Breaking in/Resting?

[kris]

So far, my pipes of choice have been Falcons, which I've probably abused beyond abuse. But you know what? They don't seem to mind & still offer me a fine, fine smoke. My other 2 x baskets*, 4 x cobs & 2 x clays have had similar treatment with the same results...
So, I just got my first Pete this weekend and my question is: Whilst breaking it in, should I still rest it. And if so, for how long?
(*: I'm lying. They're both crap.)

 

[cortezattic]

IMO a new pipe, being completely dry, throughout, should withstand more abuse than well seasoned pipes -- to a point.

I had good results smoking from one to three ½-bowls a day. The general rule of thumb is one day of rest for every bowl smoked. ::

 

[bentmike]

Wise advice from cortez. When I get a new pipe I'll smoke it once a day for about a week then let it settle into my haphazard rotation where it can get longer periods of rest. I like each of my pipes to have at least 2 days of rest. 2 weeks is best IMO. Smell your bowls periodically and soon you will be able to tell when they are ready. The odor of the last smoke left in the bowl will change subtly as each successive day of rest goes by.
*edit: You did it now Kris. Theres as many opinions on this topic as there is pipesmokers. I like this subject! ::

 

[hawk60ce]

perosnally, i smoke them no different if they were new or estate. i know many will disagree. just one mans opinion

 

[reichenbach]

I abuse the hell out of my cobs and baby the hell out of my briars. This is partially on purpose and partially by happenstance. I know the cobs can take it, on the one hand, and, on the other, because my cobs get heavy use, I tend to continue to use them. By the time I get home from work, have dinner, shower, etc I don't have the time to treat my briar right so instead of pushing the issue, I look at it as those pipes get plenty of rest. I do smoke them on the weekend when I have more time so my briars get to rest for a week between two bowls.
I'm not saying this is the right way at all and I would rather smoke my briars more but this is my situation at the time of your asking.

 

[kris]

Yeah but, New or Estate.... Do you rest them???
My Falcons (3 of them) probably get through 3 bowls each a day...
Just wondering what level of torture a Pete will withstand???

 

[cigrmaster]

I would smoke one bowl in it, then rest it for one day. Continue that until you see a decent amount of cake in it, then you can smoke a couple bowls a day then rest if for two. If you break it in properly and then rest it properly you will have a pipe that lasts a life time. A good briar pipe is no good if you abuse it. You cannot treat it like a clay or a cob or a cheap basket pipe.

 

[doctorthoss]

I would smoke partial bowls at the rate of one or two every three days, letting it rest for the period in between.

After it's broken it, I'd smoke it multiple times a day and then let it rest for a minimum of three days between sessions.

I've been smoking a pipe for 20 plus years, have broken in dozens of briars, and I almost always smoke each briar up to 5 times per day before giving it a three-day rest. I've never had one burn out or go sour or exhibit any problems. I grew up around guys that smoked cheap briars up to 10 times per day before resting them for all of two or three days (all they could, since they only had 3 or 4 pipes). They never had any problems doing that, either.
You should care for your briar (clean it regularly, even obsessively) but it's not a piece of fine China. It's a tough piece of well-cured wood that will withstand a lot of use, once broken in.

 

[ejames]

I do it about the same way doctorhoss does. Although I have never smoked partial bowl when braking one in,I fill 'em full up.

 

[sjpipesmoker]

I usually let it rest for a few hours. But them I only smoke 2-4 bowls a day

 

[fshu2]

i used to have a much better rotation system and my smokes were all great now i am a little more frequent with my smoking from each pipe and the smokes are less efficient.

 

[kris]

Thanks for all the advice. It's killing me having to restrict myself to only smoking it once a night though!!!

 

[tedswearingen]

kris, don't kill yourself over it. Smoke it as often as you like. In time, the honeymoon will be over and it will get a proper rest once in awhile. Like others have said, you should be able to smoke it pretty frequently at first. Just don't keep up a habit of five bowls a day in the same pipe indefinitely. That'll destroy it eventually.

 

[doctorthoss]

Again -- why are you restricting yourself to once a night? Even if you're still breaking it in, you should only have to do that for a half-dozen or so smokes. All you need to do is get a basic layer of cake started and then just puff away on it. Everything else will take care of itself!

 

[topd]

I usually smoke meerschaums and cobs unless I'm going away from the house. I pick a brier then, and it

may get smoked 4 to 8 times. But it'll get weeks of rest after....

 

[clyde]

I smoke 'em however I feel like it that day. If the pipe can't keep up with me under all circumstances then I don't want it in my rotation. If I consider it a collectable I may have a little mercy on its wooden soul.

 

[shawn622]

I hardly ever smoke my higher end pipes. They rest for weeks at a time. I usually only smoke them if I'm out. Kind of like dressing up. Nice clothes, Nice pipe. lol I only owned one unsmoked pipe and hated it. I decided that I do a great job cleaning them up to near mint in appearance, and an estate is already broken in and usually a fraction of the cost of a new pipe. Smoke your basket pipes and cobs in your daily routine. Then you don't have to worry about your good pipes being abused. I have some great smoking basket pipes. I'm not an expert my any measure, It's just my 2 cents worth.

 

[kris]

See, now you're all just confusing me with all the conflicting advice!!!

 

[sparroa]

There's no "right" way to do it, but there are many different schools of thought on the matter.
I would smoke it once or twice a day until a bit of cake forms and then I'd take the "one day on, one day off" approach just so you can keep it in peak condition.
I'm not experienced with briars but that is the approach that I plan to take with mine. I just bought 3 drugstore pipes (Grabows/Medico) and I will use them in a small rotation whenever I don't feel like smoking my cobs. Mine happen to be estates but they are reamed back quite a bit.