Breaking in a New Pipe

[keith929]

I am old school and I am not ashamed.
I have always found my method especially effective for how I like to break in a new/estate pipe.
First: I coat the bowl with a very lite coating of honey.
Second: I find a particular piece of music that helps me slow down.
I fill my new acquisition with my favorite Cavendish.
Third: false light light tamping moderate exhale(to keep it lit)
Forth: Tamp town excess tobacco.
Fifth : Relight (true light)
Fifth: Enjoy
Everyone has their own ritual/method.

This is mine.

Anyone else?

 

[bullet08]

Nope. Just fill and smoke. Seems to work for me.

 

[FurCoat]

For new pipes I remove the factory bowl coating and coat with honey. I personally dislike bowl coatings. Estates get sanded down to bare briar with 200 grit which will remove any ghosts and coated in honey. I generally break in with half a dozen bowls of Va, Bur or Va/Bur before smoking the genre I decide that pipe will be dedicated to.

 

[Chasing Embers]

I just pick a blend i like and smoke it.

 

[supperthyme]

I just pick a blend i like and smoke it.

Same. ??‍ No need to overly complicate the process.

 

[hoosierpipeguy]

Load it with tobacco and start smoking has worked very well for me.

 

[kgs]

In practice I just smoke it. I want to try the honey coating just to see what it is all about.

 

[mso489]

I've observed the rituals described in the original post, and also the part where I smoked a third of a bowl to get carbon going in the bottom of the chamber, the advanced to two-thirds of a bowl, before graduating to a full bowl. After I'd done all that about a dozen times, I think I received a new pipe when I was busy otherwise and just packed it and smoked it, and decided that was sufficient. But I like the ritual, and think it may be a good way to focus on a pipe and enjoy its newness. But I don't do it much anymore.

 

[coming to_falling too]

I usually just fill it up to the top and take it slow.

 

[PaulTheScandinavian]

Because I tend to smoke a bit faster than it might be recommended ,so those chambers in brand new uncoated and refurbished estate pipes I'd coat slightly with honey, I have noticed this method may help carbon cake starts building up faster

 

[jewman22]

I do a light honey coat on a freshly reamed estate, and only if I plan on smoking virginias or aromatics out of it. For an English I just start going at it.
New pipes just get filled and burned. I'm kinda having a hard time finding new pipes at a reasonable price that aren't already pre carbonized. I'm sure If I were to spend multiple hundreds of Canadian Pesos i'd be able to get one, but not really ready to spend that much just yet.

 

[kurtbob]

I treat a new pipe just like overhauling a big truck Diesel engine. Put it on the dyno, bring it up to operating temp, verify no issues then load the engine down to maximum output. If it doesn’t fail right then…….it’s not going to for a very long time.?

 

[kcghost]

Yeah, I just fill it up and smoke it.

 

[Misanthrope]

I just fill it up and smoke it. 40-something pipes, 0 issues.

 

[carolinasmokes]

Most bowls today are coated and don't really require a break in so to speak, just load and go. If I should have an uncoated bowl to break in the only thing I do prior to the first smoke is lightly moisten the bowl with a little saliva on my finger.

 

[STP]

I never tried honey, but I have coated bare briar with a mixture of activated charcoal (capsules) and organic sour cream. I was skeptical w/this concoction, but it holds up surprisingly well. Otherwise I just load, light, and go while making sure that I don’t overheat the bowl.

 

[RainKing]

Pack, smoke, repeat.

 

[edger]

I just smoke it with a burley blend. The resins seem to stick to the chamber better than va’s . I also like a bit of cake.

 

[craig61a]

I will lightly dampen the inside of the bowl 10-15 minutes prior to smoking a new uncoated pipe. If coated just smoke slowly, but I kind of do that anyway. I'll set a pipe down for several minutes numerous times while smoking it.

 

[peregrinus]

Fill and smoke, with a couple provisions. I like to use a ribbon cut or very loose flake for the first few bowls and I make a conscious effort to slow down my somewhat faster than typical cadence.