How to Smoking a Pipe

Breaking in process: All briar pipes need a breaking in process before being used. The wood should be prepared before it is exposed to the heat and tobacco. First, a layer of carbon has to be applied to the interior walls of the pipe. In order to create this layer, the bowl has to be filled to approximately a quarter of its capacity. Then the pipe can be lighted and smoked slowly. One should avoid too much heat. After four or five of such quarterly filled pipes, the amount of tobacco can gradually be increased. An important rule is to let the pipe cool down before refilling it, to prevent burning the briar. The pipe has been broken in when the layer of carbon is even.

Filling a pipe: When filling a pipe, it is important to do this bit by bit. As the pipe bowl is being filled more and more, the tobacco can be pressed more firmly into the bowl. However, the tobacco should retain its elasticity. When filled too firmly, one needs to draw strongly to keep the pipe lit, whereas a loosely filled pipe burns extreme easily, resulting in a very hot bowl, wet smoking and a sore tongue. The tobacco should burn evenly. When smoking, it is good to tamper the tobacco slightly every now and then. When the pipe goes out, possible deposit should be removed and the pipe can just be relight again!

Maintenance: Taking care of the pipe after use is just as important as knowing how to smoke it. By good maintenance, the pipe will not only look nicer, it will smoke better as well.

A pipe should smoke clean and dry, whereas the pipe tends to smoke wet and bitter when not been given attention to. Finally, maintenance guarantees a longer lifetime of the pipe!

The first thing to do is to gently fluff out all the ash and moist deposits of the tobacco that have accumulated in the bowl. Insert a pipe cleaner into the pipe and let it cool down. After a couple of hours, both the pipe cleaner and the stem can be removed from the pipe, by twisting it gently. The next step is to run the pipe cleaner through the bit and the stem until it comes out clean. The pipe cleaner might be dipped in a pipe cleaning fluid to loosen any deposit. This is however not necessary. After the inside has been cleaned, one may polish the entire pipe with a cotton cloth. Briar pipes can be occasionally polished with a natural oil or wax. This will highlight the lustre of the wood. Now the pipe is ready to be stored in its rack, preferably with the bowl down.

If the pipe has a vulcanite bit, this slowly may turn into a greyish colour as a result of oxidation of the rubber. Keeping the pipe away from direct sunlight will slow down this process. When it does occur, the bit can be polished with special wet sandpaper.

After having smoked the pipe over a period of time, the layer of carbon will slowly begin to build up on the interior of the bowl. This cake helps protect the briar and cool the smoke. However, when this layer becomes thicker than 0,15 - 0,20 cm, it can crack the bowl. At this time, it is best to carefully remove a part of the layer with a knife (or an especially equipped reamer).

How to Refurbishing The Old Pipes

If the stem has been oxidized over time or the bowl gives off an unpleasant odor and unpleasant smoke, it is time for a good cleaning. I use a multi-step process; cleaning the inner, outer and between parts of the pipe. The steps are:

1. Reaming out your pipe: Carefully ream out your pipe, removing all the old gunk that has been building up on the inner walls. Take extra care not to damage the inside of the bowl. Use a pipe reamer to clean the bowl. Pipe reamers can be purchased at most tobacco shops. Warning: NEVER use a pocket knife to clean a pipe bowl;

2. Bleaching the stem: If needed, the stem can be put into a jar of bleach. Allow badly oxidized stems to sit in a bleach bath for an hour. Don't leave the stem in the bleach bath too long, the bleach will turm the stem white. This process will save on labor and time when restoring a stem. Clean out the inside of the stem with 150 proof alcohol and pipe cleaners;

2a. Sanding the stem: If the stem is really bad or has any metal parts, such as a metal shaft protruding from the tenon or metallic nomenclature, it may be necessary to carefully sand the stem using a combination of fine grit wet/dry sand paper and water. Bleach will corrode the metal. Use 320, 400, 500, then a very fine 600 paper. Remember always sand in one direction, along the LENGTH of the stem. The stem will end up looking worse than before you started, but after step 3, you'll see a big difference!

2b. Removing oxidation from the stem: Sanding and bleaching can involve a lot of work and the bleach even can be dangerous to use. Another method for removing oxidation from a vulcanite stem that works very well is using "polishing" or "rubbing" compound, such as those by the brand name Turtle Wax or Simoniz. Apply it to the stem in the same way you'd apply it to a car. Use a damp cloth and polish. DO NOT use wax. This will do nothing to remove the oxidation. Rubbing compound is gritter and will cut the oxidation faster. Use caution around logos.

3. Polishing the stem: I use of two different buffing compounds that will make the stem look new. The first buffing wheel is devoted to orange tripoli, a buffing compound that works well to scrub off any residue from the stem. Careful precision is required in order not to remove the valuable nomenclature, or buff down the mouthpiece. The tripoli wheel is used until a moderate shine is achieved. Next, carnauba wax is carefully added to seperate wheel and polished onto the stem. The stem is complete.....now on to the bowl.

4. Salt-treatment (non-iodized salt): The salt treatment is a process of plugging the shank with a small piece of twisted cloth or paper towel, filling the bowl with non-iodized salt, and saturating the salt with 150 proof alcohol. If you can't find a 150 proof alcohol, use any high alcohol "spirit" that is available, such as Gin, Vodka or Jack Daniel's. Leave the salt treatment in for 4 to 5 hours before scraping out the bowl and cleaning it thoroughly with pipe cleaners. This process will remove all the tar and gunk that has built up, leaving the pipe clean and as good as new. Do Not leave the salt treatment in the pipe any longer than a few hours. If the salt is left beyond this amount of time, it may damage the briar or crack the shank. If necessary, you can repeat the salt treatment several times for those really dirty pipes.

5. Polishing the bowl: Polishing the bowl is a simple procedure, but caution is required. Careful precision is required in order not to remove any nomenclature. First carefully buff the bowl with a buffing wheel charged with orange tripoli (a buffing compound). When the bowl begins to show a nice shine, switch to carnauba wax. I have two different buffing wheels, one for tripoli and one for carnauba.

Make sure the buffing wheel being used is running between 1600 and 2700 rpm's, when using a 6" buffing wheel. Motor speed is VERY important, if it's too fast it will melt the wax. If it's too slow, buffing pressure will slow the wheel too mcuh and not buff properly. Don't use the standard work bench "grinder" motors. They run at 3400 rpm's and could send your pipe or stem across the room.

If you feel the least bit uncomfortable in doing any of these procedures on your pipes and stems, it might be best if you took them to a qualified pipe maker for cleaning. Most quality tobacco shops offer repair and cleaning services for pipes and stems. In many cases they don't perform this work themselves, rather they contract out these services with pipe makers like Clarence Mickels or Mark Tinsky.

