Internal tobacco pipe maintenance
To ensure you always have pleasant and satisfying smokes, internal tobacco pipe maintenance is essential.
In this article we will explore the basic techniques for internal pipe maintenance, an aspect that is often overlooked but crucial to preserving the quality and longevity of the tobacco pipe.
Coal crust maintenance
The charcoal crust that forms on the walls of the tobacco pipe stove results from the deposition of very small particles during combustion.
As these particles cool quickly, they become fixed on the inner surface of the stove, creating a kind of "protective jacket."
In order for this process to occur evenly, the walls of the stove should be cleaned after each smoke, removing any remaining unburned tobacco fragments stuck to the walls.
To promote proper crust formation, an optimal smoking technique is also important, that is, in small, regular puffs.
Regarding the maintenance of the crust, some incorrect practices should be avoided
A rather common mistake is emptying the hot tobacco pipe by tapping the stove on the ashtray. This is detrimental because the rind is stressed by thermomechanical stresses, due to the abrupt transition from hot to cold in the rind.
This causes cracking and subsequent detachment of the crust from the stove.
When you do not have pipe cleaners and pipe tampers on hand, it is best to tap the tobacco pipe on the palm of your hand.
Incorrect use of the pipe cleaner can also be decisive. In fact, there is a risk of using the pipe tampers to cut more or less deeply into the crust.
If there is then thermomechanical tension, it is more likely to create cracks that compromise the structure.
Flavoring the stove, perhaps with whiskey, should be avoided. The risk is always to weaken it, causing it to detach.
As you might imagine, incorrect use of the cutter for crust reduction is also crucial.
Excessive pressure on the walls of the stove, or its disaxiality from the same, can create uneven tears in the surface of the rind. Ideally, moderate, regularly distributed pressure should be applied so that an even abrasive action is practiced.
An alternative to cutters is abrasive paper, passing first a coarser type and then a finer one, so that the surface of the crust is smooth and not very porous.
After this operation of regular tear of the crust (until a thickness of about two millimeters is left), one must blow inside the stove and the shank and pass a pipe cleaner, so as to remove the pulverized crust residue and abrasive particles left on the walls.
Remove deposits in the shank
This operation is done at the end of smoking. You have to take out the mouthpiece, being careful since the tobacco pipe is hot, and then blow hard into the shank, and then wipe the pipe cleaner several times.
If you are in the habit of cleaning the pipe every time you use it, you can use soft pipe cleaners (you can find them at the best price online here), as the deposits to be removed will be minimal. In addition, the soft pipe cleaner will help dry up condensation due to tobacco moisture or smoking technique.
In case, on the other hand, the cleaning of the shank is occasional, abrasive pipe cleaners should be preferred, because tarry deposits made sticky by smoking will have formed.
If the shank has not been cleaned for a long time, this operation may be insufficient, because the tar layer will have hardened. In such a case one would have to resort to liquid solvents, which allow the tar to be dissolved.
If solvent is used, it should be considered that this will leave an unpleasant smell in the stove that may persist for several smokes.
So it should only be used if the tar has solidified and is complicated to remove with pipe cleaners.
If this need arises, the solvent should be left in the shank for a few hours and then plug the passage to the stove and the other end of the shank so that the liquid does not evaporate too quickly.
After 5-6 hours, one can reopen the duct and pour away the solvent, which will have turned a reddish-brown color in the meantime. Then an abrasive pipe cleaner and a soft one are passed to dry the tobacco pipe.
At this point the disassembled tobacco pipe is allowed to sit for at least 2 to 3 hours so that the solvent odor dissolves.
If the tar deposits are recent, it is best to insist on abrasive pipe cleaners.
The general advice is to try to avoid this practice as much as possible, instead devoting those few minutes of time to cleaning the pipe after each smoke.
Internal maintenance of the mouthpiece
Internal maintenance of the mouthpiece is very similar to that of the shank.
At the end of the smoke, the pipe cleaner should also be passed through the mouthpiece, otherwise you may have to apply solvent.
In methacrylate or ebonite mouthpieces, simply wipe a soft pipe cleaner with the solvent and repeat the operation until it comes out free of tarry traces. Finally, it dries with a wipe with a soft pipe cleaner.
Only in the case of horn mouthpieces is it a good idea to repeat the operation several times, as it is more absorbent.