How do you know when a pipe is broken in? And physically what is the change in the pipe? Presumably when a pipe has built a cake it is also broken in. But if you are not allowing cake to build - wiping the bowl with a paper towel, hot water flush, or whatever - at what point to you say “ah, now I have a broken in pipe”?
Broken In
- Thread starter mordy18
- Start date
What is the primary (and aside from aesthetics, the only) purpose of a pipe? To smoke great. So when the pipe smokes great, it is broken in. I have pipes that smoked pretty great from the first bowl. To be fair, most of my pipes reached that great point in less than 10 bowls. Further, if they're not smoking great by the 10th bowl, they're not likely to ever smoke great.
I wipe my bowls after smoking, water cleanse and wipe again. I could care less about cake. To me, this idea that a pipe needs some thickness of cake to smoke great is absurd. If that were true, any material that would allow a layer of cake to form would then be suitable for being a great smoking pipe.
I wipe my bowls after smoking, water cleanse and wipe again. I could care less about cake. To me, this idea that a pipe needs some thickness of cake to smoke great is absurd. If that were true, any material that would allow a layer of cake to form would then be suitable for being a great smoking pipe.
By smokes great, do you mean bowl and/or smoke less likely to get hot, easier to pick up nuances of flavor, better airflow (which would seem unlikely to be impacted by break in) or something else. What changes, specifically, or is it intangible?
I hate to say it like this but you will know when it is broken in. There is no set definition of time or characteristics
I think a pipe is “broken in” when it is properly seasoned by the oils of the tobacco. This is partially why I dedicate pipes to certain blends, it really seems to improve the flavor of said blend. I mainly only dedicate pipes to flavored tobaccos like St. Bruno, Condor and so on, otherwise I dedicate my pipes to a genre of tobacco.
Yup, it's broken in when you say it's broken in. There is no governing body so there really are no rules. If you want a burned rim, burn it. If a blow torch is your flame of choice ... Go for it!
Common sense and personal choice make pipe smoking seriously simple or gloriously complicated. It's all up to you, the smoker. and what you enjoy or, tolerate.
Common sense and personal choice make pipe smoking seriously simple or gloriously complicated. It's all up to you, the smoker. and what you enjoy or, tolerate.
And the preacher said: "AMEN".
Got it. So it is subjective and not quantifiable. Which means maybe it isnt really something that happens at all but just a matter of perception. Sort of like “aging” cigars in a humidor.
I think this is the best criteria.
I’m a weirdo but I like to take notes on a new pipe for the first 100 smokes. I do this on all new pipes and just keep the notes in my phone. It’s kind of fun to look back on my notes. Most of the time I notice a big difference around thirty smokes in. Some of my best smokers now I noted smoked hot at first but those pipes gradually started smoking cooler, I chalk that up to learning how that particular pipe likes to be smoked... each pipe has its own personality so to speak but then again, I already warned you that I’m a weirdo.
Smokes great to me is the pipe is neutral. I'm getting the full, rich and complete flavors of three tobacco with no noticeable influence from the pipe.