Petersons and Pipe Cleaners

[Megaluddite]

I love my Peterson pipes. Most of my Petes are among my best smokers. But they almost all have one annoying issue. Petes don't take pipe cleaners worth a poop.

I know that you cannot expect a system pipe to take a pipe cleaner all the way to the bowl. But of all my Petes, the only ones I have that will pass a pipe cleaner all the way to the bowl is a bent Peterson Meershaum and a straight Maark Twain poker pipe. Granted, almost all my Petes are bents, which I prefer. But I have a Kinsale, a couple of Sherlock Holmes and a Mark Twain bent that just won't take it all the way. To do a proper cleanering of the draft hole I must take the pipe apart. All my Petes have reinforced shanks. But it can't be good to disassemble a pipe that often.

Am I being too picky? Or is there some cleanering trick I don't know.

All suggestions appreciated.

 

[kaiser83]

I am up to 14 Pete's now and them passing a cleaner is a rare occasion. All of mine are bent stems. Before I insert the cleaner I generally bend the tip just a little but and turn it as I insert it. Once it stops I will pull it back a bit and turn a little more to see if i can get it through. I rarely can, but on occasion the miraculous happens. The Irish Made Army line I just pop the stem out while I insert the cleaner and run it all the way through and then shove the stem back in.

 

[Kyle Weiss]

To back up a little, what's the reason you're needing to use a cleaner that urgently? Generally speaking, if there's an obstruction, it's best to test the pipe before firing it up and give a few quick puffs to see if there's a rogue piece of leaf where it shouldn't be, and since the pipe is cool, you can take off the stem, guide a cleaner in the draft hole at the shank to clear things up. If you're using system (or any Peterson pipes, really, with their big "wells" at the tenon, you certainly can't be overflowing with moisture (...or, are you?)...and if there's moisture in the stem itself, that's really the only place a cleaner would need to go mid smoke (my apologies to the p-lip owners who have trouble with this).

I have a growing number of Petes, mostly because people are generous jerks and I'm a pitiful sap. :lol: I find nary a reason to use a cleaner in any of them while in use unless something unpreventable happens (getting a piece of rebellious dottle in the airway, for example). I think it's a good idea not to take apart a hot pipe, too (spare the military mount type).

Are you being a little OCD with your Petes' cleanliness mid-smoke, or are you having smoking problems with 'em?

 

[Deleted member 2386]

I have a couple of Petes but both pass a cleaner perfectly. They are both of a more recent make, though, so maybe that plays into it.

On the other hand, my straight is so damn tight that I get palpitations every time I put the stem back on--it comes off easy, but getting it back on is a harrowing experience. I've heard of popping'em in the freezer to help a tight stem come off, but dunno how it would work for getting a tight one in. Might need to try a light sanding one of these days...

 

[Brewdude]

My experience is that my most often used Petes-

999
Sherlock Holmes Mycroft
XL90

All pass a pipe cleaner just fine, and all are bents and p-lips as well.

Haven't yet had a problem getting a stuck piece of 'baccy away from the air hole.

<shrug>


Cheers,

RR

 

[somedumbjerk]

i have the same issue. i was worried about it for a while and then all the old experienced guys from the pipe shop told me to either puf into the pipe once to clear the nasty, or to just pull the stem. i kind of didn't want to pull my stems on a warm pipe, but they all do it. they said they have never had a cracked shank, and they actually learned it from Mr. Hanna who said the same thing i guess.

I have a couple of Petes but both pass a cleaner perfectly. They are both of a more recent make, though, so maybe that plays into it.

On the other hand, my straight is so damn tight that I get palpitations every time I put the stem back on--it comes off easy, but getting it back on is a harrowing experience. I've heard of popping'em in the freezer to help a tight stem come off, but dunno how it would work for getting a tight one in. Might need to try a light sanding one of these days...

Grandpa, put some bees wax on the tenon, smoke it so it's warm and spin it around a couple of times and repeat if needed. this also works for loose stems. don't go nuts with the wax, no chunks or anything, just a light coating.

good luck!

 

[Dave_In_Philly]

Most of mine are straight and none of those give me any trouble (save for getting the pipe cleaner through the p-lip in the first place). Most of the bents I have a systems, so they don't count. I do have two bents that are not (at least, two that come to mind at the minute). The first is an 80s, it won't pass a pipe cleaner, though I wouldn't count that one either, because it came to me with a replacement stem. The second is a B11 that I got new (a gift from my wife) and that one will pass a cleaner, but its not the easiest thing to do, lots of twisting and turning.

 

[Anonymous]

You can remove & replace the stem of a system pipe (tapered tennon/metal collar) 'til you get tired of doing it -- hot or cold -- with impunity. (That's been done at least once every time a 50-year-old system pipe's ever been smoked. Do the math).

With a pipe like an 80S, where that's not an option, just tilt the stem downward. The moisture in the stem will run down and bead up at the tip (it might take it 15 seconds) where you can blot it with a kleenex.

