All about Pipe Maintenance

Smoking and care of the pipe

Here is good expert advice on how to keep your pipes in perfect condition, even after years of diligent use. It has been many years since anything has been written about how to maintain your pipes yourself. We now remedy that, through this article and a few more, in the following issues of Piber & Tobak. I will go through the daily handling of the pipe and the very big trip, where you scrape and polish according to all the rules of the art. We must also look at which repairs and adjustments you can manage yourself, with relatively simple means, and also which ones you stand by letting the pipe maker fix. I will probably also touch on how to maintain a meerschaum pipe. It is, after all, a bit more delicate than the regular Bruyer pipes in some respects. Other, slightly more special pipes made of porcelain, chalk (clay) and calabash, I will also try to give a few words along the way. Most of you probably know a few tricks beforehand, not least if you have read the award-winning 'Stop', or some of old Olrik's other writings on the subject. But as I said, it has been a long time since they were written, and fortunately many new pipe smokers have joined the site. And the rest of us probably won't be harmed by a little further education. Well?

Pipe Maintenance in Everyday Life

I would venture the claim that there are two kinds of pipe smokers. Roughly speaking, maybe. But still. One is a person with one, or at most a couple of pipes. He can't bear to smoke a new pipe. "It tastes damned, the first many bags of tobacco". It's actually only when he can barely get his little finger into the chamber that it really tastes like a pipe (snadde)! Look, there are some of us who don't really understand. Once the pipe is in such a state, it doesn't really matter what you stop in it. It all tastes the same. But perhaps that is precisely the charm. No, where the misery lies is probably in the choice of pipe, and not least tobacco. Those who swear by the good pipes have probably tried a 'brick' for a 20s at some point. But it's never really going to work. Not even with such a good tobacco. The wood is usually of such poor quality that if it doesn't burn through fairly quickly, it at least turns sour. Already after a few stops. So a pipe of a certain quality is the prerequisite for the full enjoyment of the tobacco. Which tobacco you want to smoke on the pipe, we shall not go into here; all I want to say is that the fatter the tobacco, the longer the pipe must rest between each stop. It should preferably be completely dry at the bottom of the tobacco chamber before you stop again. So you can hardly have less than 4-6 pipes, if you e.g. smokes 6 stops a day. Pipe cleaners are also an absolute part of the daily handling of the pipe. Regardless of whether you use pipe cleaners while smoking, or simply need to clean after you've stopped smoking. In my opinion, it is not worth saving on the cleaners. There are countless brands for sale, but many of them are not worth the money, no matter how cheap they are. The pipe cleaner must first of all suck well. I think it was Jakob Groth who did a test of pipe cleaners several years ago. The test he used was simple but very telling: take one of your cleaners, bend it into an open spiral and place it on the surface of a cup of water. If it sucks effectively, it will sink to the bottom instantly. Half-bad cleaners will float for 10-15 seconds, while really bad ones will keep floating. Think about what actually happens when you pull the pipe cleaner through the tip. If the cleaner does not suck properly, it will simply distribute sauce and tobacco residue in the channel. If the cleaner also fluffs a lot, things go completely wrong. So if your pipe cleaners can't pass the test, you have to look for someone who can do the job. Now that we are using the pipe cleaner, there are a few more things to remember. The pin (the part of the tip that goes into the throat) must also be cleaned. Especially on the surface with the hole. A lot of dirt can easily accumulate here, which contributes to making the pipe sour. And of course the flue in the pipe head must also be cleaned. I usually remove the tip first (remember to wait until the pipe has cooled). Then I pull the cleaner through the tip, after which I fold it double on the bottom 4 cm. Then the pin gets a turn and then the flue. Remember to get well into the "hook", where the tap hole goes into the flue. Depending on how dirty the cleaner gets, you must use one or more. If you use this method, the pipe can stay fresh for a long time, without much other maintenance. If, on the other hand, you do not use pipe cleaners after each stop, the flue will eventually grow. The draw will get worse and the pipe will start to sour. Already after 4 - 5 stops, more than one dry pipe cleaner is needed to make the pipe clean again. I'll get back to that. Also remember to wipe off the tip and especially the bite after you have smoked the pipe. Then the tip can stay nice for a long time. If you don't want to use the shirt or sweater for that, you have to start wearing a handkerchief. After all, it can also be used for the nose in a tight turn. Ideally, there should be a nice head at both ends of the pipe. If you are very enthusiastic, you can invest in a special polishing cloth. Dunhill and Savinelli make some that are quite excellent. They are impregnated with wax or similar and can thus also keep the pipe head shiny. But don't use them for your nose!

