Sidebar

My First New Bowl is Just Bad

Log in

Forgot your password?

SmokingPipes.com Updates

Watch for Updates Twice a Week

PipesMagazine Approved Sponsor

Site Sponsors

Al Pascia
Blue Room Briars
Cigar World
Danish Pipe Shop
LePipe.it
Missouri Meerschaum
Pipes2Smoke.com
PipeStud.com
Seattle Pipe Club Tobaccos
SmokingPipes.com
Tabaccheria Corti
TinBids.com

PipesMagazine Approved Sponsor

PipesMagazine Approved Sponsor

PipesMagazine Approved Sponsor

PipesMagazine Approved Sponsor

Status
Not open for further replies.
shawn622

shawn622

Lifer
Jul 22, 2012
1,081
2
Mount Sterling, Ohio
ok... i just received the only brand new pipe ive ever had. others have been estate pipes and were good to go... this is a Vintage Prim Associates of America Genuine Briar Tobacco Smoking Pipe. its never been used... till 5 minutes ago. it bit me like a rabid pit bull and made some great tobaccy taste like a trash fire :lol: i know the pipe is at least ok quality. mavbe the fact that its old and never been used made it too dry... its an attractive had carved variety.. and i want the damn thing to smoke like my pre-broken in pipes. are these normal issues for a new pipe? did i just buy a turd? im new. 9th day smoking and i dont have the patience to sift through the 200+ threads in the pipe maintenance section so please humor me and give the best advice you have... even if its throwing it in the trash :lol: thanks

 
judcole

judcole

Lifer
Sep 14, 2011
7,185
33,530
Detroit
I just did a Google search on "vintage prim associates of America". The first hit was to some one on EBay selling flints, the next two were to you. I have never heard of this brand of pipe - where did you get it?

 
shawn622

shawn622

Lifer
Jul 22, 2012
1,081
2
Mount Sterling, Ohio
ebay:) i live in the country, and am short on cash because ive been on a spending spree and business has slowed to a creep:( but look at the ebay listing. its the one i bought. i googled it too with no avail. its a briar for sure. it seems like a good low/mid range pipe.. ill get me a better pipe eventually. but im certain at this point that i never want to buy a new pipe again... thanks

 
shawn622

shawn622

Lifer
Jul 22, 2012
1,081
2
Mount Sterling, Ohio
ive never read this, but it makes sense to my amature pipe smoker mind... could i soak it in water overnight maybe? i figure it would keep me from tasting the wood. i just packed a bowl in another already broken in pipe and its wonderful... same tobacco, same pack. different bowl. so it has to be the bowl thats messing up the taste and making it bite....

 
A

assaad

Can't Leave
Apr 4, 2011
340
2
A new pipe has to be smoked extra gently. Pack a quarter bowl and smoke it, let it cool, then do it again. Do this four times and then four more times at a half bowl. Next, do it again with a three quarter bowl. After that you should fill it up all the way. I would smoke the hell out of it from morning till night with cooling time in between but I wouldn't even bother running a pipe cleaner through it until after the 4th quarter bowl and then the 2nd and 4th half bowls and then after each bowl. A lot of guys, who are very respectable in this hobby, say fill it to the top from the start but I don't care for that idea. Smoke slowly and don't worry about whether it smokes well yet. You haven't been smoking long enough to know what that means anyhow.

 
shawn622

shawn622

Lifer
Jul 22, 2012
1,081
2
Mount Sterling, Ohio
i am a painter by trade and woodwork is my specialty. its been stained, but not varnished. i know that whoever i ot it from rubbed something on the entire pipe. stem and all. the stem tasted like chewed up aspirin. it nearly gagged it when i put it in my teeth. i wiped it down with water and still tasted it. its gone now. here is a link to the exact pipe. i got it on ebay for 9 bucks with shipping. i was the only one that bid it. its definitely briar. you can see the birds eye grain. i know you get what you pay for but this just looks to be a great pipe... dont poke fun of my cheapness :lol: if this thing breaks in good ill be proud of what i paid. im trying to build up a collection so i can have a good rotation. for 6 days i smoked from one pipe and its bitter as all hell now.. how can i fix that?
http://www.ebay.com/itm/300741175940?ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1439.l2649#ht_500wt_1413

 
A

assaad

Can't Leave
Apr 4, 2011
340
2
Water and pipes do not mix. Under no circumstances should water enter the bowl of your pipe and never ever soak it! Breaking in a pipe is part of the joy of owning a new pipe.

Edit: In my experience a bowl that is carved like that is usually low end. And usually, mid-range and most low-end pipe companies are fairly well known and can be searched on google. You got a good pipe to break in and learn from but don't expect a magic smoke - it is known to happen often with low-end pipes but just try to learn from this one and don't buy any more pipes until you have broken in that one. YMMV.

 
A

assaad

Can't Leave
Apr 4, 2011
340
2
Also, it probably has some finisher on the inside which is making it so bitter, even some mid-range pipes do. Just smoke it out.

 
shawn622

shawn622

Lifer
Jul 22, 2012
1,081
2
Mount Sterling, Ohio
oh... haha chris. i like the bullpen comment:) thats what im trying to accomplish without going to the poor house. ive paid lestt than 25 bucks on all my pipes. all 6 of them... i read that dr grabows are lame, but the grabow i have its amazing. whoever broke this thing in smoked some great baccy:) and knew what they were doing because the pipe itself make the tobacco taste better. im only buying estate pipes i think. i do want to eventually get a 100+ dollar piece, buut still dont want to pay 100+ dollars. im a bargain hunter... i do well. i do a lot of buy at yard sales/sell on ebay deals. mad some good money at it this summer... but i want a light stained or natural briar pipe with a ton of beautiful grain... i was looking at briar blocks. i want to carfe myself a bowl. hand finish it.. i am an artist so it makes sense for me to make a pipe. im becoming very passionate about the hobbie... would like to learn the craft of pipe making. im going to practice on some hardwood before i buy the briar though..

 
bigvan

bigvan

Lifer
Mar 22, 2011
2,192
12
A new pipe shouldn't "bite". As others as have said, breaking it in will help but a cheap pipe is a cheap pipe. And I doubt this was "hand carved", unless gouging it with a Dremel counts as "hand carving".
The stem did look a bit odd in the photos. Remove it and clean it up as best you can.
You say your current pipe is "bitter". Assuming you're cleaning it with pipe cleaners after every smoke and it doesn't have a filter, try filling the bowl with alcohol (higher the proof the better) and let it sit for a few hours, then dump it out, swab with a bunched up paper towel and let it dry overnight.

 
judcole

judcole

Lifer
Sep 14, 2011
7,185
33,530
Detroit
If you are on a budget,may I suggest a Missouri Meerschaum from a recognized dealer instead of relying on E

Bay? You may pay a bit more, but you will know what you have.

 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Top Bottom