More articles about the pipes:

• Caring for Your Pipe
• Tools for Pipe Smoking
• Types of Clay Pipe
• Why Choose Clay Pipe?
• Clay Pipes and its history
• How to clean your meerschaum pipe

How to Smoking Clay Pipe

Lighting should proceed as normal for your briars. As most clay pipes have a stem that is a bit longer than the average briar, you might find the process a bit awkward at first as you adjust, but it should take only 2 or 3 lightings for you to be just as proficient as with your usual pipe.

Of course, if you already smoke churchwardens fairly regularly, you should have no trouble at all. An advantage of clay pipes is that they are fire proof. This means that you have many more options for lighting your pipe than with a briar. Candles, flaming twigs, blow torches, coals lifted straight from a fire, Bunsen burners, or just sticking your head close enough to the fire to get the bowl in there and puff are all options.

While you are smoking your clay, you will probably find tamping to be less necessary than with your briar pipes. Again, this is related to the density of the pack. The denser pack used in clay smoulders rather than burning - at first you will probably need to relight more than in a briar, but as you get the hang of it you may find that your clay pipes smoke more smoothly.

I personally often have days where I'm "in the zone" and never need to relight my clays once I've got them going. I rarely have this experience with my briars. During this process, tamping serves the purpose of encouraging the ember rather than breaking down the ash. When it looks like my pipe might die out, I sometimes break up the ember with my pick and spread it over the surface of the tobacco before puffing things up and tamping gently to get things going.

While you are smoking, it is not wise to handle the bowl ... unless you have asbestos fingers. The bowl will get quite hot, certainly much hotter than a briar and hotter than meerschaum too. The best way to hold a clay pipe with a stem of any length is to rest the stem on your ring finger, curling your index and middle fingers over top.

Once you have found the pipe's centre of gravity, this method becomes effortless. Pipes with shorter stems are generally intended to be clamped in the mouth, but if you don't like to use your teeth while smoking you can hold the part of the stem closest to the bowl between your thumb and forefinger and rest the stem on the knuckles of your other fingers.

Many pipes with shorter stems are equipped with a "dewdrop" hanging either from the bottom of the bowl or at the point where the bowl and stem meet - this is intended for gripping, and on a well designed pipe will stay remarkably cool during the course of a smoke.

How to clean your meerschaum pipe

Without regular and diligent cleaning, your wonderful new meerschaum will become a soggy, ill-tasting mess, and will no longer provide you with the smoking pleasure you desire. To eliminate such problems, you need to embark on a regimen of regular cleaning and maintainance for your meerschaums.

Materials Needed:

• Tapered Pipe Cleaners
• Bristle Pipe Cleaners
• Regular or extra fluffy pipe cleaners
• shank brush or cotton swab
• pipe tool or pick

Concerning 'Coloring':

One of the joys of owning and smoking a meerschaum pipe is watching it slowly change color, from a milky white to a dark brown. When you first get a meerschaum pipe, be careful that your hands are clean as you smoke it for the first few times. Meerschaum pipes are coated in beeswax which aids in the coloring process and protects the brittle meerschaum. As the pipe heats during smoking (and be careful not to get it too hot) the beeswax melts. If your hands are dirty, the beeswax will pick up that dirt. Though some suggest not touching the bowl of a meerschaum pipe while smoking it, I think this is a little extreme. Just take care that your hands are clean and dry.

A sample 'Coloring' regimen:

There are many different ways to go about coloring your meerschaum pipe, but one of the simplest is as follows:

Smoke your meerschaum several times a day for about two weeks. Unlike a briar pipe, meerschaums do not need long periods of rest between smokes, and can safely be smoked multiple times in a day. Do, however, allow the pipe to cool between bowls. After this two weeks, your meerschaum should be noticeably heavier than when you began, owing to the amount of tars and oils now trapped inside the meerschaum. Put your meerschaum aside for a period of about one month. During this time, the beeswax will wick the tars and oils towards the surface of the pipe, coloring it in the process. Repeat and enjoy!

Before Smoking:

The care and cleaning of your pipe begins with your very first smoke, and should continue forward from there. Before each smoke, run a pipe cleaner, either bristle or regular, through the stem to dislodge any leftover ash and dottle, and gently tap your pipe on a cork knocker or the palm of your hand to remove these obstructions from the bowl. Be especially careful when tapping a meerschaum pipe to hold it by the shank, never by the stem!

While Smoking:

During a smoke is an excellent time to begin the process of caring for your pipe. You can begin by paying careful attention when lighting your pipe. Keep your flame source over the tobacco, so that it does not char the rim of your pipe. Unlike a briar pipe, it is near impossible to remove this rim charring from a meerschaum pipe, so it pays to be extra careful in this department. During smoking is also when you will notice if a more thorough cleaning is in order. If a pipe begins to taste sour, salty, or just plain bad while smoking it, it is probably time for a good cleaning. See Periodic Cleaning below.

After Smoking:

First, a warning: Always remove a stem from a meerschaum pipe by twisting it gently clockwise while supporting the shank with your fingers. At the end of each smoke, your pipe should be given a good cleaning. Dump out the ash and dottle, and run a bristle pipe cleaner around the inside of the bowl to remove any possible cake build-up. Unlike a briar pipe, a meerschaum requires no cake, and in some instances, a cake can be detrimental to a meerschaum, either slowing the coloring process, or causing the pipe to crack. Clean out the stem with a bristle pipe cleaner once, remove it, and either turn it around or use another pipe cleaner, repeating this process until the pipe cleaners come out clean. Moisten a pipe cleaner with saliva and rub the mouthpiece with it to remove any buildup there. Blow gently through the stem of the pipe to dislodge any leftover ash and wipe your pipe down with a soft dry cloth. Place the pipe back on it's rack or stand and allow it to cool.

Periodically:

You will want to, on occasion, give your pipes a more thorough cleaning than just swabbing out the stem after smoking. Most smokers do this fairly regularly, some going so far as to do so after all of their pipes have been smoked once, thus providing themselves with a fresh, clean rotation of pipes. You will have to experiment a bit with how often you do this clenaing to find what works best for you. To start this cleaning, carefully remove the stem of the pipe from the bowl and lay the two pieces on a paper towel. Dip a regular pipe cleaner in alchohol and run it through the stem, from the tenon to the mouthpiece, pulling it through. It will most likely come out with a bit of black or brown gunk on it. Follow this pipe cleaner with a dry one, and repeat until the moist pipe cleaner comes out the same color it was when it went in. Push one final dry pipe cleaner through to remove any moisture and set the stem aside.

How to Smoke Flake Tobacco

This article is provided by McClelland Tobacco Company

English and Scottish-style Matured Virginia flake tobaccos are among the most interesting and rewarding for the smoker to taste; yet, they are avoided by many smokers who simply do not know how to approach them. This article is intended to help the pipe smoker learn how to fully appreciate the zesty character and subtle sweetness of these premium, aged products. (It should also help smokers of the flavored American sliced plug and European flake cavendish tobaccos.)

