Pipe restoration

Curious as well, bumping for OP

Welcome to Fuddlore, where the procedures are made up and science doesn't matter.

>>1087467
man I don't actually know, but I'd say grain alcohol, a high smoke point oil like grapeseed or flaxseed, and beeswax. Then you would have minimal toxicity, but should fulfill purposes. I know the least about wax though but beeswax smells sweet so I figure it should complement

>>1087532
Briar gets really hot. The reason briar is the king of pipe wood is because it's so heat-resistant, it won't catch fire even at high temperatures. Bees wax will melt and drip right off at 62 C. Carnauba wax has a melting point much higher, at 82 C. which is why it's used on pipes.

>>1087467
I want to start smoking pipe, because it smells so wonderful....

How do I start, or where?? What kind of pipe should I acquire?

>>1087535
good point, yeah maybe not beeswax

I also found this, for general restoration https://pipedia.org/wiki/Try_this_at_Home

>>1087542
Get yourself a corn cob to start with. Even a high quality Missouri Meerschaum won't run you more than ten bucks, and they're a perfectly good smoke. Experienced pipe smokers always keep a few corn cobs around because they don't absorb flavours, so they're ideal for testing new tobaccos to get the pure taste, and without risking giving a more expensive pips unfavourable flavour ghosts.

You should also do yourself a favour and avoid the "drug store" pipe tobacco, like Borkum Riff, Captain Black, and Amphora. It's mediocre tobacco at best, and is full of humectant and flavour tops to disguise the staleness and lack of flavour. Pick up one of the old, timeless classics like Orlik Golden Sliced, Escudo Navy Deluxe, Dunhill 965, or Presbyterian Mixture to start with so you'll develop your palate to appreciate good tobacco. The tempation will be to go with a flavoured tobacco, but resist it. It will make it harder for you to develop your palate.

>>1087546
One other note I wanted to add. I highly recommend you remove the stinger. Most pipes come with a stinger. It's a little metal piece which fits between the stem and stummel and is designed to precipitate moisture out of the smoke. The problem with stingers is that all that moisture collects down in the stummel and produces a gurgly smoke, like sucking the last few drops of milkshake from a straw. From personal experience I can tell you that gurgling is highly unpleasant. If you have the discipline to smoke slowly you shouldn't have any trouble with steam and won't need a stinger.

OP- I've smoked pipes off and on for 25 years, I have a couple of name brands (a Karl Erik my dad gave me, Petersens) and some seconds. I don't smoke enough to have ever even needed to ream them, but if I stumbled on a great Dunhill or whatever I'd probably just ream it, clean it, and make a new stem, keeping the old one apart. Lots of info on yt showing stem making.

For those who want to try the above advice on using quality tobacco is right. Tell the tobacconist you want straight tobacco. Dunhill Mild was my favorite but they stopped it so it's Dunhill Standard for me now. There are books on pipe smoking, get your luddite out and check the library. I'm sure loads of vids too. Learning to pack and light correctly are crucial.

>>1087558
>Dunhill Mild
Have you tried Dunhill Morning? I don't care for Dunhill (I'm more a McLelland guy -- love that vinegar fermentation tang), but I know a lot of Dunhill people who find 965 too harsh enjoy the Morning Blend.

>>1087561
Don't know it- will give it a try!

As an aside, I smoked pipes a few times a week for years without inhaling. Went to school in Europe at 25 and started rolling cigs, now it's hard to smoke a pipe without inhaling. Which ruins the whole thing.

I love that in Switzerland in the older buses there's a sign with a cig and a pipe crossed out. Still a fair few regular pipe smokers here.

>>1087569
Try snorking instead of inhaling: holding the smoke in your mouth and exhaling through your nose without breathing in. It gives you the full flavour of the tobacco and, as a side benefit, increases the amount of nicotine you absorb through your mucous and buccal membranes.

As someone who has always liked the look of pipes but never smoked but is considering getting one for the occasional comfy aromatic experience or possible for marijuana, as it just became legal here, I wanted to know, does the type of pipe matter or is it just a preference for look and feel?

