Pipe "Break In"

[ADKPiper]

Is this actually necessary.
I mean this idea that a new pipe should be rested after the first bowl or whatever.
Personally I've never done anything like that and I've never had an issue.
I've always taken a new pipe out of the box and packed it up and smoked it.
And if I like it, I smoke it all day for several days till I get a bit tired of it.
Personally I've never had any issues.

 

[RustiePyles CPG]

A lot of people break in pipes that way, smoke em hard for the first few days. If it works for you, it works for you. If you're not a hot smoker it really shouldn't matter. I break in my pipes by smoking once a day every day until I think it's ready, but not more than once a day. It's what works for me.

 

[cosmicfolklore]

Believe it or not, we have members here that hate the taste and smell of tobacco, so it only stands to reason that some of them are going to hate the taste of a new pipe. Not me, I love the aroma of briar from the start.
So, these folks think of this "breaking in " process as suffering through the first few smokes where you get the most of that warmed briar goodness.

I don't fully understand it, but there are even people in the world who put ice in wine, mix whiskey with cola like a girl, and put milk and sugar in coffee. They let all kinds just walk around with the rest of us on this planet.

 

[HawkeyeLinus]

Have yet to damage a new pipe by simply using it and although I believe some can, I can't discern any noticeable taste difference with the "virgin" briar. Heck, I've got some unsmoked very early 1900s little Britwoods that have/had the most beautiful briar in the chambers and lit 'em up --- I did moisten them a tad, and was careful with my first couple of times, maybe that's "breaking in", I don't know, but they did their jobs just fine. The Meerschaum I commissioned earlier this year? It needs a few more bowls, lol.

 

[ThermionicScott]

I try to keep my first smokes on the cool side to avoid starting a burnout, but that's about it.

I wonder if a new pipe's "break-in" actually has more to do with the user getting to know it than anything else...

 

[BriarBrook]

For the most part, I don't buy the whole "breaking in" claptrap. However, there are certain cobs that I think taste sour until they have had several smokes.

 

[El Capitán]

I'm the same way with breaking in a pipe @ADKPiper.

 

[Sobrbiker]

Things that are subjected to heat damage seem to do well with multiple short trips to operating temperature and back to resting temperature prior to running full temp for extended periods.
Oh wait-that’s internal combustion engines, hydraulics, guns, etc…

Pipes? Smoke ‘em reasonably. If I buy a pipe and smoke it as received in a reasonable manner that doesn’t damage my mouth, and it suffers damage, well then I think I bought a crappy pipe regardless of make or investment (financially ad/or emotionally).

If you’re talking about “breaking in” as far as how to use until the “new pipe taste” settles down, i think that’s subject to variables such as feeding it more neutral tobaccos until whatever level of cake or carbon builds up I see that as a separate process. All organic material that has any special sauce added by its creator (or not) will do what it’s going to do, and that may be in a different manner than the next one that came out of the shop even if all specs are the same.

Smoke it reasonably.

 

[troutface]

For the most part, I don't buy the whole "breaking in" claptrap. However, there are certain cobs that I think taste sour until they have had several smokes.

I actually love the first few bowls in a new cob because I can taste the corn ! As for breaking in briars, I just load them and smoke them. Never had any issues.

 

[spike]

I’m Old School because I’m an old man. I’ve been using the honey treatment 30+ years. Two bowls a day for seven days. It’s worked for me. I just broke in a Walt Hettinger bent Dublin and it’s just great.

 

[Briar Lee]

Is this actually necessary.
I mean this idea that a new pipe should be rested after the first bowl or whatever.
Personally I've never done anything like that and I've never had an issue.
I've always taken a new pipe out of the box and packed it up and smoked it.
And if I like it, I smoke it all day for several days till I get a bit tired of it.
Personally I've never had any issues.

When briar burls are harvested they are the wet, green wood of a living shrub.

They must be boiled or steamed or soaked to remove foul tasting sap, and to cure and season the briar.

Then after that, they must be either kiln dried or left to dry out naturally. The final maker may boil or cure the blocks again.

Richard Lee who made Pipes by Lee figured out, and advertised, some method to further cure his briar that makes a Lee sweet to break in. It’s still needs breaking in, but it’s a pleasant break in.

I buy a lot of used pipes and most were not smoked all the way down to the air hole. When I smoke them down to the last ember, I can taste a little whiff of briar in pipes that are over 75 years old.

