Oh No , Not Another Question About Breaking in a Pipe ?

I disagree with 10-20 bowls....too many variables.
Smoke whatever you like, but Carter Hall, Sir Walter Raleigh, Prince Albert or Granger are my go to pipe break in blends.
BUT until recently I broke pipes in with Virginia's, VaPers and Latakia Bombs.
Rules are crap.
Smoke your pipe and enjoy it.

Cleaning it up to you.
I run pipe cleaners through my pipe after every smoke. After every 5-10 smokes I clean them. I used alcohol for a long time, but I'm switching to hot water.

I only use rum on my Sunday cleanings. I have no feelings whatsoever with regard to using water. Some like it, some don't. Cake is another personal choice. Some opt to not have any cake. So, as often said, there are no hard rules with regard to smoking and pipe maintenance. You'll develop a routine which insures good bowls as you smoke the pipe and discover what works for you. The more you smoke, the quicker come the revelations.
I usually have a pipe in good smoking condition after a half dozen bowls. It varies with the briar, shape, my mood, the blends I'm smoking.
The pipe I'm smoking during the day doesn't really get a chance to cool between bowls. It may sit in the ashtray after emptying for few minutes, often it'll get emptied, immediately reloaded and lit. I'll smoke six, eight or more bowls during the day and do not switch pipes. In the evening I select a meerschaum and have another three or four bowls after dinner.
After I finish a bowl, I dump the dottle. If the draw gets a little hard I run cleaner into the bottom of the bowl a couple of quick strokes and continue to smoke. If it's the last smoke of the day for that pipe I might leave the pipe cleaner stuffed down the bit or, not. That pipe will sit in the ashtray until Sunday for a cleaning and reaming. I try to keep my pipe smoking as simple as possible.
In my case the pipe is a tool more or less. Some of the folks take much better care with their pipes. It's your call!

People have widely different approaches, so don't assume there's just one way. Since the pipe is being broken in, I assume it is new. You won't be reaming a pipe in the first 20 smokes because you won't have built enough cake, so put away the reamer. It's also useful to know that if you'd like to spare the pipe chamber the wear of reaming, you can avoid it by scooping out the ash, then wiping out the bowl with a rough paper towel or napkin. You'll still build and maintain a solid carbon coating, but the chamber will stay its original size. If you are dubious, I would tell you that I have done this with the first pipe I ever owned and it is now forty years old and smokes great. Likewise with my other older and younger pipes. I don't use fluids for cleaning except when there is obvious soot or ash blocking the airway, or in cleaning an estate pipe.

(are there any tobaccos that MUST be avoided during the breakin period )

Click to expand...

No. But understand, especially if this is your only pipe, that some blends may ghost the briar... meaning, some blends such as Balkan/English blends contain latakia that may flavor the pipe for many smokes afterward, so the subsequent smokes may taste like other blends contain it. Other common hauntings are caused by blends containing perique, or Lakeland blends which impart a floral or soapy flavor. It is best to save such blends for a pipe dedicated to those types of blends so others aren't affected. Other than that, you can smoke whatever pleases you while breaking in a pipe.

OTC's like Sir Walter Raleigh are the traditional approach to breaking in a pipe and building a cake. I'd wipe the chamber walls with some wadded up paper towel, or with pipe cleaners after a smoke. It will take a little longer to build up a thin layer of cake as an insulator, but the quality of that cake will be superior to one that is crumbly and has bits of tobacco caught up in it.
Also, keep the airway clean with pipe cleaners and at the end of a day's use, twist off the stem, take a fluffy pipe cleaner that has been doubled over a couple of times, and clean out the mortise.
Once you have a bit of carbon coating the chamber walls, feel free to use water, or spirits occasionally to clean the pipe.

Most of my pipes have been good smokers from first light. Some have had a bowl coating with a nasty flavor that took up to 30 bowls to get rid of.

I always try to smoke slowly and not overheat my pipes. IMO that is the most important thing. If you make sure not to get a burn-through, your pipe will work just fine. Break in is inevitable as you smoke it. After each smoke I run pipe cleaners through the pipe until they come out (almost) clean. It takes 2-6 pipe cleaners, depending on the blend, moisture etc. Sometimes I'll remove the stem and use a doubled up pipe cleaner or a q-tip to clean the mortise. I wipe the chamber with a twisted paper towel after most smokes. Sometimes I'll inspect the chamber walls for uneven cake and smooth it out with a pipetool or a pocket knife. Deep cleaning is an annual event, usually during Christmas and calls for much celebration.

Sean (sorry I think that's your name maxsmoke, I get confused sometimes) what you are seeing now is the classic situation of pipe smoking. Don't worry about 'rules' or 'doing things properly'. It is your pipe and more importantly, your experience.
You be gotten some good advice here, but always do what fits your style. You will get more from your smokes and more from your pipe. As long as you run a pipe cleaner through the airway after you're done you are good to go.
It's a steep learning curve for sure, but we all went through it.

On the subject of letting a pipe “cool down” before cleaning, it’s a bit of a myth but with some practical application for other reasons.

What you’re actually trying to avoid is the possibility of the mortise (wood) changing shape while the tenon (vulcanite/acrylic stem) is removed. Wood changes size as moisture content changes, and being an organic material it’s likely to not change evenly.

Generally speaking you can pull the stem off as much as you want while smoking, just don’t take it off and leave it off long enough for the wood to dry out.

Temperature shouldn’t matter so much, what does matter is that you do not let a wet pipe dry out with the stem removed.

If you were to transport a pipe from a very humid climate to a very dry climate you could have exactly the same problem without ever smoking the pipe.

I used alcohol for a long time, but I'm switching to hot water.

Click to expand...

Water?? On a pipe?? 8O
I'll get me coat.

I always try to smoke slowly and not overheat my pipes.

Click to expand...

This. Honestly, the "break in" period refers to the fact that the briar is raw, coated or not, and has not developed a good carbon layer over it. So the only real "rule" is to do it slow and low. Take your time. Don't let the pipe heat up too much. But even this rule is often broken. Some like to smoke the new pipe hot and heavy so that if anything is going to go wrong, any pits in the chamber, etc. they will find out sooner than later.

I have a brand new Savinelli Travi Poker (311KS) I've had a while, that I needed to break in. I smoked the first bowl in it today w/ Presbyterian. I like Presbyterian in my Savinelli Author, but it was hot and acrid in my new Sav Poker. Even got a bit of tongue bite. Any suggestions for a "quieter" blend to break it in?

It might have more to do with the chamber's geometry. The Savinelli Trevi doesn't have a coating. Wider chambers tend to smoke cooler than cylindrical ones. It might also be due to draw, packing, tobacco dryness, environmental conditions...

I like Presbyterian in my Savinelli Author, but it was hot and acrid in my new Sav Poker. Even got a bit of tongue bite.

Click to expand...

Sounds like it needs to be packed tighter.

The Savinelli Trevi doesn't have a coating. Wider chambers tend to smoke cooler than cylindrical ones.

Click to expand...

Both the poker and author have cylindrical chambers.

Not all Trevi's are coated: Uncoated Trevi 311 KS
I own over 20 Savinelli's and I've recieved both coated and un-coated pipes of the same series and model number.
rbs1, do you remember if the pipe was coated or was it bare wood? Either way, it's probably going to take a few more bowls to get her smoking right.