>>1088676
The shape and material of the pipe changes the flavour of the tobacco and the mouthfeel of the smoke. For example, meerschaum is an extremely light, highly-absorbant type of clay stone used for pipe-making, and it's valued because it gives a very dry smoke, but unlike wood it will not absorb flavours. Woods of various sorts will absorb sugar and flavinoids from the tobacco and give off what are called "flavour ghosts" when they're smoked of previous tobaccos (and is why experienced smokers never use an old, favoured pipe to smoke a new tobacco in case it absorbs an off-flavour). Briar is most highly prized as a pipe wood because it absorbs a lot of moisture and is resistant to heat, and because it has very little flavour of its own. Other hardwoods, such as cherry, apple, pear, and rosewood are also used to make pipes, but they burn out much faster and will also add their own flavour to the smoke.

The shape is also important, with longer stems tending to give a cooler smoke (by giving the smoke a longer distance to reach the mouth) and bendier stems tending to give a dryer smoke (by giving more surface area for steam to condense into liquid), which is why you see so many pipes with long, bendy stems. The size and shape of the stummel and stem and drafthole also changes the taste and mouthfeel of the smoke by altering the amount and speed of the smoke. Even the position of the borehole in the bowl can change the flavour of the smoke by altering the temperature of the smoke which is drawn into the stem.

All of this is why smokers tend to have a variety of pipes of different shapes and materials. Each tobacco will taste different in each pipe, and a tobacco will taste better in one pipe than another. And of course, each individual tobacco will have a varying taste (and thus varying ideal pipe) based on its age and dryness. (cont.)

>>1088676
(continued)
If you're just starting out as a pipe smoker, most of this probably won't matter to you, because your palate hasn't been educated enough to taste much difference. You may be able to tell the difference between a wet smoke and a dry smoke by the presence of tongue-bite (an unpleasant stinging/burning sensation thought to be caused by either steam or alkali chemical burns or both), but you probably won't be able to tell the difference between smoking a straight-stem author and a bent-stem apple. If you're starting out, I highly recommend you start with a corn cob pipe. They're cheap, easily obtainable, and forgiving. (If you don't clean, pack, smoke, and ream a pipe properly based on its material, it's possible to damage or even destroy it.)

The main consideration for you as a novice smoker will be whether or not you're a clamper. Some people hold the pipe in their hand and bring it to their lips to puff. Others hold the pipe in their teeth, and this is called clamping. If you're a clamper, you're going to want a light pipe, since heavy pipes will make your jaw sore and will, over time, actually deform the shape of your teeth.

I also don't recommend you smoke pot in a pipe designed for tobacco, especially a wood pipe, since it will absorb flavours and possibly psychoactive chemicals and contaminate future smokes.

I've never considered smoking before, but some of this pipe stuff is interesting. Maybe just collecting pipes or something sounds fun. Thanks guys for something new!

>>1089621
Pipe collectors are a bit of a frustration for pipe smokers, since they drive up prices and don't actually want the pipes for anything but putting on a shelf to collect dust. When I buy an estate pipe, it's usually been smoked regularly for 40 or 50 years, and is covered in tooth chatter, soot, grime, scratches, dents, and tar. As I restore it, I like to think I am receiving a gift from someone who loved and enjoyed it, and that by restoring it and smoking it I am keeping the pipe alive so that someone else can enjoy it when I'm gone too. For pipe smokers, pipes are an emotional thing. After all, something you put in your mouth for years at a time to give you joy brings up all kinds of maternal associations.

Instead of buying up estate pipes, why not try your hand at making one?

>>1089649
That's what I should have specified. I don't like just putting things on my shelves for dust. But smoking it does seem interesting. I have a few family members that do smoke a variety of things, and pipes are a favorite of my grandfather, and have been looking into how they're made and repaired since it looks so interesting

I can understand the frustration. I like various old computers, games, and vinyl records, but I hate it when they're collected only for display and popularity/nostalgia reasons, and not repair or use, artificially raising the prices for people who would take care of the equipment, keeping those formats alive.

Thank you for clarifying that, it does seem dickish to take something that meant so much to someone, and just put it on display for petty decor.

>>1087467
Take my advice as a grain of salt as I am not a pipe smoker (although I can appreciate them) the idea of nose oil to me is the winner. It's the patina that makes the antique and you can't replicate that look artificially, like I'm sure carnubu wax would look all glossy and shit hot but it would also look fake, if you intend on using it use it regularly and 'become one with the pipe'