Cleaning stems

[Jlando19]

Pipe cleaner like mentioned above. Paper towel, or the end of my shirt sleeve to wipe the end of the stem off before I put it away. I used to be obsessive about cleaning, but I've stepped that way back since discovering that letting the insides get a little seasoned with funk seems to make them smoke better for me. I usually only run a pipe cleaner down the stem every 3 smokes or so, or if I am changing to a different blend in that pipe.
If I start to see some brown/green oxidation forming near the end of the bit, I will hit it with some "Flitz" polish on a paper towel and that usually takes the stem back to shiny piano black.

Flitz is a magical concoction in my opinion.

It is. I've noticed that stems that I've done a finishing polish with Flitz tend to not oxidize nearly as fast as ones I polish traditionally with a low speed buffer setup, tripoli, white diamond, and carnauba. I use it to polish gun parts(it is one of a few polishes that won't mess with bluing), and I even used it to take a scratch out of a lens on my glasses the other day. It's like Windex, but for polishing.. put that stuff on anything.

Yeah I've used it on stainless steel as a final step in achieving a satin finish and on acrylic handles for a mirror polish. Good stuff.

[Ruffinogold]

Im spoiled . I have an 800 dollar baldor buffer . Granted , i bought it when they were 300 bucks ,,, ive had it some time and it will outlast my boys and maybe even the grandchildren , if my boys ever make any and get married

[Jlando19]

Im spoiled . I have an 800 dollar baldor buffer . Granted , i bought it when they were 300 bucks ,,, ive had it some time and it will outlast my boys and maybe even the grandchildren , if my boys ever make any and get married

I've had my eyes on a variable speed JET buffer for a couple years now. One day I'll pull the trigger.

[mingc]

If it's a vulcanite stem, I clean it with a pipe cleaner dipped in alcohol. I use 91% or 99% isopropyl alchol, which is commonly available here in the States. If it's an acrylic stem, I wash it with a pipe cleaner and dish detergent.

[Houtenziel]

Im spoiled . I have an 800 dollar baldor buffer . Granted , i bought it when they were 300 bucks ,,, ive had it some time and it will outlast my boys and maybe even the grandchildren , if my boys ever make any and get married

I've had my eyes on a variable speed JET buffer for a couple years now. One day I'll pull the trigger.

You know.. for pipes anyway, you can get away with a 900 RPM drill with arbors and linen buffs. You can even go fancy and buy the Beall buff kit from Woodcraft, chuck that into a drill and you are in business.

[pipelover]

Reference " Flitz". We have a similar stuff, and it's called Autosil.
That's what I used when I restored the Vulcanite stems.
I'll use that now !
Cheers all !

[Citizen B]

I keep my pipes just dirty enough that I don't get disgusted. Any cleaner would be too much work.

[Jlando19]

Im spoiled . I have an 800 dollar baldor buffer . Granted , i bought it when they were 300 bucks ,,, ive had it some time and it will outlast my boys and maybe even the grandchildren , if my boys ever make any and get married

I've had my eyes on a variable speed JET buffer for a couple years now. One day I'll pull the trigger.

You know.. for pipes anyway, you can get away with a 900 RPM drill with arbors and linen buffs. You can even go fancy and buy the Beall buff kit from Woodcraft, chuck that into a drill and you are in business.

I've been using my drill press in that same manner for a few years now. It does the job, but I've gone over to a friend's shop who has a real buffer. That was a very spoiling experience to say the least. It got the job done in a quarter of the time. I'm also looking at investing in this new 2x72 belt grinder that has all the bells and whistles knife makers lust over. Plus this company has made an attachment to run buffs on it!