Do pipes need to be “Broken In”?

[abecox]

I just load up what I think the pipe is going to like and smoke it. I feel like the more important thing for breaking in a pipe is to actually smoke it. I'll sometimes start with a Virginia or a mild Burley blend but its not a hard and fast rule. Heck I've had a few pipes that I really wanted to be Virginia pipes that just didnt make the cut for Virginia, but luckily I like lots of different kinds of blends. The most fun part is the experimentation!

 

[sablebrush52]

I consider a pipe “broken in” when I don’t taste burnt briar in the smoke.

It doesn’t usually take many bowls to get to that point.

 

[paulfg]

you said it tasted of either lemon ( S Gawith season Autumn,is described as having a spicy/tart citrus tang) or ash,that sounds like smoking a virginia blend too hot /fast.
Maybe as a result of the new pipe.
as you say try it in a known /trusted pipe

 

[theTomTom]

bowl break in seems to have come from an age when the companies began completely submerging pipes in the finish tanks.

When it comes to break in... just remove any residue in the pipes bowl, air way, and stem. High grade alcohol is a good friend friend.

Then smoke.

For reference, The proper way to break in a Grabow is to remove the black gunk layer in the pipebowl and scrube the shank and air way real well. Then load up with tobacco.

For all the grabows I have smoked, the black factory coating just made issues. For ME, it was the difference of 10 bad smokes, or clean it out, and have an iffy first smoke, and then smoke # 2 onwards getting better and better.

 

[HeadMisfit]

its not actually needed to "break it in".

I once read it was to build up cake inside the heel, well thats not an issue. When you get down to it, all your doing is smoking small amounts of a single tobacco in a pipe and then by "magic" gettings enough tar residue saturated onto the wood in the shank, to get the flavor merged into the smoking system.

It wont hurt, but it wont really help. If you purchase pipes from a brand you KNOW to have an odd taste, then smoke a stronger tobacco the first entire bowl. How many here would say that a single smoke of ennerdale would NOT get any strange flavors out of a pipe?

Its not like your briar pipe is a 5$ horsehair shaving brush fresh off the boat from china. Ive tried those, and some of those can smell like burnt hair and poop, after 20 shaves.

 

[Jo L.S.]

I always prepare a pipe as a ritual, without heating it too much; the first third seems to me the most difficult for the taste when I get to the bottom of the bowl, but in the end, I realize that some pipes give a good taste after about twenty times and others require much more time.

 

[Sigmund]

There are so many variables I simply decided not to be systematic as any system would really be more psychological than not. Most new pipes dont taste good the first smoke or two, unless you stick with something somewhat robust to overcome its new car smell. That can be briar, stain, waxes, bowl coatings etc...

I guess I do adhere to one break in rule...I take it easy the first few smokes and monitor the heat more than normal. After that I put what I want in and smoke away.

 

[telescopes]

There are so many variables I simply decided not to be systematic as any system would really be more psychological than not. Most new pipes dont taste good the first smoke or two, unless you stick with something somewhat robust to overcome its new car smell. That can be briar, stain, waxes, bowl coatings etc...

I guess I do adhere to one break in rule...I take it easy the first few smokes and monitor the heat more than normal. After that I put what I want in and smoke away.

+1

However, although there will always be people who suggest that sage advice in not necessarily so sage, I add this one caveat: There's a reason why myths generally have a certain amount of truth to them. Ignore it at your own risk.

When I worked in the Windiest Place on Earth, an unbroken pipe had a fairly good chance of developing a burn divot in the bowl, generally facing the direction the winds came from. The winds consistently flowed from the west to the east as they passed through the gap between the San Gorgonio and San Jacinto Mountain ranges- a gap of only a few miles.

A broken in pipe with a bit of carbon never ever burned out. Yes, I could have chosen to smoke my pipe somewhere else - but I am lazy that way and hard headed. I have spoken to others who had the same issue so I am confident it is a real phenomenon. Most pipes seem to do just fine - but I've learned to - I should say rather - chosen to break them in with the 1/3 rule. Any and all pipes that have undergone this method have remained fine smokers up to now over a 40 year period. It's your pipe, smoke it as you will. Tradition, for me anyway, remains a light house that I believe warns me of possible problems.

 

[hoosierpipeguy]

As long as you smoke reasonably slow, smoke a new pipe the same as any other. Should start to develop some cake around 15 bowls or so.

 

[daveinlax]

From my experience many pipes definitely need to be broken in but sometimes the first smoke is the best, cleanest tasting bowl you’ll ever have.

 

[anotherbob]

honestly it seems the break in process isn't as popular as it used to be. I personally have a theory that it's because the demand on briar and the suppliers have changed. When demand was higher different qualities of briar got sold and the suppliers are better at spotting issues before moving the blocks or something.
If a pipe has hidden flaws the breaking in process that used to be de rigueur would be less prone to causing terminal burnouts.
That said some people swear by it but now it seems like it's more of a matter of choice. Also some pipes take a while to smoke well and some pipes take a lot longer to smoke well. There are stories of this pipe was the worst when I got it and after several dozens of smokes it is one of my best.
My Churchwarden was harsh tasting and kind of nasty when I first started smoking it with some blends, it was fine with others. Now it smokes everything great. Oh and it started out super gurglerific and now no issues with that.

 

[Sea Lord]

Yes, absolutely.

 

[Eireprof]

I’ve never done anything to break in a pipe other than load it and smoke it. I also don’t let cake build up, so take my “method” for what you will.

 

[Searock Fan]

Depends on the pipe. How does it smoke the first time? Castellos... never. The 4 new Stanwells I recently picks up... yes, but they're getting better.

 

[Lumbridge]

Do they taste better after being smoked for a while? Many seem to think so. I don't mind the taste of fresh briar or cob.

Are the varied and sometimes bizarre pipe break in rituals that some smokers perform actually helpful or necessary? Consider me a skeptic. I'm firmly in the "just smoke it" camp.

 

[Searock Fan]

I'm firmly in the "just smoke it" camp.

That works !