One reason flake tobaccos are left in slices after cake-maturing is that they retain their freshness better than in ribbon form. Flakes also enable the smoker to have some control over the burning rate and, to a small degree, the flavor.

It is important to prepare the tobacco before packing so that it has an even texture and to fill the bowl evenly, no matter what degree of brokenness is preferred. (The more fully-rubbed -- meaning gently separated -- a tobacco, the faster it will burn. Similarly, it is true that the thinner the cut, the faster it will burn).

The more moist tobaccos should be packed more loosely than normal so they won't pack down densely enough to prevent a good draft. The ideal is to have the tobacco draw firmly, with a little resistance, throughout the smoke. The smoker may be able barely to hear a little hissing through the pipe as it is smoked. Too firm and the tobacco won't burn at all or one small spot will burn hot and maybe wet as the smoker puffs hard to keep it going; too loose and the tobacco will burn inconsistently and unevenly, perhaps causing the bowl to overheat in spots and moisture to condense.

Five Steps to Success

1. Put in the palm of one hand the amount of tobacco that it is believed will fill the bowl. Then pinch at the slices or rub them between the palms until the tobacco separates to the degree preferred, keeping the texture even, avoiding clumps. The denser the tobacco is left, the slower it will burn. (This becomes especially valuable on windy days outdoors.)

2. Gently but firmly and evenly work the tobacco into the bowl of the pipe until it is filled slightly over the top and feels firm but still springy under enough finger pressure to flatten the surface of the tobacco even with the top of the pipe. (we assume the pipe is clean at the outset, free of obstruction to a good draft, well rested).

3. Now, while drawing through the stem, light the pipe evenly across the entire surface of the tobacco. After a few puffs to develop an ash, and while continuing to draw, tamp the tobacco down evenly all around the bowl with a tamper. The goal is to have the tobacco packed so that it will burn as evenly and firmly as a good cigar.

4. Relight the pipe after tamping to get the entire surface of the tobacco burning again. Even burning is very important. Otherwise, hot spots may develop.

5. With only occasional tamping as the tobacco burns down, since it tends to expand and loosen as it burns, the pipe should now smoke evenly to the bottom. The aim is to maintain a firm, even draft throughout the smoke. The process is not difficult to master and with practice will soon be effortless.

A Note on Flavor Expectations

For those who are used to the "aromatic" or sweetened tobaccos that dominate our market in the United States, it may take some time for the additives remaining in the pipe to dissipate. Many smokers prefer to maintain one set of pipes exclusively for the natural, matured tobaccos and another for the sweetened varieties.

It may be necessary to smoke Up to four ounces of a natural product before the mouth adjusts to the clean taste and subtler range of flavors typical of these Matured Virginia tobaccos. The smoker is rewarded for the effort as he becomes able to distinguish the delicate variations in taste and deepening richness these tobaccos develop as they are smoked.

How to Start Smoking a Pipe

Title: How to Start Smoking a Pipe
From: http://pipes.priss.org/howto.php

There is a very good article on the Pipes Digest web site on how to pack and light a pipe, but I'll add my own comments too since we all do it slightly differently and sometimes different descriptions will just click for different people. It took me about six months to get really good at packing my pipe—partly because several of my first pipes have fairly deep, narrow bowls, and these can be a little trickier. Many folks get the hang of it after just a few times, and sometimes even the first time!

The pipe. Understandably, you may not want to invest a lot in something you're not sure you're going to like or continue. However, if you can start off with a not-so-cheap pipe, so much the better. Some cheaper pipes do turn out to smoke quite well, but not all. Here, I'm speaking mainly of briar (wood) pipes, and am leaving meerschaum and clay pipes out of the discussion for now. Corncob pipes are also a good option if you just want to try pipe smoking—they are very inexpensive and require no breaking-in. They do lend a different taste to the smoke, a taste which I generally find more compatible with natural or the so-called English blends, than with the flavoured and sweetened blends.

Cheap pipes sometimes lead to bitter tastes and wet or hot smokes, but sometimes these effects are merely a result of a new briar not being broken-in. Before you blame your pipe, consider that the problem may be caused by your smoking technique or by overly moist or dry tobacco. With a bit of perseverance, you do get better at figuring out what is wrong if you have a smoke that isn't as enjoyable as it should be. If you're not sure, always smoke as slowly as possible, and that cures many pipe problems.

The tobacco. Tobacco choice is important. In my case, at first I wasn't trying the kinds of tobaccos that I would be likely to enjoy, but I had no way of really knowing that. I had always liked the aroma of the sweet-smelling tobaccos but I found they lacked something when I tried smoking them. I finally tried a couple of natural, English-style blends, despite warnings that these were for more serious, seasoned pipe smokers only. Surprisingly, these tobaccos provided the kind of taste experience I was somehow hoping for. Be forewarned though that natural or English-style blends don't usually have exactly the same degree of sweetness in their aroma, and that they're not for everyone. Only experimentation will help you figure out what you like and don't like. Trying new blends can be a lot of fun, but no matter what, always keep some of your favourite blend on hand in case your sampling doesn't go well!

There is a myriad of different pipe tobaccos available with different flavours and smoking qualities. However, you are not totally hopeless as to where to start—just take the plunge and enjoy. If you have a taste for sweets, why not start off with something commercial and easily available like Sail, Captain Black or Amphora, or ask your tobacconist for their recommendation. Some folks stick with these blends forever, but others find much pleasure in the elusive search that perfect tobacco.

If you have a taste for stronger or more bitter flavours in coffee, chocolate, tea or beer, you should try a light English blend as your first tobacco instead of a sweeter one. Better still, start with a pouch of each of the two types. Just don't smoke them in the same pipe if you can avoid it ... Smoking an English blend in a pipe used for aromatics often tastes rather weird, and vice-versa. Let your pipe take on the flavour of your tobacco for a while and then judge the tobacco. Of course, that doesn't mean that first impressions aren't lasting.... If you're smoking a fairly moist blend (like most flavoured tobaccos), be sure to pack your pipe looser than you would a drier, natural English blend.

Packing the tobacco in your pipe. If you've already smoked your pipe, cover up the bowl of the pipe and blow through the stem in case there are small bits of tobacco that are blocking the passage and which could clog your smoke.

I find that there are two key aspects to packing a pipe correctly. First, the tobacco should be only "somewhat" tight in the pipe—it should still be springy to the touch on the surface. Second, the pipe should be loosely in the bottom half of the pipe than at the top, so that it doesn't get too tight down there when you tamp it while smoking.

Start by taking a wad of tobacco that looks like it might be a bit more than enough to fill your pipe. If the tobacco seems really stuck together, fluff it up a bit before you do this. Hold your pipe over the pouch (or tin) so that the pouch catches the tobacco that falls while you're filling it. Push the tobacco in until the pipe is full and a bit of the tobacco is overflowing over the top of the pipe a bit. Don't cram it in tightly; just make sure the pipe is well-filled. Slowly and carefully fill the pipe as if you were trying to measure how much tobacco the pipe would hold under "average" circumstances, not how much you can cram in.

