New Pipe Smoker With A Question? Ask an Old Fart

[macsauce13]

Do I have to put a screen in the bottom of the bowl? I am about to smoke my first bowl ever.

[Mister Moo]

nah

[baldanders]

Just got a lot of 5 estate pipes off fleebag. They need a good cleaning. Whats the best way to go about cleaning them?
Thanks in advance.

[Mister Moo]

Originally Posted by baldanders

Just got a lot of 5 estate pipes off fleebag. They need a good cleaning. Whats the best way to go about cleaning them?
Thanks in advance.

Scrape old crap from the bowl with a Czech pipe tool; spit/paper towel to clean grunge off the rim; wipe bowl exterior with damp soapy cloth until clean; Everclear dipped bristle pipecleaners to rout out the stems. That's the easy stuff.

If the stem are vulcanite and have yellowed, greened or browned there are more serious measures to investigate. Start with Magic Eraser or toothpaste and baking soda for the easiest first effort at removing oxidation. There are all kinds of approaches to cleaning stems, some easier than others. Soaking in OxyClean is said to work; bleach soaking DOES work but can damage (or whiten) markings on a stem and it also furs up vulcanite, thus demanding a fine sanding or polishing after a soak.

Bowls invariably carry some kind of ghost or stink (not to mention spiders, fleas or germs). Brace bowl securely with stem removed in a tipped back position; pack with coarse kosher salt or cotton balls; fill gently to 80% full with Everclear or 91% unscented rubbing alcohol. Do not let drops of booze overflow or touch the outside of the pipe - it'll strip finish in one micro-second. Soak until dry, remove salt (or cotton) and, if nasty looking, refill and repeat. This process destinks, de-ghosts and sanitizes.

That's about it. Practice on the crappiest pipe first to refine your soak-and-scrub technique. Good results can be very rewarding.

http://www.cigarasylum.com/vb/showth...ghlight=estate

[baldanders]

Thanks for the info going to tackle this over the weekend.

[RevSmoke]

If you use salt, do not let it sit for more than 20 minutes. Salt soaks into the briar and may cause the pipe to crack. Use cotton balls and give it couple hours, no need to wait till evaporation.

[KenyanSandBoa]

I have a question for the Old Farts:

There is local convenience store that specializes mainly in cigars and alcohol, but has a fair share of pipe tobacco as well. Me question is, are there decent tobaccos that are more mass produced than others? I have a feeling they are not stocking some of the premium tobaccos you guys prefer, but what is a safe brand for me to look for to try?

Thanks!!

[Mister Moo]

Originally Posted by KenyanSandBoa

I have a question for the Old Farts:

There is local convenience store that specializes mainly in cigars and alcohol, but has a fair share of pipe tobacco as well. Me question is, are there decent tobaccos that are more mass produced than others? I have a feeling they are not stocking some of the premium tobaccos you guys prefer, but what is a safe brand for me to look for to try?

Thanks!!

You need the American Classic Combo, Ken'oa: a pouch of Carter Hall (or Velvet or Prince Albert or Half & Half) a regular sized Missouri Meerschaum corncob pipe (not one of those little mini-things) a bag of fluffy (not bristle) pipecleaners and a Czech pipe multi-tool (or a 10-penny nail). Add to that a box of wood or paper matches and you are golden. $10 to play. Many have concluded it's the best smoking combination on earth at any price.

[MarkinAZ]

Might as well throw a pouch of Granger in there too Dan

[KenyanSandBoa]

Originally Posted by Mister Moo

You need the American Classic Combo, Ken'oa: a pouch of Carter Hall (or Velvet or Prince Albert or Half & Half) a regular sized Missouri Meerschaum corncob pipe (not one of those little mini-things) a bag of fluffy (not bristle) pipecleaners and a Czech pipe multi-tool (or a 10-penny nail). Add to that a box of wood or paper matches and you are golden. $10 to play. Many have concluded it's the best smoking combination on earth at any price.

Originally Posted by MarkinCA

Might as well throw a pouch of Granger in there too Dan

Thanks guys.

I actually have all the equipment to play, I'm just not familiar with the brands of tobacco yet. Marc hooked my up good in the pipe NST, but I figured I might as well pick up some various tobaccos to have on hand and age.

Thanks again...I'll let you know what I pick up.

