How Hot Is TOO HOT?

[nabottle]

Since I am very new to pipe smoking, there are many things I'm unsure of. One is this: When breaking in a briar, how hot can the bowl get without fear of damage? Honestly, from all of the talk here and the reading I've done, I'm more than a little scared. I just want to take the best care of my new pipes that I can as I'm breaking them in. Can/Should a new briar be smoked more than once in a single day?

 

[nemrod]

I smoked way hot when I was a newbie with my first briar and it's taken no damage. YMMV, of course, but I don't think you should be too scared unless it's so hot you don't want to hold it in your hand. Being careful never hurts, however, so taking extra care to smoke cool until it's broken in isn't wrong.
I usually let my new pipes rest a full day between single smokes (i.e. I smoke one bowl (loaded full) day 1, don't smoke it day 2, smoke one full bowl day 3, and so on) until it's broken in.
I don't know if it's just me but I think that if I smoke it too much in succession in the beginning it'll start tasting and smelling bad, but it disappears with time and becomes more resilient the more you smoke it. Could just be superstition. o_o

 

[nabottle]

Thanks guys. I was probably just being too paranoid. I appreciate the advice.

 

[fullbent]

The petersons I have always smoke hot!It could be me too,I tend to smoke heavy!

 

[julesholling]

Mine smokes hot too. But when it starts to feel too hot against my cheek i just stop, let it go out and cool down and then pick it up again a few mins later.
I'm pretty certain it's all down to the way i smoke as my cob gets hot, my estate briar and my new briar i'm trying to break in. I'm slowly learning too smoke slower but at the moment i just stop if it gets too hot and then try to calm down a bit ;-)

 

[hauntedmyst]

As a general rule, you don't want the briar to get so hot that it spontaneously goes super nova and then collapses in on your face.

 

[nabottle]

Thanks. Although.... my face could use some improvements. The super nova might just be the ticket.

 

[python]

A general rule of thumb that I go by is the 5 second rule.
If you can not hold the pipe in your hand or against your check for at least 5 seconds ( a slow 5 second count), then you are smoking too hot. The exterior of the bowl should be warm not hot. There are exceptions though. Some pipes will feel hot no matter how slow you smoke them.
When breaking in a pipe you want to smoke slower than normal because there is no carbon cake build up yet. The carbon cake protects the wood from the heat of the burning tobacco. You only have to worry about this if the tobacco chamber of the pipe is bare wood. If it already has a coating in place from the manufacturer, you don't have to break it in.
Just remember to go slower than normal during the break in period. If you have to re-light more than usual, then so be it.
Remember the 5 second rule and use it, even after the pipe is broken in. No matter how good the cake in the chamber is, if the pipe gets too hot it will get damaged.