Your pipe cleaner that is. One year ago someone emailed and asked whether or not it was a good idea to leave a pipe cleaner in the stem when you're through smoking. I answered according to what I had been taught ... NO. I've always listened to the pros and cons on the subject and formulated my own conclusion. After thinking about I came a the conclusion that I shouldn't be jumping to that conclusion. I decided to perform a somewhat controlled test. Here is how I did it.
Two identical, new Savinelli Model 114 pipes were used. Both croos grained.
Each was smoked three times a week for 1 year (3/03)
Each rested 2 days between smoking.
Each was cleaned with 4 pipe cleaners after smoking was complete.
Each was thoroughly cleaned every 4 weeks.
The same tobacco, Five Star Deluxe, was smoked exclusively.
One was left to rest with a pipe cleaner in the stem and shank and one was not.
Standard size and fluff pipe cleaners were used.
Here are my observations at the conclusion of the test. The pipe in which the cleaner was left in will be referred to as Pipe A. Pipe B is the pipe without.
The shank of Pipe A is slightly darker than Pipe B leaving a slightly two toned appearance.
Pipe A developed a slight gap between the shank and stem.
Pipe A's shank expanded slightly larger than the stem.
Pipe A had more pipe cleaner residue (stray fuzz) in it when thoroughly cleaned.
Pipe B took longer to break in. I'm not sure if that had anything to do with the test.
Pipe A took a few more cleaners for the once a month cleaning.
After 1 year Pipe A is a little more ... well for lack of a better term, stinky.
So there you have it. Pipe B, without the cleaner, faired better than Pipe A with. I am only going to guess why but I suspect that the pipe cleaner left in does more to keep the moisture trapped than it does to wick it out. Happy Smoking.
发表于 2006-12-11 22:59:45
发表于 2006-12-12 03:01:42