Your pipe should now have some (or a bunch of) tobacco sticking out of the top and may look like it needs a haircut. Pull most of this off, then take your pipe tool (a "tamper" available at your pipe shop) and *gently* push any loose ends down into the pipe. This way, your tobacco ends up a bit more tightly packed on the top than underneath, which is what you want. Touch the tobacco on top lightly with your thumb. It should feel somewhat springy.

Lighting your pipe. Put the pipe in your mouth and take a few puffs of the unlit tobacco. Not only should it taste good, but you shouldn't have to apply much suction to get air to pass through it. It should only give a little resistance, like drinking liquid through a straw. If you find that you have to draw hard on it, empty it out and start over— you have packed it a bit too tightly and it will not smoke well. Just pry it out slowly with your pipe tool.

Now, the fun part— lighting up! Big wooden kitchen matches work well, as does a lighter. If you try to use small paper matches, you may end up frustrated and with burnt fingers... As soon as the sulfur burns off, pass the lit match across the surface slowly and puff slowly but firmly, just enough to draw the flame down into the tobacco. Try not to burn the rim of the pipe. You can puff deeply, but not too hard. Hold the smoke in your mouth, but try not to inhale it. Let the smoke puff out of your mouth as you take the next puff. It can take a good 10-20 seconds to get your pipe lit. The tobacco should fluff up a little, perhaps a lot. Now take your pipe tool and flatten out the surface of the scorched and fluffed-up tobacco so that you have a flat surface on the top of your tobacco again (don't apply much pressure).

You have just completed what is sometimes called the "false light." It is called "false" because it is now time to light your pipe again. Pass the flame around the top of the tobacco, swirling it slowly to get all of the tobacco on top lit (which you just flattened). As usual, puff slowly, just enough to bring the flame down into the tobacco. This may take another 10-20 seconds or so and generate a lot of ambient smoke, which you will probably enjoy. Now you're on your way... your pipe is lit. Take a slow deep puff every 5-15 seconds or so—more often if the pipe seems to be going out, less often if the pipe seems to be heating up a lot.. You can either hold the smoke in your mouth for a few seconds and just let it drift out and stop there, or you can take a puff, keep the smoke and the pipe stem in your mouth, then a few seconds later, take another puff, letting the previous puff escape into the air. Some smokers will swallow a small quantity of the smoke, which causes it to escape through the nose and look like you had inhaled it. But you didn't. Some pipe smokers actually inhale the smoke like cigarette smokers, but the smoke is very strong and this is not recommended.

If your pipe goes out while smoking, no big deal, just re-light—this is pretty normal. Especially at first, you may need to re-light frequently. It's always better for your piep to go out from time to time than to prevent it from going out by smoking it hot. Furthermore, there's no need to panic and re-light your pipe the second it goes out if you don't feel like it or if you're busy doing something. You can come back to a partially smoked pipe a few minutes later if that's more convenient. And if you're smoking a bent pipe, you can carefully put your lit pipe in your pocket when you enter a non-smoking establishment and it will self-extinguish rather quickly. Every 5 minutes or so, or more or less, tamp down the tobacco a little, just enough to crush the ashes on the surface and to make sure that the tobacco that is lit is touching itself and continues burning. You don't want to apply so much pressure that the tobacco underneath gets further packed.

As the tobacco burns further down, the pipe will heat up. It should get warm, but if the pipe starts to get hot to the touch, let it go out for a few minutes to cool down; you might be smoking it a bit too fast. Hot smoking can cause the tobacco to become bitter, in addition to being uncomfortable on the tongue. As well, it may create moisture build-up that is very unpleasant if drawn into the mouth (which is particularly easy to do if you are smoking a straight pipe).

If you are smoking a brand-new pipe, it will need to be broken in. Smoke only half bowls for a while (at least 10 times or so) until you start getting some carbon buildup on the lower sides of the pipe's bowl. Try to smoke to the bottom as much as possible to get this carbon cake built up and your pipe will smoke much better later. On the other hand, if at any time your pipe starts to taste nasty, stop. Pipe smoking is always supposed to be pleasant and there's no reason why it shouldn't always be so.

Practice makes perfect (or almost). Enjoy!

Winter Smoking

One of my favorite times of the year to smoke my pipe is the winter season. The cool, crisp air brings out favors in tobacco that we never experience during the warmer months of the year. The warmest of the bowl in my hand also warms my heart.

A recent winter smoking experience also prompted me to write a few precautionary word about smoking pipes outdoors in the cold weather. Cold air and hot pipes do not mix!

• Whilest walking my dog and enjoying a pipe I tapped out my ashes on palm of my hand (yes I knew better but I was absorbed in the moment). What happened next? You guessed it ... I was packing my pipe up and shipping to our pipe repair person for a new stem. The tenon snapped with less pressure than it would take to snap a toothpick.
• Briar pipes also have the tendency to seperate from their stems in cold weather. This is especially true for military style bit that a push fit in place. There is nothing worse than chasing your pipe bowl as it bounces it's way along the pavement.
• Blustery winter winds can cause a pipe bowl to burn out. Be careful when lighting and smoking. Wind rushing across your bowl will act like a bellows and super heat the tobacco inside causing burnouts.

Follow these simple winter precautions and you'll enjoy mishap free winter smoking.

How to keep your pipes from freezing

Don't take a chance of having your water freeze up in the winter. Here's a few suggestions on preventing this from happening.

Winter weather causes all sorts of problems, from wrecks, to loss of work, to high electrical bills. On top of all that, you don’t want your water pipes freezing, too. It’s not bad enough to have your water pipes freeze up, but when they begin to thaw, they often rupture causing aggravation and extra expense. The best way to save a fortune on a plumber and new pipes is to never let it happen in the first place. One sure-fire way to prevent pipes from freezing is to leave your water running on a cold night. When the predicted temperature reaches 32 degrees or below, let each faucet, hot and cold, drop slightly throughout the night. Of course, if temperatures will continue to stay below freezing for some time, you might want to consider other options.

Have you ever seen, in an old movie, a bum on a park bench, covered in newspapers? That’s because newspaper makes a great insulation. Because of this, you can wrap the pipes in at least a quarter-inch thick set of newspaper sheets, secure with masking tape or duct tape, and your pipes will stay warm - down to about 0 to10 degrees. Adding foil around the pipes helps keep them even warmer. After wrapping the pipes in newspaper and tape, wrap the pipes once again with foil, then tape again, using duct tape. Don’t forget to wrap the pipes under the sink or any that run somewhere that the heat of the house cannot easily reach. The temperature can now drop to below zero and your water shouldn’t freeze, particularly if your home stays fairly warm. If you have an enclosed basement, your pipes are more unlikely to freeze, but wrap them anyway to prevent the possibility.

