Please be gentle, this is my first post on this site.
I smoke a LePeltier and offer the following insights for the uninitiated:
These are not clay in the traditional sense. They are made of glazed, fired ceramic clay as found in things like plates and coffee cups. They are tougher than traditional clay pipes but, yes, they are fragile. As I recall, when I first tried mine out, I immediately dismissed the idea of filling the pipe with a stick in the bottom hole; how often would you like to pack your pipe with a stick standing up getting in the way of your packing finger. Never had a problem with packing without the stick!
As mine came, the draw hole in the bowl was so small that I was getting cheek sore trying to smoke the thing. I used my Dremmel tool with a diamond burr and began reaming the hole and trying it out until the hole was twice the original size. Much better. After all this and trying to put a pipe cleaner thru the stem, I finally realized that the stem was severely under-bored. Back to the workbench! I straightened out the stem using a heat gun until I could see that it was straight by peering down the bore and started opening it up with the first bit that was a 64th inch over the size of the original hole. Went from both ends to make sure that there was center overlap. Kept this up with larger bits until it was 3/64 over original bore and put it back in shape with the heat gun.
Now, this baby smokes and cleans perfectly. The larger hole on the bowl has never given me a problem with tobacco plugging the hole, but I am not one to pack too tightly to begin with.
Cleaning: Sooner or later the bowl part will have to be cleaned (Inside and out). After gently scraping the bowl down to ceramic, I wrap my finger in gauze, dip the tip of it into 91% alcohol and swab out the bowl. Brings it back to new. Next, sooner or later, the tar (and ash) buildup in the hollow part of the bowl needs to be dealt with. Fill this up with 70% alcohol which has been saturated with non-iodized salt and shake vigorously. Let it stand with the solution in it for at least 24 hours, shaking occasionally to keep fresh solution against the ceramic inside (you will have to plug the stem hole with your thumb and put your palm over the top of the bowl while doing this). After the solution has turned brown and stinky, dump it out and rinse at least once with 70% alcohol and then with warm water until you are satisfied that it is clean. After shaking all the moisture you can out of it, let it dry for a day and start smoking again.
I can't use this pipe for my everyday smokes (I admit it, I'm hooked on good briers), but I find it perfect for trying out a new tobacco because it cleans so completely and taste and odor buildup is not nearly as noticeable as in a brier. Since I have come to terms with it, it really has gained my respect and has been fun to use.