I think what break in does is put the last, final cure and seasoning to the briar.

There are pipes, in my experience Danish freehands the worst, that must have not been very long cured, seasoned and aged. But after about thirty smokes almost all pipes are fully broken in.

I’ve used a dab of honey to break in new pipes for fifty years. It doesn’t hurt one, I promise.

A good pipe, can be smoked from the box and it’s a pleasant experience.

Some need more help.

 

[Searock Fan]

Some cheap pipes need to have the sap burned out of the wood before they start to get "better"... and I use the word "better" out of kindness. Also the honey treatment is supposed to help. However, in my experience the high grade Italian pipes, which is what I mainly smoke, will smoke great right from the start and need no breaking in. As side note... I do something to my pipes with a smooth top. I put a very small 45 degree bevel around the top inside edge of the bowl. This takes away the sharp 90 degree edge and the wood won't char as easily. It's easy to do with a simple electric drill and a 1" ball shaped grinding stone bit. You can touch it up with a little fine grip sandpaper. Of course, being the type personality I am, I also drill a small 45 degree "cup" in the tip of the tenon's hole to make a pipe cleaner easier to get in. Don't really know if it helps, just like to.

 

[craiginthecorn]

If you freight train and are prone to burning out your pipes, than I'd say taking extra care to break in a pipe and build cake is useful. If I have a new pipe that's coated, I just go ahead and smoke it as normal. If not coated, I will use saliva and my finger to dampen the briar before smoking a codger blend for my first smoke. Far more pipes are damaged by clumsy lighting than failing to break in a pipe.

 

[yanoJL]

On one episode of the Pipes Magazine Podcast, Brian had Gregory Pease as his guest. And they discussed breaking in a pipe. Brian likes to go hot and hard right from the start, stressing the pipe to make sure it's well constructed and won't burnout. Pease prefers partial fills until he gets a heel cake going.
2 very knowledgeable veterans, 2 completely different approaches to breaking in a pipe.
So yeah, I guess there's no definitive answer.

 

[hoosierpipeguy]

I haven't seen any reason to do anything different with a new pipe. Pack it, smoke it. The cake will form.

 

[judcole]

With a new pipe, I smoke one bowl a day of a fairly neutral tobacco for two weeks. Then I let it rest for another couple of weeks. Easy and straight-forward.

 

[bullet08]

It's like the boogyman in the closet, or under your bed. If you believe in breaking in, you must do it to ease your mind. Others who out grown Santa and Easter Bunny usually don't break in pipes. Unless I run over it with my Honda.

 

[multitool]

I've never "broken in" any of my pipes. Too much work, too much thinking, and it doesn't interest me. No offense to those who do. I've noticed that when it comes to pipe smoking, if I overthink it, the smoke won't be good. That's also why I smoke any tobacco, in any pipe.

In both of those situations, I haven't experienced any negative effects. I pack it, light it, and enjoy.

 

[Skippy B. Coyote]

It seems like experiences vary from person to person, but as someone who smokes a lot of aromatics I've found that to keep a pipe smoking dry and cool and not turning sour tasting it's pretty important to let the pipe (briar or cob) rest a day between smokes to fully dry out. If I smoke the same pipe several times a day it doesn't take long for it to turn sour and funky tasting, even with pipe cleanering between smokes, and building a thin cake on the walls of the bowl is immensely helpful for keeping the pipe smoking cool and preventing burnout.

My first pipe that I smoked half a dozen times every day would turn sour and require a thorough cleaning with alcohol on a weekly basis and ended up burning out after a year, which made me rather sad so now I only smoke any given pipe once a day and let it rest for a day between smokes to keep it in good shape and lasting as long as possible. Since I started doing that I've never had a pipe turn sour or burn out again, and they taste a lot better when smoked too. I've also found that many cobs have a slightly acrid and unpleasant green wood taste (from the hardwood shank, I presume) the first few smokes but it tends to dissipate after a few smokes once the shank gets well carbonized.

That's all just been my experience though and your results may vary. I imagine if you mostly smoke non-aromatic blends there would be a lot less moisture going into the pipe and less need for rests between smokes.

 

[Magtour]

I’m Old School because I’m an old man. I’ve been using the honey treatment 30+ years. Two bowls a day for seven days. It’s worked for me. I just broke in a Walt Hettinger bent Dublin and it’s just great.

You do this even when the manufacturer finishes the chamber with a coal skin? (I’m not being asinine, here)