Main cleaning of Bruyere Pipes

No matter how carefully you take care of your pipe in everyday life, it will invariably need a major overhaul once in a while. Even the finest rod tip will invariably become dull or greenish over time. And the coke in the tobacco chamber will be too thick. Let's start with the tip: first, the flue and the spigot must be properly cleaned. For this, you must use a cleaning liquid that can dissolve what the daily cleaning does not remove. There are several options here. The best available is called 2211. This fluid was invented by pipe maker Gert Holbek in 1967. It is, according to his own statement, a non-toxic (in 1967) mixture with a pleasant smell, which dissolves all the waste substances that are deposited in the neck and tip. Finally, it impregnates against bacteria. It's also an excellent polish remover, I might add, so don't spill it on the table. Rough cases - but formidable for cleaning pipes with. Regular alcohol can also do it, or even brandy. But 2211 is clearly the best. Dip the end of a pipe cleaner into the cleaning liquid and pass it through the tip. You will be amazed at how much dirt it gets in, despite the daily cleaning. So a cleanser is probably not enough. When the result is satisfactory, finish with a dry cleanser. The pin is also cleaned with the cleaning liquid. Either with a pipe cleaner, or with the napkin moistened with the liquid. Then we come to the external inspection. Is the tip just a little dull, or has it turned a greenish color? In the first case, it only needs to be waxed once. Not just any kind of wax, but carnauba wax. This can be purchased from most major pipe shops. Carnauba wax is a hard wax. So with a relatively high melting point. This makes it a bit difficult to work with, but then a polishing lasts a long time. The wax can be applied manually or by machine. For manual application, you can use the aforementioned polishing cloth, which is already impregnated, or rub a piece of washcloth (genuine) with wax until the leather is shiny with wax. Then you rub the tip vigorously with the skin. Tappen would also like to have a turn. Then it slides more easily into the pin hole. You finish by polishing the tip in a soft cloth. For mechanical application, you must use a lambskin pad for the drill. The usual size that fits a 13 cm rubber ring is excellent. It just must not be smaller. The pad is set at a good speed and the wax is held for a moment, with firm pressure. The tip can now be polished on the pad. This is most easily done while the tip is on the pipe. But hold on to the pipe so it doesn't fly away from you. If the tip is very dull, a certain amount of pressure is needed at the start so that the wax can melt and penetrate the pores. But then the tip simply needs to be "brushed" off the pad. The lighter the pressure, the shinier the pipe. However, be careful not to get too much wax on. If it gets too much wax, it will dull again as soon as you touch it. It pays to be careful here. A perfect wax polish can last for many months, even with frequent use of the pipe. What do we do if the tip has turned completely green? It doesn't look pretty. Here, in principle, the options are the same as with wax, but if you have more than 5 -10 pipes, you probably have to invest in a drill with accessories, or leave it to others; e.g. the pipe maker. There are several pipe polishing sets on the market and old household utensils such as pumice stone and hard lime can be used, but it takes a lot of time. If you are set on polishing tips often (before they get too bad), or only have a few pipes, you can try a polishing set. However, my experience says that patience usually runs out before the desired result is reached. But maybe that's because I'm constantly thinking about the 100 other pipes that also need a round? Judge for yourself! I swear by my good old hand drill. I don't even own a holder, but am relegated to the edge of the kitchen sink. It can be done, although it sucks quite a bit. But what do you not do to get beautiful, shiny pipes? To polish discolored ebonite tips, you must use a good, solid cloth disc. At least 15 cm. in diameter. If you have a holder for the drill, or a real polishing machine, you can safely go higher. Simply, the machine must be able to pull the disc and the speed must be suitable. A polishing wheel must not run too fast. To polish with, you must use a polishing compound. It is available in blocks of different sizes and with different grain size / degree of grinding. Here you are probably best off talking to a pipe maker or repairer. Here you can probably buy a small piece, or get advice on the type and dealer. But remember that if you have to buy a block of one kg, you will have enough for the next 3-400 years, unless you start polishing pipes for all the pipe smokers in town. Incidentally, the same applies to adults. I myself bought a small block of reddish-brown polishing compound and a small block of carnauba wax 10-15 years ago. I haven't used half of it yet. You can call that an investment! Well - back to the green tip. You put the cloth disc in revolutions; not too many; and keeps the polishing compound on. Then you hold the tip on the disc. Make sure to hold on well here as well. It pulls well. And be careful not to get near the drill chuck or shaft. It gives some bad scratches. Regardless of whether it is the fingers or the pipe that make contact. Some polishing is required if the tip is badly discolored. When you think that all coatings have been polished away, wipe the tip with a cloth and examine it thoroughly in good light. There are usually some places that need a little extra. But be careful not to polish the pipe neck. The color comes off immediately! Pistons in the tip can also suffer damage. Try to go around it. And make sure to get well into the edge at the bite. It's usually the worst place. When the tip has turned nice and black again, it must be cleaned of sanding compound. Here, too, the edge at the bite is important. Use possibly a toothpick or similar. here. When the tip is clean, you give it a ride with the wax as described above. Then it should be at least as beautiful as new.