Hardware stores sell heating tape, which plugs into an outlet and wraps around the pipes. It’s really electrical wiring that warms up upon plugging it in, and keeps the water from freezing. The tape works well, but water can still freeze if the temperature drops really low. The tape does run your power bill up a little, but is worth it to prevent a visit from the plumber. There are other insulators, like pipe sleeves, which work in a similar fashion. Heating the basement or crawlspace where most of your pipes are, is also extremely helpful in keeping your water running. The temperature in these areas only has to get to about 40 degrees to keep your pipes safe.

If your pipes have frozen, and you want to unthaw them without risking rupture, open the spout on the faucet that belongs to the frozen pipe. As the ice thaws, the pressure can escape through the open valve, usually preventing the bursting of the pipe. To help thaw out pipes that are frozen, get the house warm, add an extra heater to the basement, wrap and begin using heat tape or pipe sleeves, and use a blow dryer to help thaw out small portions of pipes which are exposed to the weather. During an ice storm that causes power outage, be prepared with a kerosene heater or a portable gas heater to keep the pipes from freezing until your electricity is functional again. Prevention is the key to keeping water running during the winter months, so take precautions to see that your pipes are securely wrapped and warm.

How to Smoke a Tobacco Pipe

The art of pipe smoking is a fully underestimated task of complete enjoyment for all. Here is how to smoke your pipe to enjoy it the most.

1. Find a pipe that fits you. There are many tobacconists around the world who would be more than happy to help you find the perfect pipe, and I will show more about how to select tobacco pipe for you in this blog. Prices range from six dollars to several thousand.

2. Find the right tobacco for you. There are many varieties: aromatics, American blends, English blends, Virginias, Burleys, and many more. A tobacconist will be able to help there, as well. People completely new to smoking may enjoy an aromatic or lighter strength tobacco, while someone coming from cigarettes or cigars might prefer a heavier type of blend. I like Golden Blend's Vanilla best, buy small amounts representing several different genres.

3. Fill your bowl, it is very important for smoke pipe. Fill loosely with tobacco and compress it lightly (using a "child's touch"). Compressed halfway from the bottom of the bowl to the top. Fill again to the top and compress with a little more force (a "woman's touch"). This time halfway from the top of the previous packing to the top. Now top it off and compress a bit harder (a "man's touch"). Again half way from the last point to the top. Should leave roughly a 1/8th of an inch gap from the tobacco to the top of the bowl. You need to make sure it is not so tight that you cannot draw through it; you should be able to draw air though with little or no resistance. The tobacco should be springy to the touch. It's best to have your tobacconist or an experienced pipe smoker show you. Correct packing takes a little practice, and has a lot of impact on how enjoyable your experience will be.

4. Light the pipe with a wooden match or a pipe lighter. Let the match burn off the sulfur a few seconds. Move the flame around the surface of the tobacco while drawing gently until evenly lit, then tamp gently with a tamper. Let it go out, then relight the same way.

5. Puff slowly and rhythmically. Patience is rewarded. Puffing too fast will result in tongue bite - a burning sensation on the tongue.

6. Tamp the tobacco gently periodically throughout the smoke to ensure the bowl remains correctly packed while smoking. Don't worry if the pipe goes out from time to time - it will. Simply relight.

7. Make sure you smoke your pipe to the end to create a nice "cake" at the bottom and side of your pipe bowl.

8. Relax and enjoy. Pipe smoking is the quintessential art of smoking.

How To Choose Gifts For A Pipe Smoker

Choosing gifts for a pipe smoker can seem a daunting task. His pipes all seem to be the same on first glance, you have no idea what he likes to smoke, other than some vague mumblings about “Latakia” or “Virginia”, and he seems to have every possible gadget, gee-gaw and accessory known to man.

So, how do you purchase a gift that will excite him and let him know that you are paying attention to him and his hobby?

Purchasing a gift for a pipe smoker can be broken down into the following steps:

1. Enlisting Help
2. Gathering Intelligence
3. Making the Purchase
4. Presenting the Gift

With these four steps, it is possible to present any pipe smoker with a gift that will have him amazed with your taste and insight.

Enlisting Help

The first, and most important, step in selecting a gift for a pipe smoker is enlisting the help of someone who can help you make sense of his pipe stuff and guide you in selecting a gift. This should not be any of his pipe smoking friends. They will blab to him as soon as they get a chance. You will also deprive the recipient of your gift of the smug satisfaction he will get when he springs the gift on his pipe smoking buddies.

You see, all of us pipe smokers love to play “Look what I’ve got” in order to make our pipe smoking friends a bit jealous. The most admired and envied man in any group of pipe smokers is the one whose significant others allow him to enjoy his hobby in peace. Imagine the fun he will have explaining that the pipe or accessory that he has is not only something they don’t have, but that you gave it to him!

So, to whom do you turn for help? Your best bet is to enlist the help of someone from whom he buys pipes. You will have access to someone who knows all about the hobby, and possibly what your significant other likes, if you do a bit of digging and contact someone that he has purchased pipes and accessories from in the past. Call them up and explain that you are looking to purchase a gift for your significant other, and you will have a strong ally, ready to help in any way they can.

Gathering Intelligence

Now that you have made contact with a friendly ally, it is time to gather the appropriate intelligence in order to make an informed decision about what your significant other would like to receive as a present. Your new ally will help guide you along the way and tell you how to determine certain pieces of information, but here are a few handy tips to speed this process along:

1. Take a look at his pipes, noting the style and shape of them. Make notes about what is stamped on them, particularly if the same stampings come up over and over again on his pipes. Are they mostly similar shapes, or do they vary in style a lot? Do they mostly have some sort of jewelry on them, or are they mostly bare wood and stem material? Are they smooth finished, or do they have a rusticated or sandblasted look to them? Knowing these things will help you, and your enlisted help figure out his tastes in pipes in short order.

2. What pipes has he been looking at recently? This is east to find out. Just go to his computer, open up the web browser, and click the little down arrow to the right of the address bar. You will likely see a long list of website addresses. By clicking on any of these in the list, you can visit the web pages he has visited. Visit several of these to get an idea of what pipes and accessories he has been looking at recently. Take special note of items he has looked at that are not like his current collection of pipes, maybe that is something that would surprise him…

Making the Purchase

Now armed with the fruits of your intelligence gathering, you are ready to purchase your gift. The most basic financial rule of pipe purchasing, and of almost any other purchase is this: "Buy the absolute best you can afford." You can't go wrong by buying quality. Pipes are available in a vast range of prices, from under $20.00 to well into the thousands, with plenty of well-made pipes in each price category.

You should strive to get the greatest value for your money, The reason this is the final consideration is that pipes are not cheap or expensive, they are either good smokers, or bad smokers, and without careful consideration of the aesthetics and mechanics, a cheap pipe and an expensive pipe are equally likely to be a good smoker, or a bad one. Rely heavily on your enlisted help at this point to help steer you in the right direction.

