Newby Questions About Breaking In A New Pipe

[Sgetz]

One thing worth noting which I find helps. If pipe has finish and stain inside the bowl then it's worth removing this with alcohol and a cotton bud. This makes the first smoke better. Better pipes are not stained by dipping so don't have stain inside bowl.

 

[Birddog66]

I hear what you are saying. I rarely spend money on myself and even though this pipe was not very expensive it's something I have wanted for over a year.
I just want to learn a little and hopefully not mess it up through my ignorance.

I view the cheap ones as disposable and this one as it should last forever.

I wasn't sure if ghosting is more of a problem compared to the cobbs. I smoke a range of blends depending on my mood but not sure how the difference types of pipes effect the blends..or if it matters at all.

Cotton1

Use a sweetener if you’re worried about ghosting, I understand your desire to preserve something you’ve wanted for so long but good briar can take a heavy punch. I agree with the kid glove statement, don’t let little things get in the way of enjoying your new pipe. And the tobacco you like the most is always the best blend, regardless of the opinion of others.

 

[Birddog66]

If I can trust my memories the advice breaking in a pipe by smoking it with successivly increasing tobacco loads came from A.H. Dunhill written in his book 'The Gentle Art Of Smoking',1954) .That made sense in those days when pipes were made of other woods than briar. In the beginning these pipes had a bad taste . So wealthy persons gave their new pipe plus tobacco to one of their servants to break in this pipe and smoke it as long as the bad taste was gone.

Are you sure? I don’t want my servants slobber over my pipe. Jeeves bring me my Cavendish.

 

[Old School 3319]

Just fill it, smoke it, wipe out and repeat.

 

[Kottan]

Are you sure? I don’t want my servants slobber over my pipe. Jeeves bring me my Cavendish.

Yes, it's true. Especially landlords in former times used to practice this method. Tobacco was rather expensiv then and thus a servant got it for free. This reminds me a bit of the 'ius primae noctis' just the other way around.☺
BTW Sleeve is a funny character.

 

[FurCoat]

Yes, it's true. Especially landlords in former times used to practice this method. Tobacco was rather expensiv then and thus a servant got it for free. This reminds me a bit of the 'ius primae noctis' just the other way around.☺
BTW Sleeve is a funny character.

I remember reading that Mark Twain was fond of this practice as he detested breaking in a new pipe.

 

[jpmcwjr]

Some many years ago (ca1880's to 1920's) Gentlemen- or at least guys who were rich— could hire outsiders in London and Paris to perform that onerous task!

Me, I rather like breaking in a pipe.

 

[pruss]

For every new pipe, I sacrifice one chicken, and fill the pipe with its feathers, then take the pipe to a graveyard to leave it on the tombstone of the oldest grave there, and then step on a crack, throw some salt over my shoulder, and then wait for the Seattle Mariners to win a World Series.

Why do anything different from what you would do with any of your other pipes? Just load it and smoke it. What is it with the loading half a bowl, do the hokey pokey folks?
You break in a pipe by smoking it (period)

There's no magic, or frailness that you have to treat the pipe with kid gloves. Why use any other tobacco than the ones you would normally smoke. If you smoke that shitty Prince Albert, then smoke some shitty Prince Albert. But, I'll be damned if I want that nasty taste in a brand new pipe.

Get over the superstitious BS! Smoke it!!

But seriously... ghosts.

“Who you gonna call?”

— Pat

 

[Chasing Embers]

But seriously... ghosts.

“Who you gonna call?”

— Pat

 

[Birddog66]

I’m getting an unsmoked 69+ year old Kaywoodie Super Grain soon, is there anything I should know about breaking in a pipe of this age? I’m learning something new everyday, it’s like Pipe University and I love the homework

 

[Lawyer66]

I've got my first briars coming in this week. This was helpful ?

 

[saltedplug]

For every new pipe, I sacrifice one chicken, and fill the pipe with its feathers.

You break in a pipe by smoking it (period)

Amen!, Cosmic.

A pipe doesn't need a thin, hard layer of cake to smoke well, which is the goal of breaking-in. Bare briar is fully capable of being smoked without the further ado of a break-in, though you may taste it for a few bowls. If you just smoke a dozen bowls you will achieve the same thing that you would have by some swill ritual.

 

[mordy18]

I don't know what chemical or physical process renders a pipe "broken in" and I haven't seen any convincing explanation of what it actually means. But from experience I have found that it does indeed occur. I bought too many pipes too quickly and was an infrequent smoker so it took quite a while for the 20 or so pipes in my "rotation" to "break in". But I did find that the smoking experience -- taste and how much the bowl heats up in particular -- did indeed improve over time.

For example, a Castello shape 55 was not enjoyable to smoke at first, and another small artisan pocket pipe would get so hot I couldn't hold it no matter how slowly I sipped. After 10-15 smokes roughly, I found both had improved. Neither has a cake, but both do have a nice carbon layer in the bowl.

Just a complete guess, but wood, even dense wood like briar, is an organic material with pores that open and close and the wood expands as it heats up. Perhaps the imposition of a carbon coating, even if thin, conditions the wood so that you taste the tobacco, rather than resins or whatever else is in the wood.

If I had to do it over, I wouldn't buy more than 2 or 3 pipes at first, and would smoke the hell out of them for a while and see how they develop before buying any more.

 

[cosmicfolklore]

When I strike it rich, I want to only smoke new pipes. Pop them out of the box before smoking them, and then just tossing them into the garbage when done. I love, love, love the aroma of a new briar pipe.

 

[Grangerous]

I wish I could recommend a blend.... I can’t think ? one.

 

[PipeIT]

Use a sweetener if you’re worried about ghosting

Can you please elaborate on this?

Thanks

P.S. For any ghosting worries, I only smoke one bowl of a blend worried for this, clean and let the pipe dry out, then smoke Straight Burley the next time, and always smoke a different blend each time I smoke, because I like to, but it helps.

 

[Prunetucky84]

I break in my pipes with whatever tobacco I plan on smoking in that particular pipe the most, but I pack it very lightly and smoke it very slowly for the first 10 bowls or so, and if you have to relight 10 or 15 times, in prefer to go slow and cool, then so be it. It’s not a competition. Enjoy

 

[Birddog66]

Can you please elaborate on this?

Thanks

P.S. For any ghosting worries, I only smoke one bowl of a blend worried for this, clean and let the pipe dry out, then smoke Straight Burley the next time, and always smoke a different blend each time I smoke, because I like to, but it helps.

Sweeteners are usually alcohol based and can get rid of strong taste left by some baccy’s, I use rum generally because it’s what I drink most of the time but you can get dedicated ones. G Wynne do a good one in America. Hope this is helpful.

 

[Mr.Pink]

I break my pipes in smoking straight Virginia. Last likely to ghost and builds a nice hard thin layer of cake

Like hoosersaid, smoke what you enjoy...but build-up that thin layer of cake: serves to insulate the briar while reducing the possibility of burning out your new pipe. It will smoke cooler too. my new pipes, I notice hotter, to the touch smokes until I have that thin cake "insulation" . After I have a tin layer, I wipe the bowl like a baby after every bowl to control too much cake