Main renovation of Bruyere Pipes

Since this is a head cleaning, we must not forget the pipe head. First, the cooking layer must be removed or reduced. An old rule of thumb says max 1 -1½ m.m. cook beat. If it is thicker, it must at least be milled off. Otherwise, you risk the pipe head splitting. There are many routers on the market, but the good old Oldi router is good and cheap. It is a light conical metal cutter with 7 cutting edges and a cross pin at the end. It is available in several sizes. 17 and 19 etc. will handle most pipes, but you'll find out. Measure any the new pipe and see which one fits. There are also adjustable cutters, but they are quite a bit more expensive if the quality has to be right. It is also an advantage to have a milling cutter that is 2 m.m. smaller than the smallest pipe. It makes work easier if the cooking mixture has become sufficiently thick. When you scrape coke off the pipe, it's a good idea to put a newspaper on the table. The coal dust is very black and stinks quite horribly. If you've tried driving a coal-fired steam locomotive, you know what I'm talking about. When milling, there are several things to be aware of. You must not go too hard. Take it a little at a time and look down into the chamber at regular intervals. The cutter must be held straight in the chamber. Otherwise, you risk entering the tree, either at the top or at the bottom. The bottom of the chamber is usually the hardest. You must ensure that the flue is flush with the bottom, and does not lie down in the cooktop. It may be necessary, here too, to take a smaller cutter to get the last of the bottom scraped out. But make sure it's all even and smooth in the end. When you are finished with the cutter, you can clean the chamber with a pipe cleaner. Preferably with a little cleaning fluid on it. Coal dust doesn't taste very good either! When you're still sitting and looking down into the chamber, look right at the top of the pipe head as well. Some pipe smokers find charm in having an entire lunar landscape here. If you belong to this group, by all means let it sit, but it doesn't have to be that way. If the top is fully grown, there is actually only one cure that works. Namely, to grind it off. But it undeniably goes beyond the finish of the pipe. If it was polished in advance, you will not avoid the color also coming off. If it is not an expensive pipe maker's pipe, I have sometimes practiced coloring the top black, with grain black, after sanding. It's nicer after all. Otherwise, you will have to have a repairman re-dye it. But it is better to prevent. If you simply make sure to clean the top with a tissue moistened with water, at regular intervals, you will always have a nice top on the pipe head. It actually works on sandblasted pipes too. But it must be taken in time, otherwise it will grow firmly. A little trick I learned from an older brother in the pipe smoking, you must also bring. After cleaning the top of a smooth polished pipe with water, you can simply polish the surface on a piece of plain copy paper on a table top. The result is astonishing. Shiny glossy. Should the rest of the head, on the smooth pipe, have been scratched by fingerprints or a stay in the pocket, it can also be cleaned with water on a cloth or napkin. If it is simply waxed once afterwards, it is shiny and beautiful again. Now that we're on the outside - silver and brass rings are hugely popular on pipe necks these years. There is a special polishing compound for silver, which is absolutely wonderful to work with, but if you can't get this, they can simply be polished with ordinary Silvo, Brasso or whatever else you usually use for the three-towered. Remember to also give the metal marks at the tip a turn. It's incredible how it decorates. But here too, the rest of the pipe must be waxed once afterwards if polishing