Presenting the Gift

Presentation is a huge part of giving a gift, so be inventive. If the gift is for a special occasion, like Christmas or an Anniversary, offer to bring him his pipe, and return with the gift, instead of what he asked for. If it is not for a special occasion, one sure-fire way to present the gift is by sneaking it into his collection to be “found”, perhaps with a note tucked in the bowl if it is a pipe.

How To Clean and Care For Meerschaum Pipe

Without regular and diligent cleaning, your wonderful new meerschaum will become a soggy, ill-tasting mess, and will no longer provide you with the smoking pleasure you desire. To eliminate such problems, you need to embark on a regimen of regular cleaning and maintainance for your meerschaums.

Materials Needed:

• Tapered Pipe Cleaners
• Bristle Pipe Cleaners
• Regular or extra fluffy pipe cleaners
• shank brush or cotton swab
• pipe tool or pick

Concerning 'Coloring':

One of the joys of owning and smoking a meerschaum pipe is watching it slowly change color, from a milky white to a dark brown. When you first get a meerschaum pipe, be careful that your hands are clean as you smoke it for the first few times.

Meerschaum pipes are coated in beeswax which aids in the coloring process and protects the brittle meerschaum. As the pipe heats during smoking (and be careful not to get it too hot) the beeswax melts. If your hands are dirty, the beeswax will pick up that dirt.

Though some suggest not touching the bowl of a meerschaum pipe while smoking it, I think this is a little extreme. Just take care that your hands are clean and dry.

A sample 'Coloring' regimen:

There are many different ways to go about coloring your meerschaum pipe, but one of the simplest is as follows:
Smoke your meerschaum several times a day for about two weeks. Unlike a briar pipe, meerschaums do not need long periods of rest between smokes, and can safely be smoked multiple times in a day. Do, however, allow the pipe to cool between bowls.

After this two weeks, your meerschaum should be noticeably heavier than when you began, owing to the amount of tars and oils now trapped inside the meerschaum. Put your meerschaum aside for a period of about one month.

During this time, the beeswax will wick the tars and oils towards the surface of the pipe, coloring it in the process. Repeat and enjoy!

Before Smoking:

The care and cleaning of your pipe begins with your very first smoke, and should continue forward from there. Before each smoke, run a pipe cleaner, either bristle or regular, through the stem to dislodge any leftover ash and dottle, and gently tap your pipe on a cork knocker or the palm of your hand to remove these obstructions from the bowl.

Be especially careful when tapping a meerschaum pipe to hold it by the shank, never by the stem!

While Smoking:

During a smoke is an excellent time to begin the process of caring for your pipe. You can begin by paying careful attention when lighting your pipe. Keep your flame source over the tobacco, so that it does not char the rim of your pipe.

Unlike a briar pipe, it is near impossible to remove this rim charring from a meerschaum pipe, so it pays to be extra careful in this department. During smoking is also when you will notice if a more thorough cleaning is in order. If a pipe begins to taste sour, salty, or just plain bad while smoking it, it is probably time for a good cleaning. See Periodic Cleaning below.

After Smoking:

First, a warning: Always remove a stem from a meerschaum pipe by twisting it gently clockwise while supporting the shank with your fingers. At the end of each smoke, your pipe should be given a good cleaning.

Dump out the ash and dottle, and run a bristle pipe cleaner around the inside of the bowl to remove any possible cake build-up. Unlike a briar pipe, a meerschaum requires no cake, and in some instances, a cake can be detrimental to a meerschaum, either slowing the coloring process, or causing the pipe to crack.

Clean out the stem with a bristle pipe cleaner once, remove it, and either turn it around or use another pipe cleaner, repeating this process until the pipe cleaners come out clean. Moisten a pipe cleaner with saliva and rub the mouthpiece with it to remove any buildup there. Blow gently through the stem of the pipe to dislodge any leftover ash and wipe your pipe down with a soft dry cloth. Place the pipe back on it's rack or stand and allow it to cool.

Periodically:

You will want to, on occasion, give your pipes a more thorough cleaning than just swabbing out the stem after smoking. Most smokers do this fairly regularly, some going so far as to do so after all of their pipes have been smoked once, thus providing themselves with a fresh, clean rotation of pipes. You will have to experiment a bit with how often you do this clenaing to find what works best for you.

To start this cleaning, carefully remove the stem of the pipe from the bowl and lay the two pieces on a paper towel. Dip a regular pipe cleaner in alchohol and run it through the stem, from the tenon to the mouthpiece, pulling it through.

It will most likely come out with a bit of black or brown gunk on it. Follow this pipe cleaner with a dry one, and repeat until the moist pipe cleaner comes out the same color it was when it went in. Push one final dry pipe cleaner through to remove any moisture and set the stem aside.

How To Pack and Light Pipe Step by Step

The number one complaint of new pipe smokers seems to be that they do not know how to correctly 'pack' their pipe, resulting in either dottle left over at the end of the smoke, or a hot smoke and the dread tongue bite, or a pipe that is hard to draw on.

Here is compiled a step by step outline to the correct way to pack a pipe for maximum enjoyment. Packing and lighting a pipe, much like smoking a pipe, is an artform, and this technique may take some time to master, but once you have it down pat, one of the major stumbling blocks to pipe smoking bliss will have been removed.

Materials Needed:

• Pipe
• Tobacco
• Something to tamp the tobacco with
• Something to ignite the tobacco with
• Pipe cleaners

Procedure:

There are many methods employed to pack a pipe with tobacco. The method listed below works well for many folks and many different kinds of tobacco. It is, by no means, the only method of packing a pipe and experimentation is the key to finding a process that works well for you.

(1) First, it is imprtant to make sure that your pipe is free from obstructions and left over ash from previous smokes. Run a pipe cleaner through the stem, dump out any dottle, and gently blow through the stem to expel any leftover ash. It is probably best to do this over a trashcan, large ashtray, or other such receptacle, pointing the bowl of the pipe upside down to avoid spewing dottle and ash into your own face.

(2) remove a small amount of tobacco from your tin/pouch/etc and lay it out on a flat surface. Gently pick apart any clumps in the tobacco, and make note of the moisture content of the tobacco. If it is too moist, you may want to let it sit out for a few minutes to dry out a bit. Go make yourself a cup of tea, pull an espresso, or open some mail. When you come back, it should have dried just a bit and be a little easier to deal with.

(3) holding your pipe, trickle strands of tobacco into the bowl of the pipe until it is filled to the top. resist the urge to push the tobacco down with your thumb half-way through this operation. Do not pinch the loose tobacco while doing this, as you will create more of the clumps you just took time to remedy.

(4) Now, take you tamper/pipe-nail/etc and gently compress the tobacco. For bowls with straight sides, you should tamp gently until the tobacco half fills the bowl. For pipes with tapered bowls, aim for more like two thirds full. The tobacco in the bowl should have a very springy, almost soft consistancy.

