Keeping the rim clean
Posted on: Sun, 04/08/2007 - 11:00
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Keeping the rim clean
I've been looking at the pics of the pipes for sale on ebay that pop up on each page of this site and I'm amazed that so many of them have terrible looking charred / blackened rims. I found early on its acutally quite easy to keep the rims clean if I just moisten the tip of my finger with saliva and rub the top of the bowl - saliva seems to quickly cut through the toughest tobacco residue. Nearly all of my pipes - some of which are 10 years old, look like new because of this. But, I have one Radice Silk Cut that is stained a medium honey golden color that is starting to show darkening. This is because the sand blast (kind of like a Dunhill Tanshell finish) makes it impossible to 'spit shine' down in the nooks and crannys of the blast. The parts my finger can reach are as clean as a whistle but the valleys are blackened and I'm stressing over it. I've tried buffing the rim and had a tiny bit of success but darn it, I want that pipe to look as great as it did the day I bought it. Any ideas on how I should proceed?
Rick Piatt
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Rick Piatt
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Good post Rick. This used to bother me as well, so I used a hard-bristled toothbrush. The nylon is soft enough to not damage the wood, but small enough and firm enough to get into those little crannies and drag out the carbon. This works well unless the carbon has really had a chance to get very hard, in which case I have resorted to more drastic measures.
Don't try the following at home.... it can damage the finish. I take no responsibility for your results. Years ago, I had a Tanshell that was particularly crusted with some sort of gunk that was really tough. It smelled like burnt chocolate/vanilla and it had to go. The toothbrush and water wasn't cutting it at all. So to the cupboard I went and pulled out the pipe restorer's secret weapon- Everclear. I poured a small amount in a saucer, dipped the toothbrush, and had to work. About 15 minutes later, and it was clean. Of course, it also removed the wax, but that was a small problem. Eureka! I worked! At such amazing success, I decided to grab some other pipes I had suffering from the same malady, and give them the treatment. I did a couple more and the results were fantastic. The came an Aston Claret with a deep red finish. Ooops. Mistake. With the first stroke of the brush, there went the carbon, as well as a majority of the stain with it. Horrors! I thought I was going to be sick. After wacking my head on the wall a couple times, I looked at the toothbrush and saw the red bristles and had another idea. I took the brush and washed it in the saucer with the Everclear and then waited until much of it had evaporated, leaving a very small amount of red liquid. I got a Q-tip, soaked up the remaining liquid wth it, and carfully daubed it on the rim where the stain had been removed. It worked and I breathed a deep sigh of relief. From that moment on, I vowed to not use the Everclear on another pipe unless I could test it on an unseen portion first (like the mortise-tenon joint). I then buffed and waxed the pipes and all was well. I got lucky.
If you try this yourself, remember.... you have been warned! Good luck.
Matt
http://mestonepipes.com
Hey Rick,
A fella from my pipe club actually melts bee's way on the rims of all of his pipes as a preventative for rim scortching.He swears by this practice...
Best,
D.Perry
The Sherlock Holmes Pipe Club of Boston... "Keeping The Smoking Lamp Lit Since 1989" www.shpcboston.org
A fella from my pipe club actually melts bee's way on the rims of all of his pipes as a preventative for rim scortching.He swears by this practice...
Doesn't it melt off every time he lights the pipe? Or yellow the rim? Sounds strange Dock.
Rick Piatt
Rick Piatt
My month old Stanwell and Randy Wiley were getting pretty well burned from lighting up. I used Rick's method to clean them up and have been wetting the rim each time now before I light or relight the tobacco. It has completely stopped any further damage to the rim of these pipes. I have used this method on my two new pipe, the Peterson and the Tsuge, and have absolutely no burn on the rim....nothing to clean up. This works great. Thanks for the tip Rick.
Rob
Glad to be of service Rob. Take care of those pipes pal, you'll have them for a loooooong time. I'm planning to be smoking these same pipes 40 years from now.
Rick Piatt
Rick Piatt
Rick,
The pipes he smokes are predominately light coloured sandblasts and carved briars.Supposedly he melts the bees wax on them to protect the rim because he routuinely sells and trades pipes from his collection.I'm sure he would'nt keep doing it if it did'nt work well to keep them clean.Like yourself,he also uses the softie bits on all his pipes too...
Best,
D.Perry
The Sherlock Holmes Pipe Club of Boston... "Keeping The Smoking Lamp Lit Since 1989" www.shpcboston.org