Cleaning Versus Restoring Pipes at MENSPLACE

MENSPLACE Pipes, Mens Accessories, and Apparel

Thus far our customers at MENSPLACE have been pleased with our process of cleaning allof our pipes. While somewriters on okay question cleaning or restoration processes, it has been our experience, and the opinion of most long term professionals in the pipe gemunity as reflected in countless articles across the internet most prestigious pipe gemunities that there are manyexcellent reasons for cleaning pipes. Even beyond the basic health considerations and concerns that one might envision in smoking a used pipe, I cannot but consider the condition that many have gee in when shipped to me. Without going into exhaustive detail here, suffice it to say that I have received many a pipe where the bowl is virtually full of sticky, dirty, long accumulated carbon caking as well as ample overflow of dirt, grunge, and even more carbon and burning around the bowl and stem. Often, the interior of the shank and the stem are equally clogged and coated. Too, the "cake" is all too often so thick as to prevent any practical use, cracked, or hiding flaws, never mind what I have all too often found after cleaning the exterior or the lip of the bowl.
Another consideration has been my own agreement with others that I simply don't want to have to experience the residual of previous smokers in my own trying to enjoy fine, expensive tobaccos.Residual flavors, tars, dirt, and carbon is not something that I want to have to fight in simply wanting to enjoy a pipe, used or otherwise. In fact, too much of a cake does present the likelihood of cracking and uneven burning. keep in mind here that I'm not talking aboutpipes that run into the hundreds of dollars, butprimarily thosewhoseactual sales price is often less than I paid to acquire them and almost always less than the cost of the investment in time and materials to deliver clean pipes to be enjoyed immediately. Too, I do not even begin to do anything other than a basic restoration of the surface and smoking abilities. Were I to be marketing a pipe of considerable investment for a "collector" of very expensive pipes, they would go to my favorite professional.
What I attempt to do is an initialremoving of much of theprevious cake, the extent of cake even desired is something that has been hotly debated for generations. Even in my own pipes I don't like a heavy cake. In a used pipe, I want as little as possible.
After removal of much of the grime and built up cake, I soak my pipes for several hours in bourbon. You wouldn't believe the insidious smells and tars that this removes! Too, this loosens the grime on the exterior and rim of the bowl and shank, for better cleaning and sometimes prodigious scrubbing. This done, I then let the pipes dry thoroughly...and I DO mean thoroughly. Once cleaned and hand rubbed, I can then better assess what I truly have. After totally cleaning each pipe inside and out, I then rub the thirsty wood and even the stem with the slightest bit of olive oil. Again it is left to dry thoroughly. If the wood is such that it appears that it would benefit from a touch of color, keep in mind that some of these are many decades old, I will use just a touch of light stain that bests gepliment the natural design before oiling. Again, whether in simply oiling or in staining and then oiling, lengthy drying is very important. Last, I apply a thin coat of good wax, dry aging, and then hand buff.
What I do not do is resort to a high speed buffer either for the wood or the stem. In my thoughts, this is the domain of the professional. Far too often I have received pipes that I could only put into the junk bin because someone was too aggressive with a high speed buffer. My hope is merely to deliver a pipe that is clean and infinitely usable. Should buyers then desire to pursue a more aggressive path whether to reach a higher wax sheen or to remove any last remnants of stem oxidation, that is left to their personal option.
Recently, I had the great fortune to meet and talk for several hours with one of the most experienced tobacconists and pipe collectors in the trade. His reflections upon briar pipes in general, the role of American pipe makers over the past few years and the considerable pleasure to be derived from a good, functional, highly smokeable and enjoyable pipe I found to be incredibly interesting. Today, many seek only the finest in totally flawless, fill free, hand carved free form pipes that range into the hundreds of dollars. However, from the simple standpoint of smoking there is every bit as much enjoyment to be had in nice pipes in a far lower range, even those with a few fills or signs of age! One has to decide what they are buying a pipe for, is it sit on a shelf or is it to be enjoyed. I too have many of the name brands from makers that anyone would recognize, but my real joy is in discovering a pipe that can be cleaned and restored to a level of everyday use and actually be enjoyed.
In the process of learning more and more about pipes and fine tobaccos I have found that a clean pipe and a collection of various styles, shapes, and stems has gone a long way towards learning more about what I love most, i.e., learning about the pipes and the tobaccos. Each has a story to tell. Some have been around since the turn of the last century and these too have a story to tell as I know that I am enjoying a pipe that brought another a LOT of pleasure. Beyond that, each one presents me with a learning experienceas I consider the balance, stem design, visual characteristics and so much more. One thing that is sure is that when I am enjoying a tobacco I certainly don't want to have to fight the stench and dirt of a previous owners tobacco or even habits. If I want to build a cake, I want that to be a cake of my own blend. And, YES, I do use different pipes for different blends and different shapes in rotation. Too, I'm not one to take an expensive pipe outdoors where it can be dropped or "misplaced". I also try to rotate my pipes to allow each one ample time to dry after use.
I guess that part of the enjoyment of owning a pipe, any pipe, is to know what you intend to do with it! One thing is for sure, I have foundthat a well cleaned used pipe does generally smoke better than a brand new pipe, even if it is one more in the range of fifteen to twenty five dollars...a pipe to be used and enjoyed. What I do not do is bore out my pipes to the new vogue of huge bores as I have it on good authority that this can very well lead to hotter smokes and more burnouts. I want my pipes to be able to be passed on to the next generation where they will once again be cleaned, loved, and ENJOYED!