(5) Put the pipe to your lips and take a test draw. If there is any resistance, dump out the tobacco and start over.

(6) Once again, trickle loose strands of tobacco into the bowl until it is once again full, perhaps even a tad over-full.

(7) Again, tamp the tobacco down gently with your tamp. For straight sided bowls, the pipe should now be three quarters full. For tapered bowls, the pipe should now be five eights or so full. You will probably find that to acheive this level of tobacco, you have to tamp with slightly more force than the first time. The tobacco in the bowl should feel springy.

(8) Put the pipe to your lips and take a test draw. There may be tiny amount of resistance this time, but if you have any troubles drawing on the pipe, dump out the tobacco and start over.

(9) Trickle a bit more tobacco into the pipe, until a small mound of it protrudes above the rim of the bowl, looking as if it needs a haircut. Return any left-over tobacco to its' container for future use.

(10) Using your tamp again, pack this tobacco down until it is even with the top of the bowl. This will take a bit more pressure than the first two tamping operations, but take care not to overdue it. The tobacco should still feel springy, only slightly less so than on the second tamp.

(11) Put the pipe to your lips and take a test draw. The resistance should be minimal, like sucking on a straw. If there is any more than this, dump out the tobacco and start over.

Now, if all of the above steps have been successfully completed, your pipe is properly packed and ready to be lit and smoked.

Lighting a pipe seems to be a very straightforward operation. You apply open flame, whether from a match, lighter or other such contrivance and puff on the pipe until it is lit. Well, to get maximum enjoyment out of your pipe, and to minimize the need for mid-smoke relights, it is important to pay attention to your technique here, as with any other aspect of smoking. Here are a couple of easy steps to ensure a nicely lit pipe.

(1) First comes the 'charring' light (also called the 'false' light), the purpose of which is to expel any extra moisture from the tobacco and prepare a nice even bed for the 'true' light. To acheive this, light your match of lighter and apply it to the tobacco, moving it in a circular motion around the entire surface of the tobacco. While doing this, take a series of shallow puffs on the pipe. It may be that the tobacco swells up in a spot or two and seems to unravel. That is the purpose of the charring light, to balance out the tobacco moisture and density.

(2) Allow this light to go out and tamp the tobacco back down even with the top of the bowl. You may find it useful to twist or spin your tamp in a cicrular motion while doing this. This is the point where many pipe smokers ruin a good packing job by tamping too hard. You should use a very light touch, wanting only to return the tobacco to the level it was before the charring light.

(3) Relight your match of lighter and apply it to the tobacco, moving it in a circular motion around the entire surface of the tobacco. While doing this, take a series of shallow puffs on the pipe. This time the tobacco should not unravel and puff up as it did before. Extenguish your source of fire, sit back, relax and enjoy your pipe.

Hopefully, by following these instructions, you have successfully lit your pipe and are enjoying it. Here are a couple more tips to consider:

• It takes time and practice to master this technique, but you should see steady improvement in your form and in the ease with which you can pack your pipe as you progress. It is not uncommon for it to take six months for this technique to become second nature.
• Don't worry too much about relights. Relighting your pipe is a fact of life, and only rarely, if at all, will you have a smoke where you do not have to relight at least once. You will probably find that as your smoking progresses, you will relight less and less frequently.

How To Select The Right Pipe

Selecting a pipe is a subtly complex exercise. If you have been in a pipe shop and watched someone buy a pipe, you may have wondered what was taking so long. There are a myriad of factors that go into finding and buying the right pipe for yourself, and even more so in choosing a pipe as a gift.

Unfortunately, very little has been written about how to buy your first (or second, or third) pipe. This guide will examine the factors involved in choosing a pipe for yourself, and will hopefully aleviate some of the perplexing questions beginning pipe smokers have. A seperate guide Choosing Gifts for Pipe Smokers examines the extra steps involved in buying a pipe as a gift for someone else.

A pipe must meet several requirements in order to satisfy you. They can be roughly divided into the following categories; Aesthetic, Mechanical, and Financial.

Let's examine each of them, in order of importance, hopefully building up a solid foundation of knowledge with which to buy your first pipe with confidence that you have selected a well-made pipe that appeals to you and that you can afford, that will provide you with years of smoking enjoyment.

1) Aesthetics:

You must enjoy the look and feel of the pipe. All other considerations pale in comparison to this one. It will not matter if you have purchased a mechanically flawless pipe at an insanely good price, if, in a few weeks or months, you find that you do not smoke it any longer because it is not your style. It doesn't matter if a pipe is crafted by a big-name carver or a well-known factory if it does not appeal to you, then it is not a good candidate for purchase.

So, the first rule is: Buy pipes you like. Pretty easy so far, right? Well, how do you know what you like? If you are new to pipe smoking, you may not be entirely sure of what types of pipes suite you best, or excite you most. The best advice in that case is to look at pipes. Look at lots of pipes. Take every opportunity to check out interesting selections. Look at all of the different pipe styles. Sooner or later (probably sooner), a pipe is going to reach out and take hold of you and whisper quietly to you 'take me home'. When this happens, you must be prepared to move on to the next aspect of pipe buying, the physical inspection.

2) Mechanical Considerations:

The pipe must be constructed in such a manner as to bring you pleasure from smoking it. It must not have design flaws that cause it to be impossible to keep clean, lit, or even together. The question, especially for beginning pipe smokers, is how to tell if a pipe is well made.

You need to know, then, what to look for in both a well-made, and a shoddily made pipe, so that you can tell the difference, and buy only those pipes that are well made.

First and foremost, a list of things to avoid. The presence of any one of the following should not be a cause for great concern. However, a pipe that has more than a few of these attributes might be one to take a pass on.

A) Poorly aligned parts - quality pipes have a precisely aligned and perfectly smooth airway from the draft hole in the bowl to the end of the mouthpiece. Any disruption in the smokestream (such as a misaligned mortise and tenon union) is going to cause turbulence and can cause the pipe to smoke loudly and wet. Be aware that some pipes are purposely designed with some type of moisture 'trap' that does work well for some people.

B) 'Fills' - large holes or pits in the pipe, filled in with putty. While these may not interefere with the actual smoking of the pipe, they may not color and age as gracefully as the rest of the briar and could cause a mottled appearance of the pipe. Briar is a natural product and you may not know how deep a fill actually is.

C) Metal filters - these inserts in the stems of some low grade pipes will cause condensation, resulting in a noisy, wet smoke.

D) Varnish - Pipe makers at all different levels use a dizzying array of finishes on their pipes. While most finishes will have no effect on a pipe, other than how long it stays shiny, it's best to avoid varnished finishes or 'sealed' finishes because they might tend to flake or bubble. There are always exceptions to every rule and there are some very well made pipes that use heavy finishes and are quite deisrable, smokable, and collectable.

Besides these things to look out for, you should be on the lookout for the following characteristics of a well-made pipe:

Grain: The more uniform the grain, and the tighter the grain, the higher the price of the pipe, but overall, this has little to no effect on the smoking quality.

