What C'Cut said about a retort - use carefully and consider it has a learning curve.

This site gives a good look at a professional approach with some helpful photos.

I was a gifted retort (home made from test tubes and surgical tubing) but my sorriest used pipe purchases - I mean ultra-grungies - have so far ended up clean and sweet with kosher (non-iodized) salt and 190-proof Everclear treatments. I suspect stories about cracked bowls and salt involved treatments using higher water content fluids (like 80-proof booze or maybe 70* rubbing alcohol) and extended soaking but I dunno, really. All I know is my method has been good for years and dozens of pipes. The booze and cotton ball guys never report a problem so who knows. I think that Everclear-190 and a wicking pipe cleaner pulls crud out of the pipe and then evaporates so fast that the briar won't saturate with residual water and, thus, has no opportunity to swell and crack.

My pipes get stinky enough for a cleaning with alcohol about once or twice a year. The nose tells all. After reaming, if needed, I use a method like this:

1. stick a loose-fit fluffy thru the stem and down into the bowl;
2. nearly top the bowl with kosher coarse salt (or cotton) - don't top it off or you might not see rising alcohol until it's too late and overflows;
3. secure the pipe at an angle, stem end slightly higher than the rim of the bowl, such that it won't move or tip;
4. carefully eye-dropper Everclear into the bowl quitting before an overflow;
5. come back in an hour and see brown grunge wicking up the fluffy from the stem; carefully remove the fluffy and replace with a clean one; refill the bowl with Everclear as needed.
6. Repeat until pipe cleaners are coming out clean(ish).
7. Assuming the salt (cotton) goes pretty brown allow the bowl to dry out (a few hours or overnight) dump the salt (cotton) and repeat the process. Take care the bowl is dry when removing the salt (cotton) so no alky dribbles on the pipe finish.
8. Finish the stem and shank with alky-dipped bristle cleaners.

Voila.

For my once a year deal, this usually takes one load of salt, several pipe cleaners and a couple of booze toppings while reading, surfing or watching TV over a couple of hours. For a screwed estate pipe that was globbed with aromatic I-don't-know-what it might take several replacements of salt (cotton) in the bowl and 20-30 pipe cleaners. For the totally screwed pipe (or for a pro who doesn't have hours to monitor and sanitize a pipe) I can see why a retort is a time-saving tool. I'm not sure one is worth the effort for just-folks like me who thoroughly cleans a pipe or two mon,th while slouching around the den.

Spit and a paper towel (or soft toothbrush) cleans rims.

A few hours of bleach soaking cleans the most oxydized vulcanite (assuming there are not logos on the stem that bleach will ruin);
some swear by Magic Eraser to clean vulcanite - it never works for me;
wet sanding with Micro Mesh polishing paper is the bees knees (grit 3500 to 12000) to clean vulcanite for me;
rubbing gritty toothpaste (Arm & Hammer) with an electric toothbrush (not the one you stick in your mouth that evening ) or damp wet paper towels cleans less nasty stems and polishes very well;
a final wipe with olive oil and things look spectacular.

I am not a carnuba waxer but, if you have a low speed flannel wheel, it'll lay on a shiney hard finish. Beware standard buffers - they can melt stems and remove pipe nomenclature in a blink.
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I have a question for you experienced pipe smokers:

How much does humidity affect pipes that are being stored in a rack?

My "Mini-ManCave" is located on my screened-in back porch. Humidity varies every day, and I wondered if there was a chance that my pipes could be damaged while resting in a rack on the shelf out there, especially in the warmer months. I plan on taking them inside when the weather gets cold.

Any comments?




:-)
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Since nobody who knows anything has answered yet I'll kick this off with a non-expert opinion.

Briar is remarkably resiliant and can handle extremes in temperature and moisture. While your pipestems might get snugger or looser as humidity varies I can't imagine up-north temp and humidity will hurt the pipes. I've bought some great "estate" pipes that were probably in someones garage for 30-years - who asks? Exposure to UV/sunlight isn't a good thing for finished wood or vulcanite; the possibility of mold exists if the pipes stay too damp for too long; and swings in humidity and temp don't help the fine tolerances that make up a good pipe.

I sometimes leave a pipe or two on the back porch for a day or two and some sit in the car for days. No problems. But I'd not leave my pipe rack and pipes on the porch. I like them out of direct (or even indirect) sunlight, in a dry/steady environment and away from the weird things that happen on my back porch.

Are your pipes stinking up someone elses living space? I can relate. But they still ain't going on the porch.
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I'd like to ask a newbie question. What do many of you mean when you talk about rubbing out some tabak before filling your pipe bowl?

There are some terms used by many of you that just don't compute to this newbie smoker.

I've always just filled the bowl with the chosen tobacco, lit, it and commenced smoking.
What am I missing here? :-)

Thanks in advance! :-)
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Many tobaccos are compressed (flat or round) and then sliced into flakes. While flakes can often be rolled up or folded and simply stuffed (or screwed) into a pipe there are times where you might do better breaking the stuff up into finer pieces. Sometimes a flake tastes better and sometimes it burns better when it's "rubbed out" to a finer texture. If you get your hands on some flake tobak you'll figure it out in about 2-minutes.

