Pre Comoy's Merger GBD New Standard Pot

[SpeedyPete]

Suggestion : forget that stuff. Stop it while you still have a pipe.

The problem is not in the cake inside the bowl. It's in the airway between the bowl and the shank.

Send the stummel (minus stem) to Dave Walker (Walker Briarworks) for a de-tox. He's got a long waiting list before he'll get to yours, but it's a quick and inexpensive fix once he does, and it's done right.

(I'd also recommend my friend LL but he's even more backed up than Dave is).

:face:

Hello Yak, I would really like to hear from you why you do not support this cleaning method. I admit I thought about using it for a long time but this is why I eventually decided to try it:

The pipe was just sitting there, looking at me! I did not enjoy smoking it beacsue of the bitter taste. I did everything I could but to no avail.

So I thought, if I do ruin the pipe completely by using the bicarb/vinegar so what? I could not smoke it in any case. On the other hand, briar is a very hard substance and if it can resist fire why would bicarb/vinegar ruin it. Also, the guy who mentioned this method is an old hand and I think highly of him. The outcome of this "experiment" was satisfying and the pipe is 100% usable now. So, I'm quite happy.

Lucky for me, I don't have any other pipes with a similar problem, so I won't need to use this method again soon, if ever.

So, please tell us why you think this is not a good thing to do. I'm not being nasty, please! I may have missed something and I'm always happy to learn from others.

Cheers
Pieter

Edit: Forgot to mention, I live in South Africa. Sending a pipe abroad to be "healed" is not affordable, both money and time wise. Traveling time will be about 6 weeks there and back while shipping will cost me more than I paid for the pipe. Money wise, our exchange rate is R8.60 for US$1.00. So the "medical" costs may also involve more than I've paid for the "patient"!! I'd rather use that money and buy another pipe

 

[Anonymous]

Hi Pete

The shank info. is passed along from LL -- nothing original.

Alcohol is going to soak the gunk even deeper into the briar around the airway between the bowl and the stem tenon than it was before.

What you want is a graduated set of dedicated, high quality drill bits covering whatever diameters you're likely to encounter "in there." Dedicated : bits that are used for no other purpose. (Strange as it seems, take one stroke with a file on steel and it's ruined for brass ; ditto brass with wood).

With an under-sized bit in, say, a tap wrench handle, twist it in, slowly, pulling it out every half turn or so to clear it until the tip's in the bowl. (Drills can be ridiculously easy to break. You can imagine from there). Repeat with the next largest size &c. What you're doing is using the flutes of the drill bits to literally shave-away the crusted gunk, the way you'd use a scraper plane. When you're down to wood, you're done. That way, you're removing it -- not dissolving and re-distributing it. And you're not swelling the briar, or running the risk of having alcohol-&-gunk run out the end of the shank to stain the edge where it meets the stem.

For de-toxing a stummel, what you probably (easy, effective & near foolproof) want is an ozone generator with a sealed compartment for the stummel(s) being treated. Figure three days, or adjust to taste. Don't put the stem in with it !! O3's bad news for vulcanite but it won't harm the stummel.

Ozone generators are pricey but if you ask around, you might find some business using one that would be willing to rent you weekend space in it.

Onward & Upward !

Happy American Thanksgiving to all SA Bros :cheers:

:face: