actually, a "pipebid" wouldn't be too bad. i'd be down for a place that has a lot of pipe tobacco that goes for a lot cheaper than it does in B&Ms.
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I want pipebid!
SWMBO surely does not
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Nasty on the outside, I assume its Vulcanite (they're on mid to nice briars). Some are worse than others. The really bad ones have changed colors, but most of the bad ones just have a slightly visible crystallization on the outside of them. The good ones look fine but still taste like **** when you lick the outside.
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4 great sources...I could add one more to the list...

cupojoes.com
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I heard there are people who sell used pipes and they pee (or worse) on the stems before they ship them. Never knew why. I always clean and sterilize each pipe I buy in case... you know.

Scour the inside of the stem with a bristle cleaner and alcohol, then:

I never tried this but a reliable hardcase told me a tablespoon of OxiClean in a quart of water soaks nasty vulcanite clean in 30-minutes or longer and, he said, doesn't think it'll hurt any ink or nomenclature on a stem. Do a test soak first if there's any nomenclature you care about on these pipestems. Sounds like the easy way to me.

There is the traditional soak in 100% chlorine bleach. It really works well but will damage nomenclature on a stem unless it's covered with a dab of Vaseline. Bleach takes an hour or three and it leaves vulcanite black as ink but feeling a bit furry. After a bleach soak (and water rinse) it'll need to be rubbed out with mild polishing abrasive. I never used sandpaper to clean stems - only MicroMesh polishing cloth (1500-12,000 for perfection). Depending on how furry the stems are post-bleach you may be able to skip sanding and find that a paper towel rubdown with toothpaste and/or baking soda will finish things up nicely.

Finish with a light rub of olive oil.

I used a Mr. Clean Magic Eraser followed by toothpaste once. I thought it worked so-so; no trick to try it - some people swear by Magic Eraser. Personally I didn't think it worked very well (but it worked so-so, right?) on bad oxidation, I hate the feel of the things in my hand and I felt it needed a lot of rubbing pressure. Try that if you have one around. Nothing ventured. Any of these processes will make vulcanite or ebonite stems look like new and render them tasteless.

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Well, I would have a question, but (over the course of the preceeding few days) I read this thread all the way through and you have answered everything I can think of! Good Show! Thanks Old Farts! (and Pipe kid)
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:-), thanks, I'll give the oxiclean a try. :-)


PEE? :-)
fortunately all my pipes are from my grandfather's estate, no ebaying for me
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Olive Oil can turn rancid sitting on the stem of a pipe if you don't rotate it fast enough...you're better off buying a can of Briar Pipe Wipe and some Handi-Wipes and making yourself some great polishing cloths...Briar Pipe Wipe has Mink Oil, Beeswax, and Lemon Oil in it...much better than olive oil...
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if you soak it in oxiclean, put a dab of Vaseline on any markings on the stem.
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I must be a fast roto-tater; never experienced a rancid pipe (neither do I coat my pipestems until they're soggy).
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I've used Oxiclean an a few ULTRA nasty vulcanite stems. I was real generous and didn't measure when I did this. Stems didn't have a nomenclature, so that wasn't a worry for my particular cleaning. I can say that the Oxiclean worked great! The stem was so nasty that the soak fizzed and bubbled when I dropped it in .... as if I had added an Alka-Seltzer.
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grocery store run scheduled for tomorrow, I'll pick up some oxiclean.

WHY the olive oil or pipe oil or anything for that matter. Or rather, the real question - what happens if you do nothing?
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The pipes end up looking dull...
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Applying oil to vulcanite stems retards oxidization. I prefer USP (food grade) mineral oil, its colorless, odorless and imparts no flavor of its own, better still it's cheap and will not go rancid.

p.s. it’s sold in supermarkets and pharmacies as a laxative.
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Ahhhhh, "retards oxidation", dems is the magical words :-), definately need that since I won't be rotating through the pipes all that much. Thanks!

*adds laxitive to grocery store list*

oxiclean and laxitive.... should look good going through the checkout. I'll just tell him the doc told me to clean out my colon but I coulfnt afford "dem fancy medicines" :-)
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That rubber stuff will oxidize in time no matter how often the pipe is smoked. Prevention is better than polishing IMO.
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:-) Nice Francis
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Looks more like you plan on crapping your pants!!!
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Same end result, right? :-):-)
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I just landed a sampler in the Newbie Pipe Tobacco Trade with English blends, Aromatics, and Vapers. I remember reading something about certain pipe tobacco's soaking up the aromas in the air around them.

Is it okay to keep several different blends in close proximity to each other as long as they are all in their tins or zip locked?

Would there be any reason to separate certain blends from the rest?

Could several different blends be kept together in a mason jar or other sealed container as long as they are all individually zip locked?

Thanks in advance.
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