Best way to clean an estate pipe?

There seem to be many opinions on this matter.  My personal preference is to give it a good reaming almost all the way to the wood, and then I give it the salt and alcohol treatment.  this seems to get rid of most of the flavor from the previous smoker.  After that, I clean out the shank with alcohol soaked bristle pipe cleaners, and I run a few alcohol soaked pipe cleaners through the stem.  Assuming that there is no oxidation etc.,  the pipe is now good to go.  Anything that might have been hanging around is long since gone after being exposed to high-proof alcohol.
Cheers,
Josh 

A good ream out and a blast with the retort works wonders I find

I would honestly consider sending it out for a full reconditioning.For about $20.00 or less they'll ream the bowl,steralize the pipe,buff the stem and some will even re stain the bowl upon request.There are a ton of qualified pros who do this work,the most famous being Jim Benjamin of California...Do a search for pipe reconditioning on your search engine...

Best,

D.Perry

The Sherlock Holmes Pipe Club of Boston... "Keeping The Smoking Lamp Lit Since 1991" www.shpcboston.org

This subject is probably destined to elicit 100 different responses from 100 different people.  I've always had really good luck with the following:

Ream the pipe, salt and alcohol (fill the bowl with non-oxidized, coarse grain Sea Salt and fill it with 91% isopropyl alcohol using an eyedropper) wait about 24 hours, empty out the salt (the coarse grain salt makes for an easy clean up), run alcohol soaked bristle pipe cleaners through the shank until they come out clean.  Remove oxidation from the bit with a fingernail buffer, apply several coats of polishing compound to the de-oxidized bit.  Wipe the briar portion off with a soft cotton rag and apply several coats of neutral shoe polish.  Load, light and enjoy

Shoe polish?  For real?  Doesn't it flavor the bowl?  Can't you smell it when the bowl gets warm?

Rick Piatt

That stuff is oil based...not water or alcohol like what the pipe-makers use...that would scare me.
Cheers,
Josh

No taste, no smell just rub it on with your fingertips and when it dries buff to a shine (just like shoes)

I keep a little neutral shoe polish with me in the truck.
Josh, its not oil based, but carnuba based. I melt it down then set it alight to burn off the oils and leave nothing but the hard carnuba.

Cleaning estate pipes: I go somewhat farther than most, but then, I'm picky.
First, I ream to the wood then sand with 600 grit to bare wood. Next comes the S/A treatment. Some plug the smoke hole to prevent salt from entering it but I don't. Allowing the alcohol to get in there helps soften the tars in the channel. Next, I clean the the smoke hole with bristle the regular pipe cleaners until there is NO color. Using Q-tips, I next do the mortice until there is nothing but bare wood. The sanding gives me a smooth interior and reveals any minute heat cracks.
The stem gets a quick buff with red compound to remove any wax and surface oxidation then into straight chlorine bleach to kill germs and remove any leftover oxidation. A rinse with water then bristle cleaners dipped in grain alcohol are then used in the interior of the stem until they come back clean, and I mean CLEAN. The whole shebang then heads for the buffer.
When I'm finished, I have a pipe that is cleaner than when new with no ghosts unless Capt. Black or Middletons Cherry Blend has been smoked in it. Those pipes either go in the trash or back on e-Bay with the proper disclaimer.
One thing I've found that S/A treatment won't touch is that musty smell you get every once in a while from a pipe left in the basement fro several years. Tim West gave me the cure for that. Pour about a half thimble full of alcohol into the bowl, cover the chamber and mortice with your thumb and finger and shake it to coat the insides with the juice. Now, set it alight. When the alcohol burns out, the mold spores are gone.
Another trick Tim taught me is for rescueing a pipe with thin walls or schortched walls, something you want to build a quick cake in.
Dry some of the tobacco you intend to smoke it it until you can rub it into a fine powder. Mix it with grape jelly, not jam, (I use Welchs)and apply a thin coat to the chamber. Set the pipe up until the mixture has dried completely. Load the pipe and smoke it to the bottom. You may taste the jelly on the first bowl. The advantage over honey is the jelly doesn't melt and puddle in the bottom of the bowl and doesn't require a jack hammer to get out. Skeptical? You bet I was! So, I tried it on a Pete 307 System Standard. It worked. I used it on a Celius King that had been smoked hot many times. That pipe is one of my best smokers now.