Pipe cleaning-The Retort Method

[MrMotoyoshi]

2nd shot- Funny, never tasted that before when I was smoking....I thought they said pipe smoking was healthier

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So by the third squirt this had come out

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Also, the paper towel had absorbed a ton of resin. The hot alcohol makes it really malleable and I swirled the paper towel around a couple of times and it really smoothed out the cake inside the bowl and there is a nice even and low layer of cake inside my billiard.

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The focus was off but the inside of the stem is much cleaner.

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This is all the gunk that came out of the two pipes. As I write this up, I realize I never took pictures of the Angelo Rovera pipe. When I put the pipe cleaner in that one after the treatment, a ton of gunk came out. You can see that one on the bottom left underneath the filthiest paper towel.

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All in all I would say this was a success. Very easy to use and for 8 dollars (plus the price of the alcohol) I have this to clean my current and future pipes. I do think that cotton balls would have made it a little easier instead of refilling the alcohol continually. Even if the hot alcohol doesn't pull it all back into the test tube, it's very easy to remove the cake when it's heated up and dissipated by the alcohol. I am happy with this investment.

Comparing that S/A and the retort really isn't fair as they are two different monsters. Sure the retort gets some of the gunk out of the bowl but the S/A really removes more . When you're doing a S/A there is some residue removed from the shank but the retort is more effective. I'm glad that I can do both for my pipes.