[Mister Moo]

Originally Posted by MarkinCA

Might as well throw a pouch of Granger in there too Dan

Yeah. Shame on me. How about that Granger? I never actually smoked any Granger, sad to say. I stopped at Carter Hall and figured it (and a cob) couldn't possibly get any better. Gotta try some Granger.

[BigFrank]

I keep mine with Acids...lololol

Right now I have five or six snack sized sandwich bags with maybe 2-5 oz in them and one tin, compliments of Troy the "tobacco as bubble wrap" bandit. I don't know how often I'll be smoking just yet and I don't what a bunch of mason jars lying around. I do have a couple of very small desktop humi's though. There would not be any cigars in there with the bags.

[RevSmoke]

Originally Posted by mariogolbee

Right now I have five or six snack sized sandwich bags with maybe 2-5 oz in them and one tin, compliments of Troy the "tobacco as bubble wrap" bandit. I don't know how often I'll be smoking just yet and I don't what a bunch of mason jars lying around. I do have a couple of very small desktop humi's though. There would not be any cigars in there with the bags.

Do you have any rubbermaid or tupperware? Something big enough to get everything into and with an airtight seal should be fine.

You could put all the baggies in one mason jar - if they fit. Keep the tin tightly sealed.

Peace of the Lord be with you.

Originally Posted by RevSmoke

You could put all the baggies in one mason jar.

Putting different blends in one container, whether or not they are in plastic bags will lead to a marriage of flavors.

[Zoomschwortz]

I have a question,

I'm not new to pipes, but I don't smoke them very often, so I believe that I fall under the Newbie pipe smoker title.

My question concerns a pipe I bought for my wife (her first) this past Friday. She always liked the look of the Church Warden pipes so I surprised with one and she smoked it for the first time yesterday.

Here is the question: How can I tell if there is a filter in the stem?

I tried to clean it last night and the pipe cleaner will not go through the stem. It looks like the stem is a 2 piece model, but I can't get the 2 halves to separate and I don't want to break her new pipe. Any suggestions?

Thanks
Ken

Hello Ken,

Without putting hands on it, it’s kind of hard to say. Have you tried removing the stem from the bowl and running a pipecleaner through it from the mortice end?

[RevSmoke]

Originally Posted by Demented

Putting different blends in one container, whether or not they are in plastic bags will lead to a marriage of flavors.

Yes, they will. It isn't a big deal with me. I put different aromatics together. I put Virginias together. I put English blends together.

But, that's just one person's opinion.

Peace of the Lord be with you.

[Neuromancer]

Originally Posted by Zoomschwortz

I have a question,

I'm not new to pipes, but I don't smoke them very often, so I believe that I fall under the Newbie pipe smoker title.

My question concerns a pipe I bought for my wife (her first) this past Friday. She always liked the look of the Church Warden pipes so I surprised with one and she smoked it for the first time yesterday.

Here is the question: How can I tell if there is a filter in the stem?

I tried to clean it last night and the pipe cleaner will not go through the stem. It looks like the stem is a 2 piece model, but I can't get the 2 halves to separate and I don't want to break her new pipe. Any suggestions?

Thanks
Ken

Originally Posted by Zoomschwortz

Yes I have and the pipe cleaner stops after about 2" that's why I'm thinking it might have a filter.

It looks like the stem might seperate in the area that the pipe cleaner stops when inserted from the top, but try as I might, the upper half of the stem will not twist from the lower half.

When I get home tonight, I will post the name of the pipe incase someone might know about this pipe. It was made in Italy.

My biggest worry is in harming the stem, so I haven't used any tools (ie pliers) to try an seperate the top from the bottom (if there really is a top and bottom)

Thanks
Ken

Originally Posted by Zoomschwortz

The pipe is a Rigoletto Churchwarden Marrone Chiaro - Billiard.

It is in the top right hand corner of this link.http://www.pipesandcigars.com/rigolettopipes.html

Okay, first of all that pipe is made to come apart so it just may be a very tight fit...try twisting the bowl and stem carefully from side to side to see if you can ease the stem out...after that put some graphite on the tenon so it slides easier and doesn't stick again...second, the reason the pipe cleaner is stopping a few inches in is because you're hitting the beginning of the bend...I doubt that pipe has any kind of filter in it...third, if you are going to clean the stem with regular and/or bristle pipe cleaners you need to get some of the churchwarden size pipe cleaners...hope this helped...

Thank you gents. I suppose I'll be using a mason jar for now. Should I also throw a humi pouch in the jar or would that raise the rh too much?