liquid has gotten on the tip or neck. It also takes the wax layer with it. And just check the tap hole afterwards. A little polishing liquid almost always seeps down between the tip and the neck, and it definitely doesn't taste good. If you use a machine to wax the pipe head, the same rules apply as for the tip. In other words, not too much wax and the pad should only just touch the wood. The gives the best result. An untreated pipe head can actually be polished with so much wax that it "sweats" the wax out again when it gets hot. And just one more warning. Never use the previously mentioned polishing compound for the tip of the pipe head, unless you plan to refinish the pipe. As I said, it takes the surface color right away, and is also quite unsuitable for polishing wood with. Remember that! But we are still missing the most important thing in connection with cleaning the pipe head. Namely the flue and the tap hole. If the pipe has been in use for a while, you need a so-called socket drill. It is available at any hardware store or hardware store. It looked like a screwdriver, but the cutting edge is the same width as the blade and is sharp. Most Bruyere pipes have a 4 m.m. flue, so this is the width the plug drill must have. The blade must be at least the same length as the smoke channel in your longest pipe. It can be difficult to find in these goals. If you cannot find a socket drill long enough, any metal blade in 4 mm will do. used in a narrow sense. They are found inside some pipe stoppers. But the socket drill is almost indispensable. Hear why. In most Bruyere pipes, the tap hole goes into the flue via a, most often, perpendicular edge. At this edge, over time, a "porridge" of inhumanities accumulates. It is almost impossible to remove with a pipe cleaner. But with the socket drill it can be conveniently scraped out. In addition, the flue itself will invariably "grow" over time. This is done, again, cleverly with the socket drill. But be careful! Always look down into the tobacco chamber during the operation. The drill bit is sharp and the smoke channel should preferably not continue out through the other wall in the chamber. On curved pipes, it may be impossible to carry out this cleaning of the flue, due to their construction. Then you have to settle for cleaning as well as possible with pipe cleaners. Pipe cleaners and cleaning fluid must of course also be used on the straight pipes after drilling. Fold the cleaner in half and continue with fresh ones until they are only faintly light brown. The first ones will of course be completely black. After this trip, you can look forward to a clean and fresh pipe with a good draw. The tobacco will once again taste as it should. In most Bruyere pipes, the tap hole goes into the flue via a, most often, perpendicular edge. At this edge, over time, a "porridge" of inhumanities accumulates. It is almost impossible to remove with a pipe cleaner. But with the socket drill it can be conveniently scraped out. In addition, the flue itself will invariably "grow" over time. This is done, again cleverly with the socket drill. But be careful! Always look down into the tobacco chamber during the operation. The drill bit is sharp and the smoke channel should preferably not continue out through the other wall in the chamber. On curved pipes, it may be impossible to carry out this cleaning of the flue, due to their construction. Then you have to settle for cleaning as well as possible with pipe cleaners. Pipe cleaners and cleaning fluid must of course also be used on the straight pipes after drilling. Fold the cleaner in half and continue with fresh ones until they are only faintly light brown. The first ones will of course be completely black. After this trip, you can look forward to a clean and fresh pipe with a good draw. The tobacco will once again taste as it should.

