cleaning. I can say that the Oxiclean worked great! The stem was so nasty that the soak fizzed and bubbled when I dropped it in .... as if I had added an Alka-Seltzer.