The serious pipe smoker will soon discover that a number of accessories are essential for the maintenance of his pipe and to­bacco. Of course, it is possible to smoke a pipe without any addi­tional equipment; but it seems foolish to spend ten dollars for a fine pipe, take the time and effort to break in the pipe properly, and then ruin the pipe by improper maintenance and poor smok­ing practices.

PIPE CLEANERS

Pipe cleaners, either with stiff bristles or soft fluffy threads set in wire, are the smoker's constant aids. They cost very little and should be used generously to clean both the pipe stem and shank, preferably after every smoke. Stiff wire or plastic cleaners can be used first to scour the air passages and remove any gummy deposits. These should be followed by softer cleaners which will absorb all the oily and liquid residues.
Cleaners are available in a variety of lengths and coarseness. The longer the tufts on the soft cleaners, the better cleaning job they will do.
Moisten coarse-brush pipe cleaners with pipe-cleaner liquid (available at good pipe shops) before use. In that way they will more readily dissolve any gummy impurities.

PIPE SWEETENERS

Keep a small bottle of pipe-cleaner fluid always at hand for pipe cleaning. This liquid dissolves the tars and oils produced by the burning tobacco and sweetens the pipe.

If a commercial pipe sweetener is used, make sure it does not contain acetone or acids, as they are not beneficial to the briar. You can make your own sweetener, if you wish, by mixing pure grain alcohol with oil of wintergreen or oil of cloves. The result is a pleasant and efficient pipe-cleaning liquid and sweetener.

HUMIDORS

If you prefer to buy a few ounces of tobacco at a time, and then proceed to smoke it right then and there, you have no need for a humidor. However, if you prefer to save money by buying to­bacco in larger quantities, or if you prefer to have your own blend made up by your tobacconist, you will need a suitable container in which to preserve the tobacco against the effects of time and weather.

The tobacco jar, or humidor, can be made of wood, ceramic, glass, or any other chemically neutral material.

Most important, the humidor should be airtight, so as to pre­vent the tobacco from losing too much moisture. As tobacco readily absorbs odors, never leave the tobacco jar open longer than necessary. Keep a piece of porous clay, plaster of Paris, or soapstone within the humidor at all times to replace the moisture inevitably lost by evaporation. This humidifying material, or humectant, should be moistened with water at regular intervals. Fasten it inside the lid of the jar, or some other spot where it will not come into actual contact with the tobacco.

TOBACCO POUCHES

Any small, flexible, and relatively airtight container that fits easily in your pocket can be used as a pouch. However, don't count on your pouch to keep tobacco moist for as long a time as will your humidor.

Most pouches are not completely airtight. In choosing a pouch, avoid those with fabric or ordinary rubber liners. These materials will crack within a few months. They will absorb and react with oils in the tobacco and add an unpleasant odor to your smoke.

All-plastic pouches, or pouches with latex rubber linings, are preferable. Leather pouches are sometimes used too, and, when suitably lined, keep tobacco fresh.

Zipper pouches are convenient, and are easy to use. Another kind of pouch, made of plastic or some other non-porous material, is almost completely airtight when folded. The folding roll-up pouch also holds a great deal of tobacco and provides ample room to accommodate the pipe bowl and a couple of fingers as well, all which makes pipe-filling easy.

If you intend to carry a filled pouch for some time without replenishing it, enclose a small humidifying unit to keep the to­bacco moist. This unit generally consists of a small perforated metal box filled with absorbent clay or some other humectant. A good pouch can be relied on to provide moist tobacco even when the smoker is far from his favorite humidor.

PIPE RACKS

A pipe collection is an investment deserving adequate protection. Any device that holds the pipe in a vertical position, with the bowl down, can serve as a pipe rack. It can be a simple home­made version, or, if you prefer, you may choose from a wide se­lection of pipe racks offered by commercial manufacturers. The vertical position of the pipe allows moisture in the stem and shank to run down into the bowl, where it will evaporate or be consumed in the next smoke.

If you possess a large pipe collection, you may wish to keep your most treasured pieces in individual cases, so as to prevent accidental breakage. This precaution is an especially good idea with meerschaum pipes. If you keep your pipe in a separate case, clean and dry it very thoroughly before storing it away. Since the pipe will not be in vertical position, any trapped moisture will remain in the stem and shank.

ASH TRAYS

A pipe smoker's ash tray should differ from those ordinarily used for cigars or cigarettes in two major respects: it should be quite large in order to prevent ashes and unburned tobacco from set­tling on furniture, and it should have a soft rubber or cork knocker against which the bowl can be struck without fear of breaking the pipe.

WIND CAPS

If you expect to smoke your pipe out-of-doors in windy weather, you must provide your pipe with a wind cap. The wind cap per­forms three important functions: (1) it prevents the wind from blowing the burning tobacco out of the bowl and perhaps setting a fire; (2) it keeps the tobacco from burning too rapidly and thus maintains a cool smoke; (3) by slowing down combustion, it also keeps the pipe bowl from charring and cracking.

Three highly decorated tobacco pouches made and used by American Indians.

Wind caps are available to fit any style or size of pipe. This inexpensive little device that snaps into place inside the top of the bowl is worth many times its price.

PIPE TOOLS

Since the pipe bowl must be reamed out occasionally, a reamer rates as an absolute necessity. If the smoker has a reamer which fits his pipe exactly, so much the better. However, if he has a large pipe collection, he need not have a different reamer for each pipe. There are a number of adjustable reamers on the mar­ket whose cutting edges can be adjusted to fit any pipe bowl. They also position themselves during the reaming process so as to leave an even cake within the bowl. The reamer should never be too sharp, for it might then crack or gouge both the cake and the bowl itself.

SMOKER'S COMPANION

Another popular pipe tool is the "smoker's companion"— a metal device that combines a pick, a tamper and a spoon in a single instrument. The tamper can be used to pack down the to­bacco during smoking; the pick can be used to dislodge slugs from the air passages; and the spoon helps remove tobacco ash from the bowl. This is a small, handy gadget which fits easily into any pocket.

OTHER PIPE-SMOKING ACCESSORIES

Pipe-smoking perfectionists have devised a number of other accessories which you may find will add pleasure to your smoking. Among these are meerschaum or metal buttons, placed in the bottom of the pipe bowl in order to prevent the juices in the heel from contaminating the burning tobacco.

Atomizers are also sometimes used to moisten the tobacco uni­formly. For more elaborate pipe-cleaning, retorts can be em­ployed to force a pipe-cleaning liquid through the stem and bowl.

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