Back when I was younger – a lot younger, I used to be amazed at how a lot of my fellow pipe smokers seemed to be so, well, messy with their smoking hobby. Back when we could smoke in the show rooms of all pipe shows around the country, some of the tables of pipe smokers had ash everywhere on their tables and even on themselves! Some vendor tables displayed dozens of well used pipes that didn’t even appear to have ever been cleaned. Darkened rims, cake build-up, even food stains on the outer bowls for cryin’ out loud! Who would do such a nasty thing? And when I started my own pipe club over 20-years ago, I couldn’t believe how many of the older members actually saved their pipe cleaners to reuse over and over until they were coal black. Disgusting, right? One member wears the same shirt and blue jeans to every monthly meeting. His clothing has little burn holes all over the place. He says that’s because he tends to drop hot ashes on himself and figured that by wearing the same shirt and britches, he’s not ruining his entire wardrobe. I once asked the guy what he wore when he smoked at home. “These” he said, as he pointed at his clothing. And speaking of darkened rims, there’s another fellow in our club who always has darkened thumbs because he uses them to tamp his pipes!
I used to keep my pipes spotless. After each smoke I made sure to wipe off any darkening displayed on the rim. I’d give the stems a good rubdown with Flitz cleaner and I’d make sure the bowl interiors were wiped clean of any residue. I’d then take an EverClear soaked pipe cleaner and run it through the shank and stem followed by a dry one. I would then throw those cleaners away and put my now spotless pipe in its proper place in one of my Lazy Susan style racks. I am still good about emptying my pipes after smoking them and wiping out the bowl with a paper towel, but nowadays I don’t toss pipe cleaners after just one use and they do come in handy again when I light and smoke my next pipe. And think of all the money I save by recycling those cleaners. And yes, a few ashes fly away on their own during my smokes. I just can’t seem to find the time to chase them down and put them in the trash every five minutes, so it does get a little “ashy” in my shop from time to time. BUT, while I may have gotten a little sloppy with my pipe smoking cleanliness, you still won’t find food stains on the outer bowls of any of my pipes!
I spend a lot of time at my computer, so I make sure that I have a nice little rotation of pipes on the desk to choose from whenever I decide it is time for a smoke, which is not as often as you might think. Between typing, chasing down pipes and tobaccos to photograph for the listings, working on the item descriptions and shipping orders, I can nurse a single bowl of tobacco in an average sized pipe for several hours. I usually get to my tobacco shop around 7:30 AM each day and spend the first hour or so going through emails that need answering, packing and preparing for shipping any orders that came in overnight, and checking out the sports page of my local newspaper. I do admit that I go to Facebook to accept Friends requests from anybody who is a pipe smoker. I forgot to mention that the first thing I do when I get to my shop is take a few swigs from my second morning cup of coffee (I have the first cup just minutes after waking up each morning), and alternate those swigs with puffs on a freshly lit pipe. The last thing I do each evening prior to leaving the shop for the drive back home is get a pipe loaded up for the next morning. That way, the next day when I sit down and pour my coffee I’m ready to take on the day. Nicotine and caffeine can jump start a day better than any other day starter on the planet. Don’t you agree?
Happy Puffing,
Steve
Happy puffing,
Steve