Some flakes are pre-mangled (shredded) at the factory and they call that ready-rubbed. Some ready rub is good right into the pipe and, sometimes, it's a bit too coarse and needs to be rubbed out further by the smoker. And so on and so forth. Try some flake tobaks. They great.

ImageImage
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Also, you can always cut up a flake with a knife or put it into a coffee grinder for a finer cut if you like. There's really no right or wrong way to smoke flakes or rub them out.

I always rub out my flakes somewhat. I have tried to get the fold and pack technique down but it never works for me. I have, however, seen Moo fold and pack some Navy Flake and it worked like a dream. I guess it comes with experience.
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Thanks Dan and Scott! Most of the tobacco that I've tried seems to be cut in "ribbons" I guess, but I came across a couple of small tins at a small shop nearby that had a tin of Dunhill Light Flake Virginia Tobacco - possibly Murray's - it says made in the UK, and I also bought a small tin of Mac Baren Viginia Flake. Are these the "VA" types of tobaccos that I hear so much about on this forum? Are these decent blends? I've never smoked any of these. I've pretty been enjoying my Klompen Kloggen sample as well as Carter Hall and good ole' Prince Al, while breaking in my new "estate pipes. :-)
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The trouble is that, while you might be a fart, you're not an OLD fart. It's all the difference. However, the clock is ticking. I've had more good luck with fold'n'stuffing MacBarens Navy Flake than some others. Maybe this is because MNF arrives more dry in the tin than many others - or maybe the burley burns better than my more favored un-burley flakes. shrug Try the Mac - it's a snap as flakes go. Escudo is a good roller-folder if it's dry enough but can ruin my day when it's fresh and damp.

'A'y'oop, there are many flake products to try and experiment with when you feel inclined. Some people favor them and some never bother. Escudo is the all time great VaPer; Stokkebyes Luxury Bullseye Flake is a rocksolid great product; the MacB Navy Flake is good; Full Virginia flake... It's a long list of what to try.
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I bow down to your wisdom Moo. You are correct. I am not as long in the tooth as you but I'm not too far behind.

Knock, knock
Who's there?
40 years old
Oh crap!!
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Agreed with one exception, breaking in a new pipe.

Once the pipes has cooled, use a pipe tool to loosen the ash and any dottle in the bottom of the bowl, cover the whole with your thumb and give the pipe a good shake to coat the chamber, then tap the pipe to remove the loose matter.

Do not swab or blow out the bowl, what has clung to the walls will help build up a cake.
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I'm not a new pipe smoker, but I'm definitely not an Old Fart, so I ask: in line with mixing different blends to create your own flavor, does anyone layer different tobacco blends in the bowl? If so, what blends are used?

Matt
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Matt, a ton of people do that. They make their own tobacco parfait if you will. I usually do something similar if I do this like a Virginia on top and a Virginia/Perique blend on bottom. But I have heard of some crazy combinations like an aromatic on top and a heavy latakia blend on bottom.

It is all about personal tastes. If you have two favorites give it a try. You never know what you may find.

On a side note, this reminds me of a time in college when I thought that it would be a good idea to put garlic powder on my tuna fish sandwich. My thought process was that I liked tuna fish sandwiches and I liked garlic powder so why not mix them?!?!?! Do not try that at home. It was disgusting!
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First, I like garlic on my tuna - kills the taste of the tuna.

Second, I like parfaits. VaPers, with English. VA, with VaPers. And yes, VaPers finished with English.
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1. What humidity should I store my pipe tobacco in?

2. Is the tobacco okay with various blends in their own individual plastic baggies yet intermingled with other blends in their own plastic baggies? For example I've 3 small bags of tobacco, each a different blend, in the same humidor.

3. Lastly, is there any issue keeping a tin of tobacco in my humidor with my other non-tinned tobacco?

Thanks in advance!
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Store, once opened, at a good smoking moisture* in a glass jar with a sealing type lid (Mason, Kerr, etc.). They work but sooner or later tobak always dries out in baggies. Baggies are good for a week or two but ultimately let you down. Check out 4-8 ounce canning jar at WallyWorld, Target, etc. You don't want to stink up your humidor with pipe tobak, by the way; either that or you don't want to stink up your pipe tobak with cigar humidor smell.

Some folks sterilize jars/lids to prevent mold from developing before storing tobak.

*guidelines: squeeze a wad of tobak betwixt the thumb and index; it should compress and spring back lightly. If it cracks, too dry; if it doesn't spring back at least a bit, too moist.
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I'd like to add my two cents ... I made the mistake of getting large, quart sized jars and that's a lot of wasted space unless you have a LOT of each blend to store. I'd definitely go with something smaller like MisterMoo said - in the 4 to 8 ounce range. I've seen short, wide-mouth jars that look like they'll stack beautifully and I'm going to pick some of those up soon.
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Thank you gents :-)
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All of my tobacco's moved over to wide mouth Kerr jars. It does look a bit more stylish than in gray plastic baggies I must say :-)
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I'm in the same boat. I'm gonna hope you are still alive and PM you my address too.

PS Are amber stems cared for differently from i.e. vulcanite ones?
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Are there any jars out there with a tight seal lid? I'm not looking for canning jars per se, since I don't want to have to pressure seal them closed; I just want to open, smoke, close, as you said?

Preferably something in a 4 oz. variety?
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