Maintenance of Silver Pipe Rings

We have now looked at how to keep your brewing pipes in good condition. But we don't stop here. There are many other pipe types that require special treatment, and what about the new pipe? Maybe we could make it work a little better. Just like with shoes and clothes, the best product is tailored to the user, and here there is actually a lot you can do yourself to get the best out of the new pipe. I will return to that. But first, you have to have one more small but very valuable trick along the way. It was one I read in Rökringar, the club magazine from the Svenska Pipklubben, recently. It concerns the polishing of silver rings. Actually, I have never bothered to polish them in Silvo or the like, as it always gives the pipe an aftertaste for a while after it has been used. But I have found it necessary when the silver has been completely black. It doesn't have to be that way. This is simply a miracle cure, which works even better than polishing cream, and there are absolutely no disadvantages to it. The method is as follows - you take a napkin or a piece of paper towel; moisten a small piece and dab it in clean ash so that it sticks a little. Pipe ash can be used, but cigar ash may be a little cleaner to work with. Now you simply polish the silver ring with the ash, and voila it is as beautiful as new. It is almost a miracle! I haven't figured out why ash is so great for silver, but there is probably a chemical reaction of some kind going on. It's amazing anyway.

Maintenance of the new pipe

Should it now also be necessary to do something with a sparkling new pipe, other than to stop and light it? Yes, it's actually a good idea to look at it a little more closely before using it, or especially if you don't think it's working optimally after the first few stops. First check point is the bite height. Here there is a big difference in how the bite is made on different pipes, but also in what bite height suits the individual. Dentists who straighten teeth operate with a concept they call the rest position of the jaw. This is where the jaw muscles are at rest. That is, when you neither use effort to bite down nor open your mouth. This is of great importance if you have to hold the pipe in your mouth for just a few minutes. It can cause both muscle pain and headaches if the bite height does not suit your resting position. For most people, we are talking about 2.5 - 4 mm. The average is probably around 3 mm, but it is amazing how many new pipes measure between 4 and 5 mm, or even more. It suits very few people, but it is of course better that they are too high than too low. It is easier to adjust them that way. If you are in doubt about what is optimal for you, take a couple of your favorite pipes that you feel comfortable running around in your mouth all day and measure the bite height with a caliper. You will find that they are quite similar. However, the optimal bite height may vary slightly, depending on how heavy and long the pipe is. But the heavier and longer the pipes, the more important it is to have the right height. It goes without saying. The cure is easy, but it must be admitted that it takes some overcoming to set to work with file and sandpaper on a sparkling new tobacco pipe. If you can't figure it out yourself, do yourself the favor of having the shop or pipe maker fix it. It is an incredibly important element in making the pipe work well in everyday life. So, file the bit down with an ordinary eraser until it has the (almost) desired height. Make sure to take an equal amount on the top and bottom, otherwise the flue will lie too close to the surface and you risk biting the tip through. With a little care, you can remove the worst file marks with the file itself. After the file comes sandpaper, and finally water sandpaper in grit 400, until all sanding marks are gone. Finally, you give the tip a turn on the polishing wheel with polishing compound, until even the sanding marks after the last paper are gone, and finish with a good coat of wax. It's actually not that difficult, but it's probably a good idea to practice a bit first on an old tip, which might need to be replaced anyway. What else can you do with a new pipe? Yes, another important factor for good smoking properties is the path of the smoke through the smoke channel and tip. First of all, there must be a good draw in the pipe. It starts with a flue of approx. 4 mm. If it is smaller than 3.5 mm, it must be made larger in any case. You can also easily do this yourself, with a long 4 mm drill bit, but unless you are very experienced, do it by hand. A drill does not have to run for many seconds before there are ugly holes in the pipe in the wrong places, and that certainly does not promote the smoking properties! Again, just like when cleaning the flue, be aware that curved pipes can be very difficult, or impossible, to drill into the flue due to their construction. The next place the smoke reaches, on its way to the mouth, where it rightly belongs, is the pin of the tip. That is, the part of the tip that goes into the pipe neck. A good flow is important here, as turbulence is otherwise easily formed in the tap hole, and this helps condensation form here. Many pipe factories and pipe makers have found that making a conical hole down the spigot helps. You can easily do that yourself. You simply take a small countersink drill and drill away material until the opening is almost as large as the diameter of the pin. This is no problem on ebonite tips, but you have to be a little careful with acrylic and especially amber tips. They are harder and more brittle in the material, so pieces can break off if you are not careful. But if you avoid machinery here, and just drill with the drill in hand, you have a good feel for it. Try this cure on a few smoked pipes first and notice how the draw gets better and they "sauce" less. It is quite effective. One last thing that can have an impact on the smoking properties is where the smoke leaves the tip, namely the slit. Here, it is important to have as wide and smooth a slit as possible. Then the pipe releases the smoke better, and the smoke does not burn so easily on the tongue. This can be a little difficult to change yourself, but it requires a few small needle files and a lot of patience. But it can be a good investment, especially if the slot is very narrow or sloppily made. Maybe not the most important thing to get done, but when we have to get it all together... Also, check the tip when you put the new pipe in your mouth. If the pipe has been in a window for several years, it probably needs polishing, or at least waxing. Ebonite tips have a nasty taste and can almost stick to the lips if they have been exposed to strong light for a long time.

