Greetings to all.

 

Now that we have been greeted by Spring and are in a cleaning mood, I thought I would offer a few tips for getting those briars in shape. Regular cleaning maintenance is recommended in all cases, but sometimes a thorough cleaning is a great idea. Whatever tobacco you smoke, its taste will be enhanced by cleaning.

 

My first plan of attack is the inside part of the mouthpiece or stem. I will take a bristle pipe cleaner and dip it in rubbing alcohol, shake off any excess liquid and run the cleaner through the stem. I repeat the process until the cleaner comes out clean or white. Next I will use a fluffy pipe cleaner to absorb any of the remaining alcohol. If the stems are made of acrylic or lucite, oxidation and discoloring on the surface of the stem is not an issue, but if the pipe has a hard rubber stem chances are it will need some attention. One form of preventive maintenance for the hard rubber mouthpiece is to wipe off the stem after smoking with a tissue, cloth or your shirt. This will remove any saliva from the stem which, when it dries, will add to the discoloration process.

 

Now comes the part that is labor intensive and might test your patience, but for those of you who do not have a buffing wheel, this might be the way. We are now going to attempt to remove oxidation or discoloration from a hard rubber mouthpiece. Through the years, I have experimented with and used with success various products that have either changed or have been discontinued. Currently these are my supplies: Paper towels; baking soda; Tom's of Maine  toothpaste; Brebbia Stem Polish; and Tinder Box pipe polishing cloth. First I take the toothpaste and mix in a little baking soda. Rub this compound on the oxidized stem with your finger and then take the paper towel and rub like hell. You will see the discoloration on the towel and continue the process until the towel is clean. Follow this up with the stem polish using the same technique of rubbing a small amount on the stem and removing with the towel. I finish off the whole process with the polishing cloth. This is all quite time consuming, but if you don't have a buffing wheel, it will work.

 

 

Now, I will take a reaming tool and make sure my cake on the inside of the bowl is thin( less than the thickness of a dime) and even all the way down with no fissures or cracks in the cake. If you have some discoloration or build up on the rim of your bowl(sometimes it is sticky) you can take a paper towel, add your own saliva to the towel and rub this goo off the top of the pipe. This is something you need to do periodically, because after an extended period of time this build up becomes more difficult to remove. Next, I  will dip the bristle pipe cleaner(a new one!) into the alcohol, shake off excess liquid and run the cleaner into the shank section. If this part is particularly dirty, I will double the cleaner onto itself and pass it back and forth into the shank. When the bristle cleaners come out clean or white I will next use a fluffy cleaner to take up any excess moisture in the shank. Tinder Box makes a great polishing cloth and after you have cleaned all the parts of your pipe you can wipe everything( outside bowl and stem) with this cloth. I will leave the pipe apart, stem and bowl disconnected, until the next morning allowing it to air dry. Now you are set and you are ready to try out some of the new tobaccos or revisit some old.

 

 

Speaking of  new tobaccos, there were a couple of interesting trends that came out of the 2007 season. The first thing was of all the different tin tobaccos we carry ( and believe me there are lots) the Tinder Box Reserve 1928 was our best seller. This tobacco was first introduced in the Winter of 2006 and the sales were great right out of the gate. The important thing about any new product is repeat business. Sure, anybody will try a tin of anything one time, but the key to a blends success is will they buy it again. In the case of Reserve, the repeat business has been overwhelming. This tobacco crosses all taste points, for aromatic and non-aromatic smokers, its relight is fantastic and the taste is soft but interesting on the pallet. If you have failed to try this tobacco, now is the time. You will not be disappointed.

 

Finally, I want to leave you with a little obsession of mine and that is pipe smoking and cigar smoking portrayals in film and literature. Last night I watched a film I have never seen called The Dark Past. It was made in 1949 and stars Lee J. Cobb as a pipe smoking police psychiatrist and William Holden as the bad guy murderer. A hostage situation takes place in Cobb's hunting cabin and during this time Cobb starts to psychoanalyze Holden. The film is so so but the pipe smoking versus the cigarette smoking mannerisms and fidgets are worth the hour and a half running time. I have been recommending it all day to my pipe smoking customers.

 

I hope your Spring is eventful and all your pipes are sweet smoking. Good Luck