| Author | Message | ||
     Joe Louis Member Username: Joe_louis Post Number: 1 Registered: 10-2005 |
Hello all... New piper. First time posting here. Thanks for a great forum of valuable information. I noticed from my lurking that resting briar pipes seems to be SOP, but I was wondering if someone can fill me in as to the benefits? What happens when the pipe is rested? What determines how long it should rest, and what are the consequences of not resting it long enough? Thanks... | ||
| Dave Crehore Member Username: Briarbrain Post Number: 311 Registered: 11-2004 |
One of the products of combustion is water vapor. When you finish a bowl and remove the ash, you'll note that the bottom of the bowl is damp, a little or a lot depending on the tobacco. If you run a cleaner thru the pipe immediately after smoking you'll find the end of the cleaner has picked up moisture from the shank. The source of this moisture is the water vapor from the burning tobacco -- it has condensed in the bottom of the bowl and in the shank, and some of it will soak into the wood. The purpose of resting a pipe is to let the wood dry out thoroughly. If you smoke a pipe several times a day, day after day, the moisture will build up faster than it can dry out. The result will be a pipe that will taste increasingly rank and "tarry", and in theory at least, as the wood absorbs more and more moisture, it could be weakened. Some years ago I went to a work assignment out of town that was supposed to last 12 hours or so -- the afternoon, overnight and back the next morning. I took four pipes with me. As it turned out, the job took two weeks with no opportunity to come home and pick up some more pipes. Luckily I had a good supply of tobacco. I would smoke two pipes several times each for a day, and let them rest for a day while smoking the other two. These were good quality pipes -- Castellos -- but after two weeks of heavy duty they began to taste sour and unpleasant. When I got home, I cleaned the shanks with a brush and alcohol and let them rest for two weeks, and all was well again. It's pretty much a fact of life that if you like to smoke several times a day, every day, you are going to have to acquire a "rotation" of a half-dozen or more pipes, so that you can let them rest and dry for a couple of days between smokes. Try to run a cleaner through the pipe every time you smoke it, and definitely at the end of the day. Then put it in a rack, stem up, and let it dry for as long as you can. Don't rest the pipe with a pipe cleaner in it; I'm pretty sure the pipe will dry better if air can move through it. | ||
| Bill Young Member Username: Bronxbill Post Number: 36 Registered: 11-2004 |
Welcome Joe. Resting briar pipes allows them to dry out. Some folks rest a pipe after each smoke, some after a day or more of use. Having a large collection of pipes, I tend toward the after each use belief. If used all the time and not allowed to dry, a briar pipe will "sour". You will know when this happens, the taste of your favorite tobacco will change and become unpleasant. | ||
| Gary R. Thomason Member Username: Phantom55 Post Number: 115 Registered: 11-2004 |
The purpose is to let the pipe dry out. Provided a good quality tobacco is smoked, and proper smoking technique is observed, any briar pipe can be smoked at least 2-3 times before letting it rest. Am making the assumption here that it is also a decent quality pipe. Some will say you should smoke a pipe only once, then rest it, but that is not really necessary. When a pipe starts looking wet, or smoking wet, then rest it. The consequences of not resting a pipe properly are a hot and bitter tasting pipe. | ||
| Chuck Wright Member Username: Truckerchuck Post Number: 517 Registered: 05-2004 |
Hi Joe, I'll take a stab at this. Briar pipes are wood of course and wood absorbs moisture, both from the tobacco and your mouth. The wood needs time to dry out or you will end up with a sour pipe. That will greatly alter the flavor of your tobacco and give you a bitter taste. It will make you wonder, "Just what in the blue blazes is so great about this pipe smoking stuff?!" A clean, dry pipe will answer that question for you. It is my opinion that a pipe needs to rest for at least 24 hours and probably 48 hours. Others will disagree with me. I personally rest my pipes for five days but I have built up a substantial rotation over the years. What determines how long it should rest? The humidity and temperature of the air around the pipe and it's grain. Wider graind pipes will absorb more fluid while tight grained pipes won't absorb as much. Which dries quicker? I think it is about a toss-up. The pipe should be left out in the air, ie: pipe stand or rest to allow the air to circulate around and thru it. Luck to ya and welcome. | ||