Maintenance of the used pipe

Here I am not thinking so much about your own, smoked pipes, but more about pipes that you have acquired in used condition. Maybe you got them as a gift or bought them at an auction or a flea market. Here there are a few special things to take into account. We have gone through the general renovation of the pipe earlier in this article, but when you have not smoked the pipe yourself, there are two things you should be aware of: 1) Bite marks in the tip. If they cannot be ground away when you adjust the bite height anyway, you are probably best off getting a new tip fitted. 2) The pipe tastes weird, even after many stops. Other people smoke other tobaccos, and in any case smoke the pipe differently than you do. It's amazing how it can change the flavor of the pipe, even with the tobacco you usually smoke. I have a cure for that, even if it is a bit difficult. Be sure to scrape off the cooking paste first. Get as much as possible without cutting into the wood. Then you find a place to put the pipe so that it stands slightly at an angle. Then fill the tobacco hole with coarse table salt, and pour in a little isopropyl alcohol or rubbing alcohol. You don't have to fill the pipe, but just so that the salt is well moist. Then you let all the glory stand for a few days until the alcohol has evaporated. The alcohol has now dissolved a number of waste materials from the wood, and drawn them out into the salt, which has turned completely brown or black. The cure may possibly repeat if the taste is bad. Remember, before you smoke the pipe again, to completely clean the tobacco hole of salt and give it, and the smoke channel, a pipe cleaner with 2211 or alcohol. You won't get away with a little salty taste for the first few stops, but it passes quickly. As a rule, it is worth the effort.