For your re-entry problem, what you really want is Peg Dope from a violin shop. It's a little crayon (about an inch long) of pressed chalk dust and used motor oil, which the chalk particles have absorbed. A little of that on the tennon and it'll go in and turn smooth as butter, but hold better at the same time.

You'll only need it once -- one guy here could spring for it, use it, and pass it along to the next guy until everybody here had used it without it being much smaller than it started out.

I'm actually astonished that pipe repair-restoration guys don't use it automatically, as it makes lining up a tight stem effortless while providing superior "hold."

FWIW

:face:

 

[monbla256]

I personnally think waaay to much emphasis is given to the "... will pass a cleaner freely" aspect of a pipes' performance. It's along the same lines as the "... smokes with just one light" idea. :twisted: Other than the Pete Systwm pipes, which WILL NOT pass a cleaner due to the "well" boring in them,( that's why they have "Military" styled bit/shank connections) MOST 1/4 to full bent pipes can give trouble passing a cleaner easily. Just take your cleaner and give the end a small kink in it and just rotate it in and out till you find THAT SPOT where it catches the draft hole and will pass on thru to the bowl. I don't have many full bent pipes but I have to do this with ALL of them and they smoke EXCELLENTLY in spite of this. AaaaaH, the American concept that life should be EFFORTLESS :twisted:

 

[Wet Dottle]

I don't have any Peterson pipes, but isn't the precise purpose of Peterson's system to avoid the need to use pipe cleaners during the smoke?

 

[Deleted member 2386]

Thanks for the tips, SDJ and Yak--don't have beeswax or peg dope lying around the house, but will soon rectify that, one way or the other!

 

[Kyle Weiss]

I don't have any Peterson pipes, but isn't the precise purpose of Peterson's system to avoid the need to use pipe cleaners during the smoke?

I tried mentioning that in a roundabout way, but everyone got stuck on the cleaners-passing-or-not. *shrug*

I think I have a peg dope crayon in my mess someplace from years ago...I like this idea!

8)

 

[Slide]

I don't have any Peterson pipes, but isn't the precise purpose of Peterson's system to avoid the need to use pipe cleaners during the smoke?

I tried mentioning that in a roundabout way, but everyone got stuck on the cleaners-passing-or-not. *shrug*

I think I have a peg dope crayon in my mess someplace from years ago...I like this idea!

8)

I'm thinking most of the Peterson's people have here are not the system pipes.

I could be wrong. I have 16 or so Peterson's and one is a system pipe.

 

[Kyle Weiss]

Almost all Peterson pipes have a wide, deep "well" built into them at the shank, which, I don't think is an accident. A system pipe simply has added features that take the design to the next level, though.

 

[Slide]

Almost all Peterson pipes have a wide, deep "well" built into them at the shank, which, I don't think is an accident. A system pipe simply has added features that take the design to the next level, though.

True

But I was thinking in term of the comment of not needing a cleaner during the smoke. With a non system Pete you can still get moisture if you are a wet smoker.

It very seldom happens for me with a Pete or any pipe. Poor packing is about the only reason I ever need to run a clener through a pipe while I am smoking.

With a system I still could, as Yak indicates, take the stem off while smoking.

 

[Slartibartfast]

...what you really want is Peg Dope from a violin shop

Good tip there, yup.

I personnally think waaay to much emphasis is given to the "... will pass a cleaner freely" aspect of a pipes'... AaaaaH, the American concept that life should be EFFORTLESS :twisted:

Can I get an AMEN Please! Thank You!

 

[Harlock999]

...what you really want is Peg Dope from a violin shop

Good tip there, yup.

I personnally think waaay to much emphasis is given to the "... will pass a cleaner freely" aspect of a pipes'... AaaaaH, the American concept that life should be EFFORTLESS :twisted:

Can I get an AMEN Please! Thank You!

AMEN!

 

[Anonymous]

I personnally think waaay to much emphasis is given to the "... will pass a cleaner freely" aspect of a pipes'... AaaaaH, the American concept that life should be EFFORTLESS :twisted:

If you mean that a pipe that won't can still smoke and taste well, I agree.

But (unless it's a military mount) the minute a bit of tobacco clogs the draft hole, the advantage of a properly made one becomes apparent.

:face:

 

[Kyle Weiss]

But I was thinking in term of the comment of not needing a cleaner during the smoke. With a non system Pete you can still get moisture if you are a wet smoker.

It very seldom happens for me with a Pete or any pipe. Poor packing is about the only reason I ever need to run a clener through a pipe while I am smoking.

With a system I still could, as Yak indicates, take the stem off while smoking.

I've simply discovered there's ways to smoke a properly-drilled pipe, Peterson or any other, that make using a cleaner mid-smoke a rare thing. I'm sure I'm not special or magical, it's just a personal mission that's yielded some surprising(ly good) results.

If someone's gurgling a Pete, it's either faulty (slim chance), or driver error (more likely). I had to learn how to smoke my Petes. I'm glad I took the time. Guys that learn to drive big rigs don't forget how to drive cars...just adds to the skill set. That's all it is.

 

[Slide]

Kyle,

I'm in total agreement :lol: