Reviving Old Sour Pipes

[smoker13]

I've just returned to the pipe after a 10 year hiatus. I only smoked them for about 4 -5 years previously, but acquired some fairly nice pipes, some of which I'd like to continue to smoke now (even though I've been buying up new pipes like a lottery winner).

Problem: I put a pipe to my mouth, I take a puff of air through the stem and get a blast of sour to the extreme. I've tried putting a pipe cleaner soaked in some stem cleaner through, to know avail. Will this sourness eventually go away the more I smoke real tobacco in the pipe(s) or is there something I can do to get rid of it beforehand?

 

[Richard Burley]

The mortise is often the culprit. You would obviously need to remove the stem to get at it. If gunked up, I use a mini-screwdriver to scrape lightly. And make sure the draft hole is as open as it should be. These constrict over time, just like a codger's arteries. I recommend the drill-like gizmo on a Kleen-n-Reem or Senior Whatever reamer. If the pipe has been cleaned and dried properly, it should sweeten up in a couple of days.