Maintenance of the Merskum pipe

This beautiful pipe causes a lot of trouble and is the subject of many myths and misunderstandings, especially when it comes to maintenance. And there is probably not entirely without reason, because it is a wonderful and somewhat mysterious thing. And fragile. Not least when it is new. It takes almost nothing to split the neck of a brand new pipe if you are a little too violent when taking the tip off or putting it on. It is strictly forbidden to do this while the pipe is hot. It goes wrong, sooner or later. What most people dream of when they invest in a new, virgin, white pipe is to see it take on color every time you smoke it, until it changes into beautiful light - and dark brown colors. Reality often turns out to be different. Either you give up the pipe after a few months, either because it doesn't take on color at all, or because it's completely impossible to smoke, or it becomes a pipe you take out every week, mostly out of duty, but you never have any success. I think many have experienced this. What's going wrong? There can be many reasons for this, but there are a few rules to observe when talking meerschaum. The first problem is often the smoking properties. Most Merskum pipes, no matter how beautiful and artistic they look, are not made by people who understand pipes. This often results in pipes with poor draft and other defects. So always look carefully at the pipe, for the basic things that are important for a pipe. The flue must open in the middle of the chamber and be flush with the bottom. The chamber must not be very conical. There must be proper draft in the pipe - often the biggest problem. Try possibly another. There is often a very big difference. If you have fallen in love with a particular pipe, but it suffers from one of the above defects, you may be able to have it drilled out, fitted with a different tip or similar. For example at Arne's in the Merskum gallery. He knows how to handle these pipes. But if the flue isn't drilled properly, forget it. The pipe will never work. Let some other poor thing have the "pleasure". Why doesn't the pipe take color? Again, there may be several explanations. What is often the reason is that the quality of meerschaum varies greatly. Some are very absorbent, others are so dense that it takes a very long time for "something to happen". You can actually see it. The meerschaum that takes color the fastest is what is called "cloudy". If you look closely, you can see far down into the material, and it is cut through by almost transparent streaks or clouds. Such a pipe, which is otherwise treated in the right way by the manufacturer, actually takes color already from the first stop. After 10 -20 stops, it has started to turn light brown on the neck. Does it sound like a dream? It still takes a long time before it becomes really nice. That's just how it is with meerschaum. Dense meerschaum just takes even longer to get colored, and it doesn't help that you only smoke your pipe once a month. It must be kept running. At least a couple of stops a day, just in case something happens. And meerschaum has the property that the way you smoke determines how the color is distributed on the pipe. Easy? No! Exciting? Yes! So how do we maintain the meerschaum pipe? Yes, pipe cleaners are a must. But let the pipe cool down before taking it apart. And be careful when cleaning the flue. It is a very good idea to use a folded pipe cleaner here, otherwise you risk getting a "gnawed" hole in the pipe wall, opposite the flue over time, with the steel wire in the pipe cleaner. The cooking stroke must also be kept down in the Merskum pipe. If you have a sharp cutter, it can be used with care. Otherwise, a piece of sandpaper on a finger is a good idea. But be careful not to pig the pipe heads, externally. What about the exterior finish? Over time, a Merskum pipe becomes both worn and scratched. There is also advice for that. If it has started to look a little dirty, you can always take a napkin or a clean cotton cloth moistened with a little water and wipe the head clean with it. It works fine. It is worse with scratches, which invariably occur over time, no matter how careful you are. If it doesn't spoil the pipe much, and it otherwise takes on a nice color, leave them alone. But if it's bad, they can be sanded away with fine water sandpaper. Finish with as fine a grain as you can get hold of. All scratches are visible in meerschaum when it is shiny. But it is a serious decision to give in to sanding a meerschaum pipe, because it invariably goes beyond the color that the pipe has achieved, because it has to be waxed again. The procedure is as follows: the scratches are sanded away with fine sandpaper. As meerschaum is a very soft material, it is sufficient to start with 150 grit water sanding paper. Sand afterwards with grit 400 or preferably even finer. Get rid of good, used paper. It is very difficult to see sanding marks in the wet meerschaum, so be careful. Allow the pipe head to dry again. It takes approx. a few days, as meerschaum is very porous. The pipe has probably turned completely white now, unless it had taken on a lot of color before. Since the sanding has removed all the surface wax, the pipe must have added new wax. This is the most delicate part of the process. There are several problems with this. Firstly, a suitable type of wax must be used. It must not be too hard, but not too soft either. It must also be supplied in the right amount. This is absolutely crucial for how the pipe takes on color again when you start smoking it again. Canauba wax is too hard (too high melting point) and beeswax is too soft (too low melting point). A 50/50 mix of the two is close to right. They can be mixed by melting in a water bath, without having to add solvents. However, it is suggested in some places that you add a little French turpentine, which also facilitates mixing and application, but it has a nasty aftertaste of fresh pine needles. Applying the wax requires heating the pipe head. Otherwise, you will invariably make new scratches in the meerschaum. You can gently heat the head (without the tip) in the oven, but this is a bit dangerous, as too rapid temperature changes can cause the meerschaum to split, so a gentle heating but a hair dryer is the best solution I know. The best way to apply wax to the warm pipe head is to rub wax well into a piece of real sheepskin. You then rub the pipe head with that. The procedure must be repeated a few times so that the meerschaum has the opportunity to absorb enough wax. When it has had enough, you can tell by the color. When the meerschaum is heated, the color draws out to the surface, and when it cools down again, you see that the color disappears. So enough, when the pipe only has a little color when it has cooled down, but the color starts to appear again when you have smoked a few stops on it again. If it has had too much wax, it will start to run off when you smoke the pipe, and this can leave colored streaks on the surface. It all depends, of course, on how much color the pipe had acquired before starting the process. As you can probably understand, this is not easy, and the pipe may end up looking completely different than when you started, but it all smooths out over time after you've been smoking the pipe for a while. So it's not a process you should embark on unless the pipe is very scratched and ugly. Unfortunately, there are no easy solutions here. Most people, with an understanding of meerschaum, will probably suggest not grinding and waxing, unless you agree to write off the pipe anyway, but it can now be quite an exciting process.

