How much does rim darkening bother you?

[Cool Breeze]

Simple question.

Does rim darkening bother you or is it just a by product of smoking the pipe?

I don't care at all with cobs but with my nice briars I freak out a little when I notice the rim start to darken. I immediately wipe the rim down with some Scotch and a cloth until it is gone.

What say you?

[Pugsley]

Doesn't bother me at all. I don't intend to sell them so I don't care if it affects the resale value. In 2000 I bought a new truck and a friend of mine was horrified that I smoked in it the first day. He said "aren't you worried about the resale value?" Well, 16 years later I'm still driving it and still smoking in it. I bought the truck and the pipes for me, not for some possible future owner.

[Haebar]

Our most senior member of our pipe club always keeps his rims looking good. He says he keeps them that way by filling the bowl only to a point well below the rim. On most of my pipes, I don't care about it unless it's an expensive one. I do try to keep carbon from building up on the rim on all of my pipes except for cobs.

[Emperor Zurg]

I let them blacken up. After a while it looks like they belong that way. So I guess it goes without saying that I'd never pay good money for a pipe with a fancy rim. A pipe is more of a utilitarian thing to me.

[Pipe Smoker]

Rim darkening is inevitable, I think. More noticeable with lighter colored pipes of course, but I just consider to add character to the pipe.

But I won't abide gooey tar on the rim, so, after the last smoke of the day, I wipe the rim with Everclear. 151 proof here in CA. I recall 190 proof years ago in MN.

[indigosmoke]

It doesn't particularly bother me. I do wipe the rim down every couple of bowls. I find that with a little elbow grease I can remove most of the build up keeping the rim looking pretty good. Some rims have some decent grain, so I like to be able to see it, but a little darkening (if I can still see the grain) doesn't bother me at all.

[OnePyroTec]

does not bother me one bit

[BryGuySC]

I clean mine every once and a while. Don't mind darkening, but am careful to avoid burning it.
I love darkening on cob rims!

[Bruck]

On a scale of 1 to 10, I'd say about zero :)
Of course I don't own any expensive briars to speak of, and cobs, well, they're cobs.
I have a nice meerschaum and a few cheap ones, and they're supposed to darken.

[droy1958]

I toss a little slobber on a Kleenex when I clean it. After that, it is what it is.....