Pipe Mud

[alfredo_buscatti]

I have a Larsen pipe that experienced burnout at the rim such that there is a 3/8" inch dip that runs for about 1/2". I've tried making pipe mud twice; the first time it was too runny and simply oozed down the interior and exterior side of the pipe; the second time I apparently mixed it too thick. It didn't run but flaked off easily.

Do I just keep experimenting with different, small amounts of water until it doesn't run, doesn't flake?

 

[Rob_In_MO]

To make pipe mud you will need the following:

Some very fine ash. This can be from a good cigar or the finest pipe ashes you can get. Note, if you use pipe ash, you may want to grind it a bit in a mortar and pestle to remove every speck of un-burnt tobacco.
Some water or spit.
A tool to mix. A pipe tool’s pick or blade works fine.
Paper towel.

Now, on a clean, smooth surface like a lid or plate place 3 or 4 drops of water.
Crumble some of your ash onto the water.

Use the mixing tool to stir the ash into the water. Use small chopping motions to grind it up as finely as possible. Bring the edges into the center and keep chopping. You are looking to create a slightly glossy paste. If it is very shiny, add more ash. If it is dry-looking, add another drop of water.

When you think it's ready, remove any excess moisture by gently dabbing with a piece of absorbent tissue paper. It should now have lost it's sheen and look slightly matt--like cement.

Make sure the pipe bowl is clean and dry. Drop a small amount of mud into the bottom of the bowl and tamp very gently. Repeat (if necessary) until the mud is level with the bottom of the draft hole. Placing a pipe cleaner so that it just enters the bowl can help with gauging the level.

Hope this helps.

 

[tiltjlp]

https://www.brothersofbriar.com/t13617-pipe-mud-for-cobs

Although the title says Pipe Mud For Cobs, it obviously also works for any other kind of pipe.

 

[Kyle Weiss]

Rob, excellent how-to for pipe mud. Thank you very much. 8)

John's thread suggests it MUST be cigar ash. I don't smoke "turds," as I'm either too much of a sissy or too trashy to smoke them.

...so it CAN be good pipe ash? Would a very fine screen work to separate the good stuff from leftover tobacco?

I'm mostly interested in this to enhance the life of my cobs and fill the gaps where the stem meets the bottom of the bowl. My second pipe I carved has a very tiny sand pit in the bowl, too, which I worry about growing out of control if I'm not careful.

 

[tiltjlp]

Rob, excellent how-to for pipe mud. Thank you very much. 8)

John's thread suggests it MUST be cigar ash. I don't smoke "turds," as I'm either too much of a sissy or too trashy to smoke them.

...so it CAN be good pipe ash? Would a very fine screen work to separate the good stuff from leftover tobacco?

I'm mostly interested in this to enhance the life of my cobs and fill the gaps where the stem meets the bottom of the bowl. My second pipe I carved has a very tiny sand pit in the bowl, too, which I worry about growing out of control if I'm not careful.

No, pipe ash will work too, but from experience, and from what many others say, cigar ash somehow does work better.

 

[Kyle Weiss]

10-4... gonna have to hit up some of my cigar friends to save me the ash... they're really going to look at me funny by that request... hehehehe

 

[EC Outlaw]

Kyle, high quality cigar ash is very white. It contains a high amount of magnesium oxide, which is a component of cement. (From a retired wastewater engineer irat: )

Also, a roughened surface helps with bonding, if using on a surface other than the bottom of the bowl.

 

[Kyle Weiss]

Kyle, high quality cigar ash is very white. It contains a high amount of magnesium oxide, which is a component of cement. (From a retired wastewater engineer irat: )

Also, a roughened surface helps with bonding, if using on a surface other than the bottom of the bowl.

...like the cement in the concrete? 8)

Makes sense.

 

[Rob_In_MO]

I've used both cigar and pipe ash in the past and both have worked, but as others agreed - cigar ash does work the best.

Not that pipe ash doesn't work, it just seems that cigar ash - with the pipe mud given a week to dry - does make a much harder surface. The pipe ash worked too, but was easier to scrape off (and flake away) with routine cleaning using a pipe tool - ie. I had to be more careful. With the pipe mud made from cigar ash, I never had to worry. It was - in fact - like cement, as EC Outlaw pointed out.

Cool, now I know the chemistry behind it.