Maintenance of other pipe types

What do we have left? Yes, there are a few "hybrids". That is, pipes made of different materials. For example The Calabash Pipe. After all, it has a cup of meerschaum, a tip of ebonite, acrylic or nylon, and the rest is made of a woody fruit casing. The meerschaum cup is, on most pipes, made of pressed meerschaum. It is simply powdered meerschaum that is molded into blocks and bound together with a binder. It cannot be treated like ordinary meerschaum. If you e.g. if you put it in water, you run the risk that it will simply dissolve. Most often, the cup will crack after a few years of use, and must then be discarded. The only salvation is to have a new cup made from real meerschaum. It can be a really good idea, but is not exactly cheap. But you will get a better pipe out of it and it will be able to last for many years. The only maintenance needed on a calabash pipe may be to scrape out the inside of the calabash with a dull knife, every few years. Otherwise, just hold the tip as on other pipes, and the cooking stroke is kept down in the cup. The calabash is usually lacquered or polished, and can be wiped with a damp cloth if it has been caressed on the outside. Chalk pipes are a chapter of their own. The long ones are difficult to keep clean in the flue. It requires long pipe cleaners. These can be obtained from time to time in well-stocked pipe shops. If you see them and need them, buy an appropriate quantity. The chalk pipe, which is made of porous, fired clay, will also take color over time. It is usually said that a good brown chalk pipe should be discarded. However, there is a cure that can make it as good as new. However, it requires that you have, or have access to, a fireplace. In the still hot embers, place the pipe directly, well covered with embers. When the fireplace is cold the next day, take the pipe out and it will be completely white and clean again. All remnants of burnt tobacco will be burned off, and the pipe can simply be rinsed well with water and dried. It probably sounds a bit harsh, but try it sometime if you have the opportunity. And if it goes wrong, a new one doesn't cost the world. If you have varnished the outermost part of the tip with (nail) varnish, which is a really good idea, it must be given another coat. Then you can try a new color. It decorates everything! Did we forget something? Pipes of other types of wood, such as olive, cherry, etc. must simply be treated as bruyeres. Lacquered pipes, there is not much to do. If the paint peels off, which unfortunately is not entirely uncommon, there is only one cure for this, which is to sand off the paint and make a new finish, but it is rarely worth the effort. There is a reason why they have been varnished. I will not go into antique pipes. If they have value to collectors, you should generally refrain from doing anything with them. And it's rare to find yourself smoking them, so the original fitment is usually preferable, regardless of condition. Yes, porcelain pipes are probably still around. For example the legendary pipes from Den Kongelige. If you feel like smoking them, and have the jaw muscles to do so, they must also be kept. It is now quite easy. You simply remove the tip and give the pipe head a turn under the tap. Just grab it! The entire cooking layer must come off. They often have to be both scraped and scrubbed, but they can be like new again. After all, they are glazed, unlike a chalk pipe. I can only think of one more type of pipe that may require special treatment. It is even a Bruyere pipe, but a special one of its kind, namely Sea Coral from Savinelli. The special thing about these pipes, in terms of maintenance is that they are rusticated and otherwise completely untreated. This means that they are very susceptible to dirt and grime. If such a pipe has become very dirty, it can simply be washed and scrubbed on the outside, under the tap. A nail brush or a discarded toothbrush is useful here. But let the pipe dry for a day or two after this treatment before you smoke it. Since it is untreated, it will absorb a lot of moisture. If it has not been smoked that often, it can become completely light again afterwards the sink. I simply cannot, based on personal experience, recommend putting the pipe in the washing machine together with the cookware. It will probably be nice and clean, but it will take many stops before the taste of Ariel has disappeared; but now it also happened by mistake!

Reproduced with permission from Ib Fagerlund, Nordic Tobacco College whose excellent website is well worth a visit http://www.n-t.dk/

We have only very lightly edited the original text!