| david goliath Member Username: Fritzin Post Number: 143 Registered: 07-2005 |
Yup...gotta let em dry out. Had a bent BBB I picked up in london for nothin' in the market and the shank cracked and broke. I hadn't had it apart yet it just broke when I was about to clean it. I looked inside and it was obvious that it almost had a sorta rot to the briar from the inside out. The outside looked fine but inside the stem and shank it was noticably dirty and wet. So maybe the moisture allows time to catch up with the briar and let it break down and rot. Even though this still takes a long time it obviously weakens thin briar. | ||
| Joe Louis Member Username: Joe_louis Post Number: 2 Registered: 10-2005 |
Thanks guys... That does make sense. A follow on question, if I may? If you are smoking the same pipe several times in a day, won't the heat from the subsequent smokes help dry out the moisture from the previous smoke? As long as the pipe is allowed to cool between smokes so it doesn't burn too hot, and a pipe cleaner is run through between smokes to collect the obvious moisture, is it all that detrimental to smoke the same pipe all day, and then put it to rest for a few days to let it dry completely? I now have six pipes in my rotation, and will have a new Boswell next week to make seven. My intention is to designate each for a given day of the week. Am I asking for trouble with this approach? Thanks... | ||
| Bill Clough Member Username: Mdnghtramblr Post Number: 48 Registered: 09-2005 |
Joe, my understanding is that you are picking up the ideal "seven day set" meaning that you are doing it a good way. Smoking each pipe once a week would IMHO give them ample time to dry out between smokes. But like many others, I use a pipe cleaner on mine after each smoke and usually put a stem cleaning solution through them once every couple weeks. Have not had to ream yet, though time is getting close and I will have to get a reamer and some brushes and everclear to fully clean the pipes. I only have 2 good pipes and a couple cobs for when the mood hits me. But like I said, your seven is kinda an idea I would love to hit one day. | ||
| Joe Louis Member Username: Joe_louis Post Number: 3 Registered: 10-2005 |
I wonder what impact, if any, the "rest period" has on the formation of the cake? Does the cake build faster or "better" if the pipe is rested? | ||
| Gary R. Thomason Member Username: Phantom55 Post Number: 121 Registered: 11-2004 |
Joe, like many on this board, I have many pipes, and rarely smoke one more than once in a day, although you surely can. If you take all your pipes, and only smoke them once, even though you may smoke 3-4 pipes in a day, you will probably never have a problem. The more the better though. | ||
| Eric c Dinsfield Member Username: Peace_smoker Post Number: 7 Registered: 10-2005 |
i have a mac queen church warden...the wizard which i have been enjoying thourally  ..sry bout me spellin...but i smoke mostly one to two bowls a day..or at elast latly i have....would it be sufficient to smoke evry other day to keep it dry enough? i clean i out agfter every smoke by the way...oh and one mroe question please ...is it bad to keep my pipe in a bag inside my car all day?? | ||
| david goliath Member Username: Fritzin Post Number: 157 Registered: 07-2005 |
If a pipe is left in the sun or in heat for extended periods it can dry out too much. This can aid cracking and make the shank brittle. If you buy a pipe in an antique mall they will undoubtingly be very dry. Cake wise my first attempt was a failure. If the cake is still saturated with moisture not resin from the tobacco before another smoke it can become brittle. If you want to make a natural cake with no catylist then allow at least a full day of rest. If you have twist apart pipes like meerschaums then you could leave them apart to allow the inside of the shank/stem to dry. This also helps produce a more natural taste the next time you smoke. I for one clean the stem with alcohol on a pipe cleaner then after that dries I run one through with mineral oil on it to replenish the moisture the alcohol pushed away. | ||
| Eric c Dinsfield Member Username: Peace_smoker Post Number: 9 Registered: 10-2005 |
huh wow thats interesting thanks alot! i will try leaving my pipe apart for dryin betetr, and ill TRRYYYYYY to smoke every other day ahahahh |