Using spirits to clean a pipe
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Wayne_Teipen
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I don't over clean my pipes anymore. I think the "dirtier" they get the better they taste. It's seasoning. I'll run a pipe cleaner through it after each smoke usually but that's about it. I'll clean them with Everclear about once, maybe twice, per year. That's it. If you want a good tasting pipe that's the way to go, IMHO.
Greenleaf
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Wayne, now I know. Piet also mentioned having a propensity for overcleaning, as I always have. I've been using cleaners sparingly, using no bristled cleaners in a couple weeks, and abstaining from liquor. I can already taste a difference and am hoping I'll get even more flavor by the month's end.
Used to damn near fill up my little home office trashcan with cleaners, those things are almost as much a habit as my smoking.
Used to damn near fill up my little home office trashcan with cleaners, those things are almost as much a habit as my smoking.
Wayne_Teipen
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I've also been known to recycle my pipe cleaners. Heck, I figure if they're layin' around and have dried out, all I need them for is to soak up some moisture, right? 
LIPIPE
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Below is a post I originally read on Pipes.org which I thought was very informative and I'm sharing it below:
"I've restored hundreds of pipes and sometimes it's amazing how dirty they are, especially on the inside. Most of us run a pipe cleaner through the airway when we've finished a smoke and figure that when the pipe cleaner comes out clean, the pipe is clean. We forget that the pipe cleaner will do almost nothing to clean the airway in the stummel which is much larger than the airway in the stem. Here's a simple fool-proof way to really get the inside of your pipe clean and sweet.
If you can find it where you live, get some high proof, potable alcohol at the local liquor store. The standard brand is 190 proof Everclear. (Make sure it's the high test variety - they do sell a lower proof). Sometimes you can find a "Vodka" which has the same 190 proof. I use Volkov vodka because it's cheaper than Everclear. I don't recommend denatured alcohol. (It's pure but it's poison - why take a chance? "Pipe Sweetener" (if you can still buy it) is a waste of money. It's just about all alcohol with a little good smelling stuff in it and, in the tiny containers in which it's sold, the cost is 20 times that of some cheap, high-test booze. (Just don't forget to explain to the guy at the liquor store that you're not really drinking Everclear).
The stem is easiest to clean because vulcanite and lucite don't absorb anything. Bristly pipe cleaners are a must for all of this - smooth ones will take forever since they create very little friction. When clean, there should be no color on the pipe cleaner.
For the mortise in the shank, if the tenon doesn't go all the way to the shoulder of the mortise, there will be a crusty area of dried residue which is best to scrape off with a dental tool before you start with the alcohol and Q-tips. You can also make a tool for this operation by getting a small headed, long wood screw and screwing it into a dowel. You can then insert the screw head into the mortise and scrape this area of residue to either remove it or at least loosen it up. Then go at it with Q-tips dipped in alcohol until the Q tips come out pretty much clean. Get the paper shafted Q-tips. The plastic ones are too flexible.
For the airway in the shank, you can get a very small spiral type brush at the hardware which fits well into a 5/32 airway. Wet it with alcohol and run it back and forth in the airway for about 10 seconds - then wipe it off on a paper towel and repeat until the residue on the towel is fairly light in color. Finish with bristly pipe. Double up the bristly pipe cleaner at both ends. Dip one end in alcohol. Clean with that end and then run the other end (dry) through to remove what you've loosened up. You're done when the pipe cleaner (wet) comes out sort of gray. Unless the pipe is almost new, you'll never get all the residual "tobacco juice" out of the briar of the shank.
Another handy aid if you have a very dirty airway is a drill bit the same size as the airway. If there's a lot of accumulated grunge in the airway, the drill will get most of it out and save a lot of pipe cleaners and elbow grease. You'll need to get a couple of "aircraft drills" at the hardware which are around 8 inches long since most standard length drill bits won't be long enough to reach all the way. It's helpful to have a pin vise type handle to put the drill into. It gives you a little leverage and helps control the drill bit. This is all done by hand and never with the drill bit in an electric drill.
Let the pipe dry overnight and you're good to go.