Weight: The lighter a pipe is, everything else being equal, the better it will smoke. Okay, that's a pretty bold statement. The truth of the matter is that a lot of folks are looking for a pipe that 'feels lighter than it should' . A lighter pipe is easier to hold in your mouth and therefore less fatiguing. A pipe that is light for its size may also have been cured more thoroughly (moisture removal).

Sandpits: Sandpits happen, and there really isn't anything wrong with them, but the fewer of them in a pipe, the better.

Fit and finish: The pipe should look as if it was made with care. There should not be any obvious sandpaper marks, uneven stain, or bald spots without wax. The inside of the bowl should not be stained. The stem and shank should join well.

Draft hole: This should be as close as possible to the center of the bowl, and should align perfectly with the airhole in the stem. It should also terminate in the bottom of the bowl, not partway up the side.

3) Financial Considerations:

You must be able to afford the pipe. The most basic financial rule of pipe purchasing, and of almost any other purchase, is this: "Buy the absolute best you can afford." You can't go wrong by buying quality. Pipes are available in a vast range of prices, from under $20.00 to well into the $1,000's, with plenty of well-made pipes in each price category. You should strive to get the greatest value for your money., The reason this is the final consideration is that pipes are not cheap or expensive, they are either good smokers, or bad smokers, and without careful consideration of the aesthetics and mechanics, a cheap pipe and an expensive pipe are equally likely to be a good smoker, or a bad one.

Having read and applied the principles above, you should have a good foundation of knowledge to apply to your pipe purchasing, and you should have figured out why it takes so long to pick out a pipe!

How To Clean Briar Pipe

Without regular and diligent cleaning, your wonderful new pipe will become a soggy, ill-tasting mess, and will no longer provide you with the smoking pleasure you desire. To eliminate such problems, you need to embark on a regimen of regular cleaning and maintainance for your pipes.

There some materials needed first:

• Tapered Pipe Cleaners
• Bristle Pipe Cleaners
• Regular or extra fluffy pipe cleaners
• Pipe sweetener or grain alcohol
• Shank brush or cotton swab
• Pipe reamer
• Pipe tool or pick

Concerning 'Rotation':

A smokers rotation is the number of pipes they own, and the order they are smoked in. This is an important concept to the care and cleaning of your pipes.

First and foremost, because pipes need a rest in between smokes if they are to continue to function optimally.

Before Smoking:

The care and cleaning of your pipe begins with your very first smoke, and should continue forward from there.

Before each smoke, run a pipe cleaner, either bristle or regular, through the stem to dislodge any leftover ash and dottle, and gently tap your pipe on a cork knocker or the palm of your hand to remove these obstructions from the bowl.

While Smoking:

During a smoke is an excellent time to begin the process of caring for your pipe. You can begin by paying careful attention when lighting your pipe. Keep your flame source over the tobacco, so that it does not char the rim of your pipe. If the rim of your pipes begin to develop a bit of a dark tint to them, it can usually be removed by moistening a pipe cleaner with saliva and gently rubbing the rim of the pipe with it.

Done regularly, this will eliminate the cause of the charred, blackened rims so common on un-cared-for pipes. During smoking is also when you will notice if a more thorough cleaning is in order.

If a pipe begins to taste sour, salty, or just plain bad while smoking it, it is probably time for a good cleaning. See Periodic Cleaning below.

After Smoking:

First, a warning: Do not remove the stem of a pipe while it is still warm. This will cause the stem to loosen, and can cause you to crack the shank or break the tenon of your pipe.

At the end of each smoke, your pipe should be given a good cleaning. Allow the pipe to cool, and then stir up any ash and dottle left in the bottom of the bowl. Placing one finger or the palm of your hand over the top of the bowl, shake the pipe for a few seconds to evenly distribute the ash along the inside walls of the bowl, which will greatly speed the formation of 'cake', a protective layer of carbonized tobacco and ash inside your pipe.

Cake acts as an insulator, greatly extending the life of your pipe and guarding against burn outs. See the Periodic Cleaning section below for instructions on maintaining the cake, Dump out the remaining ash and dottle, and run a bristle pipe cleaner through the stem until it is just barely visible in the bottom of the bowl.

Remove it, and either turn it around or use another pipe cleaner, repeating this process until the pipe cleaners come out clean. Moisten a pipe cleaner with saliva and rub the mouthpiece with it to remove any buildup there.

Blow gently through the stem of the pipe to dislodge any leftover ash and wipe your pipe down with a soft cloth, perhaps impregnated with a compound such as Briar Pipe Wipe.

If you wish, you may insert a regular pipe cleaner into the stem of the pipe before placing it back on the rack, in order to absorb any residual moisture, but if you are diligent in using your pipe cleaners, this is not necessary.

Place the pipe back on it's rack or stand and allow it to rest, hopefully for two to four days before it is smoked again.

Periodically:

You will want to, on occasion, give your pipes a more thorough cleaning than just swabbing out the stem after smoking. Most smokers do this fairly regularly, some going so far as to do so after all of their pipes have been smoked once, thus providing themselves with a fresh, clean rotation of pipes.

You will have to experiment a bit with how often you do this clenaing to find what works best for you. To start this cleaning, carefully remove the stem of the pipe from the bowl and lay the two pieces on a paper towel. Dip a regular pipe cleaner in alcohol and run it through the stem, from the tenon to the mouthpiece, pulling it through. It will most likely come out with a bit of black or brown gunk on it.

Follow this pipe cleaner with a dry one, and repeat until the moist pipe cleaner comes out the same color it was when it went in. Push one final dry pipe cleaner through to remove any moisture and set the stem aside. Using bristle pipe cleaners, moistened with alcohol, vigorously swab out the airhole of the pipe, alternating with dry, regular pipe cleaners.

Don't be afraid to use a lot of pipe cleaners doing this. Pipe cleaners are cheap, new pipes aren't. If the airhole of your pipe is large enough in diameter that there is little resistance when you do this, you may want to fold the cleaner in half in order to scrub the sides of the airhole properly.

Once your dry pipe cleaner comes out of the airhole the same color it was when it went in, run one more dry cleaner through the airhole to absorb any residual moisture. Using a cotton swab or shank brush, clean out the tenon, the portion of the pipe where the stem attaches to the bowl. a doubled over regular pipe cleaner will do in a pinch.

If your stem or bowl has a band, now is the time to polish it, using a good silver, or other metal, polish, depending on what your band is made of. Carefully reinsert the stem into the bowl, and give the pipe a good wipe with a soft cloth, perhaps impregnated with a compound such as Briar Pipe Wipe.

Cleaning over, allow your pipe to sit for a day or so before smoking it, to allow the alcohol to completely evaporate. If you have cleaned most or all of your briar pipes at once, now is a good time to smoke your meerschaums and corncobs you have been neglecting.