With the introduction of the pipe-hygiene kit you see depicted above, Gloredo’s Leslie Ng – a pipe collector and entrepreneur from China – has taken the simple pipe cleaner and taken it high-grade. This is a kit that your briar friends deserve.

Experienced pipe smokers know that nothing will sour a pipe nor a smoking experience like poor pipe hygiene. Residual saliva, tars, ash, cake dust, and natural tobacco moisture can combine to produce a fetid, disgusting wallop to the palate if it is not removed.

By including a stainless steel and nylon bristle brush into each 50-cleaner packet, it is now possible to have access to an implement that can scrub and loosen the residue of pipe smoking from the airway for final removal by the pipe cleaner. About the time the brush begins to wear out, a fresh one is available upon opening the next packet. The stainless steel brush is precisely machined, evenly trimmed, and the wire tip has a protective ball (see picture at right) applied to avoid scratching your pipes’ interior airway.

I thought that employing a combination of bristled and soft cleaners was accomplishing a serviceable result, but when I took Gloredo’s brush and cleaners to a pipe that I thought I’d already cleaned carefully, I was able to scrub the airway even cleaner. The brush diameter and bristle strength do require some vigor and care to use, but the results are well worth it. Frankly, I was a little queasy when I saw what was left to remove from my supposedly already clean pipe - and I AM a clean freak when it comes to my pipes. I thought I was already getting them very clean. I was not.

My Jack Howell lovat is restored to a condition that not even Rob Cooper could describe. I chose a long-shanked pipe to raise the testing bar.) I’m so glad Rick Newcombe sent these to me so that I could give them a try.

Gloredo cleaners are fabricated from 100% non-bleached cotton – a material that is stronger and more absorbent than chemically treated cotton or, worse, acrylics. The picture above depicts the difference between a good-quality, garden-variety cotton pipe cleaner and the Gloredo (the Gloredo is in the center.)

The 50 cleaners and brush come packaged in a handsome and durable light card-stock envelope.