Breaking In

[telescopes]

There will always be those who will suggest that breaking in "anything" is not necessary. So be it. There is certainly an argument that can be made for not breaking in a pipe. But in my opinion, ritual matters. Make of it what you will, change it if you must, make it your own... whatever. But for many, pipe smoking has in its depth a small matter of mysticism. If the pipe is only a tool to be used, enjoyed, and thrown in the fire afterwards, then there is no reason to debate the merits of "breaking in a pipe". But if the development of a layered carbon cake from the bottom up brings an element of satisfaction and peace to the smoker, then breaking in a pipe deserves to be discussed and those who break-in their pipes do so with a certain understanding as to why. As for the pipe ritual agnostics, your faith is yours to embrace, no less the same as others. Personally, I have smoked pipes both ways, carefully broken in and smoked right off the starting line. I believe there is a difference - so much so that I have reamed out pipes that I smoked without breaking in properly and reintroduced them to a careful break-in process with the result of a better smoking pipe than when it was first purchased.

I also enjoy the poetry of William Wordsworth so take whatever I say with a grain of salt.

 

[sablebrush52]

To me, breaking in a pipe happens when you no longer taste burning wood in your smoke, or wood period, unless that taste is part of a blend's flavor profile. Once the bowl is sufficiently carbonized, the pipe's broken in.

That must have been the definition for pipe manufacturers as well, since that was the rationale behind pre-coating the chamber walls, whether with a mixture, like Yello-Bole 's honey coating or Grabow's mechanically pre-smoked pipes.

Building up a carbon layer will happen when the pipe is smoked. I prefer a hard thin layer, as opposed to the thick soft crap filled cake.

 

[kcghost]

It is simply building the proper cake in the pipe to suit you.

 

[cigrmaster]

I have recently been breaking in a dozen or so Jack Howell pipes that had naked bowls and I have always found it a pleasure to do so. I get the wood flavor out of the bowl and it tastes fine in my opinion. I also enjoy the fact that I get a nice dime's worth of carbon which helps to protect my pipe and it gives me a nice cool smoke. I fill my pipe, smoke it to the bottom and fill it again and smoke it to the bottom again. I never do that smoke it in thirds or 4ths. Top to the bottom every time. I have never smoked a pipe anywhere except top to bottom. I really despise a bowl that is coated, especially the water coated shit they use. The Danes are famous for that shit.

 

[Chasing Embers]

What do you use if not briar? Cob?

I won't buy from Missouri Meerschaum anymore, I'm mostly meerschaum now.

 

[lotharen]

Those are some beautiful pipes!

 

[Chasing Embers]

Those are some beautiful pipes!

Thanks!?

 

[krizzose]

In other words, “breaking in” is just the pipe getting some use until flavors are consistent.
“Breaking in,” as a set of active processes done by the smoker, is ceremonial hokum in my experience. If you know how to smoke a pipe properly, so that you’re not going to burn the chamber, there’s little else that can be done other than to just smoke the damn thing. I’ve not found any special process to make a bit of difference.

ditto

 

[PipeIT]

Jose Rubio once told me, he carbonizes some chambers for pipe smokers, if they are not careful smokers in the beginning, smoking to hard, causing to much heat which can develop cracks in the chamber.

So I’ve always considered a ‘Breaking In’, at least for expensive pipes you care about that aren’t coated, a process where you smoke slowly, carefully, not generating to much heat in the chamber, allowing the pipe slowly over time to get a slight carbon coating, to protect it from this possible cracking/damage.

So ‘Breaking In’ expensive pipes without coatings seems like it’s about going slowly and cautiously until getting a little carbon formed on the chamber, which then becomes a protective/layer for the chamber.