New Pipe Smoker With A Question? Ask an Old Fart

[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.

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?

Originally Posted by mariogolbee

Should I also throw a humi pouch in the jar?

No. The tobacco will be the same when it comes out of the jar as it was when it went in. humi pouch is for cigars.

Originally Posted by Demented

No. The tobacco will be the same when it comes out of the jar as it was when it went in. humi pouch is for cigars.

Time to raid the fridge then. Thanks.

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?

[Zoomschwortz]

Originally Posted by Demented

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?

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

[Neuromancer]

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

It would help if you post a picture of it...

[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

[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...

[Zoomschwortz]

Originally Posted by Neuromancer

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.

The stem does come out of the pipe without and trouble.

With the stem removed from the bowl and while inserting the pipe cleaner into the stem at the bowl end, the cleaner stops within a couple inches.

It is hard to see in the picture, but 1 1/2 squares up from the bowl, the stem looks like it could be 2 pieces, but it sure doesn't want to move at this point.

I do have the long pipe cleaners and there is no problem getting the cleaner 8-10 inches into the stem from the mouth side, but then it stops.

Thanks again.
Ken

[Neuromancer]

I see what you're talking about where it looks like the stem might be two pieces...the only thing I can figure out at this point is that something got in there and blocked the stem...I'd call pipesandcigars.com at this point and explain it to them and they should be able to tell you if the stem is a 2-piece, and/or whether there's some kind of filter jammed up in there now...

[Zoomschwortz]

Originally Posted by Neuromancer

I see what you're talking about where it looks like the stem might be two pieces...the only thing I can figure out at this point is that something got in there and blocked the stem...I'd call pipesandcigars.com at this point and explain it to them and they should be able to tell you if the stem is a 2-piece, and/or whether there's some kind of filter jammed up in there now...

Thank you.

I'll give it a try.

Have a great weekend.
Ken

[Mister Moo]

Old farts are failing with this stem juncture at every juncture. Here's my shot.

I had one pipe - a good pipe at that - with an internal distortion inside the pipestem airway. Mostly it blocked a pipecleaner yet I could blow air through it. Sometimes I could work a pipecleaner through it (or past it) by bending the end of the pipecleaner a few degrees and twisting it, pushing and probing, until it found the passage and passed; other times a pipecleaner would get blocked, pop through and then drag on the way out leaving a wad of cotton caught in the airway. Then one day after dozens of tries the irregularity broke loose (I never saw what it was), a wad of cotton blew out and all was well.

Conclusion is same as above whatever the problem is - call the seller and ask what's the deal and/or send it back if that's possible. There is no good reason for an airway to prevent passage of a pipecleaner unless it has an internal filter (and, presumably, a way to remove it).

[Zoomschwortz]

Originally Posted by Mister Moo

Old farts are failing with this stem juncture at every juncture. Here's my shot.

I had one pipe - a good pipe at that - with an internal distortion inside the pipestem airway. Mostly it blocked a pipecleaner yet I could blow air through it. Sometimes I could work a pipecleaner through it (or past it) by bending the end of the pipecleaner a few degrees and twisting it, pushing and probing, until it found the passage and passed; other times a pipecleaner would get blocked, pop through and then drag on the way out leaving a wad of cotton caught in the airway. Then one day after dozens of tries the irregularity broke loose (I never saw what it was), a wad of cotton blew out and all was well.

Conclusion is same as above whatever the problem is - call the seller and ask what's the deal and/or send it back if that's possible. There is no good reason for an airway to prevent passage of a pipecleaner unless it has an internal filter (and, presumably, a way to remove it).

Thankyou for your help.

I tried to probe it with a Czeck tool last night and couldn't get it past or through the blockage.

I will be near the store this weekend, so I will stop in and see what they say.

There is a seam in the area of the blockage and I noticed that one side is black and the other side is very dark gray. If by chance it is supposed to come apart, I would rather have the shop fix or break it or remove the blockage because I have little doubt that one day it will become completely blocked so I better get this thing figured out soon.

Thanks again.
Ken

[Commander Quan]

You could try hand turning a drill bit to get the plastic or whatever is in there out.

[Zoomschwortz]

Originally Posted by Commander Quan

You could try hand turning a drill bit to get the plastic or whatever is in there out.

I was thinking about that, but wanted to hold off until I knew for sure if it was a filter or not and the more I think about it, this will be a good test to see how the B&M handles this problem.

They get premium prices for their products and I'd like to see if their service is the same, besides, if I break my wifes new and very first pipe, she won't be very happy with me.

Thanks
Ken

[RevSmoke]

Ken, Pipes and Cigars is good peeps. Give them a call and see if they have advice for you. They may not without seeing the pipe. I would guess that they'd either have you send it back or bring it in.

Peace of the Lord be with you.