If the pipe was very dirty, requiring use of a lot of alcohol, you may find that the alcohol has dried out the briar and the stem is a little loose when you're done. Usually a couple of smokes will re-hydrate the wood and the stem will be tight again.
If you've got a really dirty pipe, this whole process can take a half an hour or more. But, you'll be amazed at how sweet the pipe will smoke when you're done."
I generally smoke three bowls in my pipe and clean it thoroughly with a cleaner dipped in Apricot Brandy. I find that the brandy works well, and the taste of the brandy on the bit when I relight a previously cleaned pipe is delightful.
"I've restored hundreds of pipes and sometimes it's amazing how dirty they are, especially on the inside. Most of us run a pipe cleaner through the airway when we've finished a smoke and figure that when the pipe cleaner comes out clean, the pipe is clean. We forget that the pipe cleaner will do almost nothing to clean the airway in the stummel which is much larger than the airway in the stem. Here's a simple fool-proof way to really get the inside of your pipe clean and sweet.
If you can find it where you live, get some high proof, potable alcohol at the local liquor store. The standard brand is 190 proof Everclear. (Make sure it's the high test variety - they do sell a lower proof). Sometimes you can find a "Vodka" which has the same 190 proof. I use Volkov vodka because it's cheaper than Everclear. I don't recommend denatured alcohol. (It's pure but it's poison - why take a chance? "Pipe Sweetener" (if you can still buy it) is a waste of money. It's just about all alcohol with a little good smelling stuff in it and, in the tiny containers in which it's sold, the cost is 20 times that of some cheap, high-test booze. (Just don't forget to explain to the guy at the liquor store that you're not really drinking Everclear).
The stem is easiest to clean because vulcanite and lucite don't absorb anything. Bristly pipe cleaners are a must for all of this - smooth ones will take forever since they create very little friction. When clean, there should be no color on the pipe cleaner.
For the mortise in the shank, if the tenon doesn't go all the way to the shoulder of the mortise, there will be a crusty area of dried residue which is best to scrape off with a dental tool before you start with the alcohol and Q-tips. You can also make a tool for this operation by getting a small headed, long wood screw and screwing it into a dowel. You can then insert the screw head into the mortise and scrape this area of residue to either remove it or at least loosen it up. Then go at it with Q-tips dipped in alcohol until the Q tips come out pretty much clean. Get the paper shafted Q-tips. The plastic ones are too flexible.
For the airway in the shank, you can get a very small spiral type brush at the hardware which fits well into a 5/32 airway. Wet it with alcohol and run it back and forth in the airway for about 10 seconds - then wipe it off on a paper towel and repeat until the residue on the towel is fairly light in color. Finish with bristly pipe. Double up the bristly pipe cleaner at both ends. Dip one end in alcohol. Clean with that end and then run the other end (dry) through to remove what you've loosened up. You're done when the pipe cleaner (wet) comes out sort of gray. Unless the pipe is almost new, you'll never get all the residual "tobacco juice" out of the briar of the shank.
Another handy aid if you have a very dirty airway is a drill bit the same size as the airway. If there's a lot of accumulated grunge in the airway, the drill will get most of it out and save a lot of pipe cleaners and elbow grease. You'll need to get a couple of "aircraft drills" at the hardware which are around 8 inches long since most standard length drill bits won't be long enough to reach all the way. It's helpful to have a pin vise type handle to put the drill into. It gives you a little leverage and helps control the drill bit. This is all done by hand and never with the drill bit in an electric drill.
Let the pipe dry overnight and you're good to go.
If the pipe was very dirty, requiring use of a lot of alcohol, you may find that the alcohol has dried out the briar and the stem is a little loose when you're done. Usually a couple of smokes will re-hydrate the wood and the stem will be tight again.
If you've got a really dirty pipe, this whole process can take a half an hour or more. But, you'll be amazed at how sweet the pipe will smoke when you're done."
I generally smoke three bowls in my pipe and clean it thoroughly with a cleaner dipped in Apricot Brandy. I find that the brandy works well, and the taste of the brandy on the bit when I relight a previously cleaned pipe is delightful.
Harlock999
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Thanks LIPIPE, that's good info!