Just a side note,I remember some of my mid price range Petersons took quite a significant time to break in
I Hate Breaking in a New Pipe
- Thread starter fightnhampster
- Start date
I have a new Chacom that is also quite stubborn. I loaded some Victorian match in it and it tasted awful. I've been smoking burleys in it since and have noticed it is rounding into form. Patience is key.
Didn’t Jim Benjamin (Rick Newcombes repair guy from years ago) say in an interview it took him something like 40 years to break in a particular Barling. I would give up on a pipe after about a year if it doesn’t break in.
Samuel Clemons, known as Mark Twain, said he hired a local slacker to smoke his new pipes until they were broken in. I think that was for comic effect, but apparently he didn't like the taste of a new pipe either. Many folks must be more sensitive than I am about this. I fire them up, and mostly I'm a happy camper. Keep that in mind when I am reviewing a blend or commenting on a blend; I may lack discernment.
A hundred years ago, rich folk in London and Paris paid others to do the first several dozen smokes. Or perhaps high end tobacconists were the middlemen.
"Here's a lovely pipe for you, Sir. Shall I send it out to be broken in, and have it delivered to you in a month?"
Cosmic had written he loves the taste of briar in his first smokes.
Anyway, with time and smoking, it'll be fine.
"Here's a lovely pipe for you, Sir. Shall I send it out to be broken in, and have it delivered to you in a month?"
Cosmic had written he loves the taste of briar in his first smokes.
Anyway, with time and smoking, it'll be fine.
I may have to give Estates another try. The ones I have purchased in the past were so ghosted with weird flavors that it was not worth the effort to try to smoke past it.
where is that cat? I haven't seen a post from him in ages.. I always enjoyed reading his two cents.
Thanks for letting me know: I'll NEVER buy one of theirs. ??
I've encountered no break-in issues with pipes I've gotten in the past few years, except for one dark, briar, Falcon bowl that was awful for a dozen, or so smokes due to their getting stain down, into the chamber. I'll never go through that again!!!
I can't see how its necessary, and it would have to increase the cost of production. I guess its an old fad that, that somehow survived.
Smoked some WCC Old Dominion for the first time in my new Dunhill yesterday and it was one of the best bowls of WCC OD I've had so far.
I've also had some fine first smokes in my Savinellis that weren't estates.
I've also had some fine first smokes in my Savinellis that weren't estates.
Ran some 2014 Aylesbury Luxury Flake through this fellow a while ago as its first smoke. All I tasted was tobacco.
I don’t know if the issue here is with breaking in a new pipe. Some pipes don’t smoke as good as others. And they never smoke as good as others. In general I’ve found pipes are similar to tobacco. Great tobacco smokes great from day 1 and just gets better with age. Crap tobacco still tastes like crap 10 years later.
Could be. If that's the case, I will certainly never buy another Neerup again.
They still are darkened on the inside when you buy them.... but truth-be-told.... I have always doubted the “pre-smoked” advertisement. I suspect they have a machine that rubs ash into the inside of the bowl.
I am hoping he is just too busy with his new tobacco crop and perhaps selling his art at fairs to be on. I do hope he is doing ok.
Insightful. I have one that the draw is just too tight. Never thought of this as breaking it in/learning how to smoke it. Too bad. I like the way it looks.
I have found naked bowls will break in quicker than coated ones. I always use some type of flake, I fill it to the top, smoke it to the bottom and use it every other day or every 2 for the first dozen bowls or so. It is usually good to go after that.