The Common Cause of Pipes Breakage and How to Prevent it

The Common Cause of Pipes Breakage and How to Prevent it.

It’s common when something that you always carry and use all the time gets broken. Pipes or tobacco pipes are things smokers frequently use. Besides using the hands to touch the pipe while smoking, a lot of times pipe smokers simply hold the pipe in their mouth between the lips as well. Without a doubt, given time these habits can cause the pipe to wear-out or break. From talking to many customers who love smoking pipes, we have collected what are common causes of pipes breaking and the symptoms often found. In order to prevent breakage from happening and maintain your favorite pipe to last longer we have put together this article.

What causes pipes to break?

Broken Tenon Stuck in the Mortise

A malfunction in the mouthpiece section is one of the most common problems found when broken pipe get dropped off to be fixed. What usually happens is that a tenon has broken off then a part of the tenon that is supposed to remain in the mouthpiece gets lodged in the wooden mortise instead. This problem is often found in pipes with 9mm filter. In some cases, the pipe can still be used because the tenon is still in good shape. The tenon will be stuck in the wooden side of the pipe but will still be usable. The pipe will need to be fixed when the broken tenon blocks the pipe’s airway preventing the airflow.

The Mouthpiece is Worn Out from Biting

This usually happens at the edge of the mouthpiece because many pipe smokers get used to holding the pipe in their mouth while nipping the edge with their teeth. This happens especially to a person who smokes while working and always uses the teeth to keep the pipe from falling out. This habit causes the pipe’s lip, made from hard rubber (Vulcanite or Ebonite), to be defective or broken off. This problem rarely happens to mouthpieces made from acrylic, since this material is more durable. Pipe smokers who have a tendency to bite holes in the end of the pipe stem might not like this material because it’s too hard and it hurts the teeth.

The ideal prevention is to avoid biting the tip of the mouthpiece. However, if biting becomes a habit, you might need to consider wearing a mouthpiece to preventing damage from direct contact with teeth. Also, soft material makes it more comfortable to grip.

A Burnout in a Pipe Bowl

The problem is severe if a hole is easily seen. However, this issue should be brought to attention if you begin to notice that the pipe is hotter than usual or the pipe bowl is getting deeper than it used to be. Burnout occurs over a period of time is generally due to the inside of the bowl suffering from overheating. The bowl develops a hot spot and starts to burn through the bowl from the inside out. This can happen from not packing the pipe properly and/or aggressive (hot) smoking that puts more strain on the pipe. One more reason burnout happens is when cleaning the pipe the pipe cleaner is inserted too far or too hard into the bowl and may cause damage and wear the bowl away over time. If it isn’t fixed right away the damage will develop into an actual hole.

You can prevent this from happening. When you feel the pipe you smoke is too hot to hold, particularly on a specific spot. Then you should stop smoking and take notice whether the tobacco only burns on the same one spot or not. Moreover, you should learn how to pack and smoke your pipe properly. Try not to clean the carbon cake that builds up inside the bowl too much or you may scrape the wooden part of the bowl and thin it creating a hole.

Broken Pipe

Usually, this occurs to the wooden part by dropping the pipe from careless handling. Also broken pipes occur from banging your pipe against a hard surface in order to get rid of the ashes. You can remove the ash simply by holding the pipe bowl and lightly knocking it. If the ashes and unburned tobacco still exists then use a pipe pick or reamer tool. Do not hold the stem while trying to knock the pipe on hard surface, as this may result in a broken stem. A cork knocker or wine cork, that you can find in any pipe store, is a good tool to clean out any leftover particles. The cork is glued to the center of an ashtray, you then bang your pipe against it when done smoking to knock the ashes out. Furthermore, you can find specific pipe ashtrays to use as well.

Pipe Stem Blocked

The number one reason that causes pipes to clog up and block the flow of air is the pipe doesn’t get cleaned. Some long-time pipe smokers can be very careless when it comes to cleaning their pipes. Without regular and diligent cleaning, your pipe will become clogged with tobacco, tar and nicotine. Eventually, those particles will close up the airflow in the stem and your pipe will no longer provide you with the smoking pleasure you desire. To eliminate such problems, you need to embark on a regiment of pipe cleaning by using a pipe pick to clean the stem. If the pipe recently has started to clog you can use a bristle pipe cleaner/shank brush to swab out any leftover ash and dottle (leftover tobacco) in the air hole of the pipe. A long thin wire can be used to extend the tools length. Be careful not to do it vigorously or you may cause damage to the pipe. Cotton swabs and tissue paper are not recommended tools for pipe cleaning because there’s a chance that these things could end up sticking in the pipe and create even more blockage.