How Long to Break In a Briar?

sk806 · Oct 17, 2016

Hi all,
I am guessing the answer to this question is "it depends on several factors" and "YMMV", but I was just curious: after how many bowls do you generally consider a new Briar pipe to be broken in? I guess the question would be for both stained and unstained bowls. I'm not there yet, but I have a couple of briars going (with several cobs) and I am curious by nature. Thanks!
Steve

beefeater33 · Oct 17, 2016

Three

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O6rHeD5x2tI

But, seriously, I think briar pipes keep improving after 100's of bowls. But usually 20-30 bowls to get the "new pipe" taste to diminish......... YMMV........... :D
EDIT: Welcome to the forum Steve!!

aldecaker · Oct 17, 2016

To my way of thinking, "breaking in" is more associated with a bare wood bowl, as opposed to "smoking the crappy taste of stain or bowl coating out of a pipe". After trying the latter a couple of times, I automatically sand a new bowl to bare wood if it has any coating of any kind. Taking that as a starting point, my idea of "broken in" is when I can smoke an entire bowl with no new pipe taste. Usually 10 bowls or so does the trick. After that the pipe usually continues to "season", and like Beefeater says, just keeps on improving.

daveinlax · Oct 17, 2016

I've had pipes that tasted fine on the first bowl and others have taken some time I've had two that tasted green and sort of sappy that took a very long time. I always wonder about difference in break in with briar that's been sitting out for years, briar that's been prepped in oil or heat cured and briar that's been harvested, cut, boiled, shipped and carved in a few weeks or months. 8O

pagan · Oct 17, 2016

1 full pouch of Captain Black or Carter Hall will do it

sk806 · Oct 17, 2016

Thanks for the replies! I have a ways to go, but good to know. Why do they coat some bowls, anyway? Is it to prevent burn outs?

anthonyrosenthal74 · Oct 17, 2016

Why do they coat some bowls, anyway? Is it to prevent burn outs

that's a whole other can of worms. It's meant to speed up the breaking in process and prevent burnouts. Some pipe makers swear by it, others say it's not necessary. I will say it seems most pipe smokers would rather not have the coating. Some say it's pointless and some say it tastes funny. I have pipes with and without the coating. I prefer to buy a pipe without it, but it's not a deal breaker for me if the pipe has one. I've noticed no real difference in most cases. However I do have at least one pipe with a coating that appeared to develop cake much faster. Different makers use different techniques for their coating as well, which might explain why some seem to work better than others or why some might impart a taste.

ahmadothman · Oct 17, 2016

Well, I normally don't break in my pipes in the traditional method of filling a half then three quarters and so.. I just pack it well till the rim... Smoke it slowly.. Then repeat this once or twice more.. I don't clean the bowl in the first two times.. And by the third, There is no "new pipe" taste and the pipe is ready to roll at full throttle

hugodrax · Oct 17, 2016

I smoke like Mr.Othman. A new pipe is simply filled and lit, then smoked carefully.
But I must say, my answer is "depends". Sorry. Some pipes take forever. Some pipes seem instantaneous. In my experience, and keep in mind that I love them, Peterson pipes seem to take the longest.
Then again, I suppose it hinges on what you consider broken in? If it is a question of safety, then 3-10 bowls will do it, "it" being enough carbon to pretty much guarantee you aren't going to burn through the briar unless you bellows-smoke like quite blast furnace.
If it's a question of that sweet, mellow, added bit of je ne sais quois, then that's up to your taste buds. Some are quick. Some are slow. But I now believe all pipes can get there with repeated smoking.
Sounds like you are doing fine.

aldecaker · Oct 17, 2016

I'm with you guys. I gave up on the 1/2-bowl break-in technique around the same time I gave up on the "3 layer pack". Just not enough patience for it, I guess.

sablebrush52 · Oct 17, 2016

I consider a briar broken in when it longer tastes of heated wood. Some pipes, like those from Lee Von Erck, have been sweet from the first bowl. Others have taken a dozen bowls. It does depend on the wood.
As for chamber coatings, I haven't personally found any to be a problem and have no preference between a coated or uncoated chamber. Others are fervently for or against chamber coatings. There's no one correct answer. YMMV is probably the closest thing to one.

tinsel · Oct 17, 2016

I'll echo the same response as others, here. It depends on the pipe. Some were good for me after just 3 bowls. Others took a couple dozen.
My Anthony Machelli Poker seemed to take forever to break in. I kept getting "burning wood" taste for a long time, especially down at the bottom of the bowl. Eventually the "burning wood" was gone and it's one of my favorite pipes now.

perdurabo · Oct 17, 2016

I gues when the pipe no longer taste of wood? I don't build cake, so that type of break in doesn't happen with my briars.

sk806 · Oct 17, 2016

Interesting stuff. I've just been doing my best to pack it up the three stage way and then smoke slowly all the way down (or as far as I can). If I only have time for a half bowl, I'll do that, but sans intent with regards to breaking it in. It looks like the two briars I have been smoking are doing fine, as far as my newbie eyes can see, so I'll just keep on keeping on. Thanks again for all the info.
Steve

aldecaker · Oct 17, 2016

Honestly, if you're not burning the hell out of the bowl or your tongue, you're doing pretty good and are on the right track.

tmb152 · Oct 17, 2016

Somewhere between a few bowls and ten years, depending on the pipe, the smoker, what and how you smoke, and to what degree of being broken in you are expecting.

shutterbugg · Oct 18, 2016

1 full pouch of Captain Black or Carter Hall will do it

He said break it in, not paddle it like a frat initiate :D
But seriously, I consider most briars broken in before I get it, as I almost always buy estates. On the rare occasion I bought a new one, I considered it broken in after the first bowl. I never bothered with the gradual break in because I never smoke the bottom third crap so I have no reason to build cake down in what is in fact a filter chamber.

Maybe an exception was the half dozen Peterson systems I had. If the design is something patented in the days when bloodletting was state of the art medical science, and the drilling is done by blind people with familial tremors while the QC inspector lies bound and gagged in a closet nearby, break in is the least worry.

PaulTheScandinavian · Oct 18, 2016

Petersons are the hardest ones to break properly in, at least on my experience, but Carter Hall, P Albert alongside with some Amphoras seem fit nicely to this period

clickklick · Oct 18, 2016

With a bowl coating, 1 bowl.

With a stained bowl, practically forever.

With a bare bowl, air cured, 20-30 bowls as a rule.
Never had an oil cured.

Never had green sappy wet wood. Although I've heard of some Ser Jacopo horror stories.

cosmicfolklore · Oct 18, 2016

The answer is three.

How Long to Break In a Briar?

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