Pipe Rim Cleaning

How should I clean the rim of my pipe?

Whenever possible (with your own pipes, for example), I recommend preventative maintenance as the best course of action. After each smoke, wet your thumb with saliva and rub it around the rim of your pipe until it is clean of any residue or darkening that occurred during the smoke.

But if things got away from you, or you're working with estate pipes, there are several common products that work quite effectively at cleaning up a dirty rim.

For carbon build-up and mild charring, try using a microfiber cloth and saliva. I know, it sounds gross, but spittle works very well at breaking down the carbon.

I've also had good success using the Mr. Clean Magic Eraser cleaning pads, or some similar product. Gently scrubbing the outer bowl and rim gives it a decent cleaning in most cases, but you must not scrub too vigorously or you will remove stain.

For thick build-up on the rim of your bowl, you can also use a sharp Xacto hobby knife to carefully scrape the rim and remove minor burns or carbon build-up.

Keep in mind, with all these methods, it is still possible to remove stain and discolor the wood, so be patient, work slowly, and be careful.

For more serious charring or burn marks, the only way is to sand the wood and refinish the bowl. Refinishing a pipe isn't necessarily difficult, but it can be very time consuming, and you must have the right type of stain. (Never finish a pipe with varnish or lacquer; it prevents the wood from properly "breathing." Instead, use an alcohol soluble stain, then polish and coat with carnauba wax.) Also, unless you are very experienced with such things, it can be difficult to match the original stain color, which may devalue the pipe, according to many collectors.