Pre Broken in

[darthpipe]

How do I tell if a pipe is pre broken in? I recently purchased a Peterson and a Brebbia pipe. And like a good newbie should, I researched on breaking in pipes and saw that some are pre broken in. I smoked my new pipes and went to do a daily cleaning with my alcohol solution and the pipe clearness came out as black as my ex’s heart. Are these pipes pre broken in or did I screw something up?

 

[Chasing Embers]

I only go as far as using alcohol on airways only once per year, but you are going to get a lot if soot, ash and tar out of the airways after each smoke. You may have gotten some of the bowl coating as well. Haven't heard of a presmoked pipe for years other than estate pieces.

 

[jaytex1969]

I have gotten pre broken items but not pre broken in ones.
I would treat them the same and perform whatever break in ritual you would normally do.
Welcome to the forum, BTW.

 

[jpmcwjr]

Where did you obtain the pipe(s)? New pipes are not broken in since the 19th C., so you must have gotten a used pipe ("estate")- so broken in if you will, but no problem.
Use water, not alcohol for cleaning or refreshing the pipe. Alcohol may remove some silicates from the briar, which will weaken its structure. And whatever method you really don't want a deep cleaning daily.

 

[pianopuffer]

I always thought that an alcohol solution for deep cleanings was the preferred method of members here.

Am I risking the structure of my pipes by using an Everclear and pipe cleaner method every few months as needed?

 

[sablebrush52]

Some manufacturers put a coating over the chamber walls to save the smoker from having to build up a layer of cake. That's what "pre-broken-in" is. A pipe is broken in when you no longer taste heated briar in your smoke. Most of my pipes needed little to no time to break in. My Brebbias came with such a coating and all have smoked great from the get go.
My use of alcohol has changed over the years. I used to use it at the end of every day's smoking. Now I use it primarily to clean out my vulcanite stems after a day's use, NEVER on acrylic stems, and only a few times a year on the shank airways and mortise, to get rid of build up. For the most part I just use an assortment of pipe cleaners to keep things clear. More recently I've been using hot water rinses to clean out my pipes and have found that it actually offers me a better result than alcohol.
In any event, don't overdo the use of alcohol.

 

[mackeson]

Using alcohol on new pre-coated pipes will result in black pipe cleaners due to striping away the coating. This isn't necessarily a bad thing (I usually sand and alcohol pre-coated pipes to get them down to the bare wood) it just depends on what you want. Those coatings are applied to protect the briar, but not necessary if you are reasonably careful with new pipes.

 

[pianopuffer]

Sable thanks for the updated tips. I think I’ll follow your advice and save the alcohol cleanings for a once or twice a year thing or in the event that something is really gunked up.

Can you provide some details on your water treatment? Thanks.

 

[jaytex1969]

My use of alcohol has changed over the years, as well. I no longer get lost or arrested during my use.
I thought it was the other way around with vulcanite vs. acrylic. Either way, I've never been accused of overcleaning stuff. :mrgreen:
I'm still working to formulate my routine. I can see how water and elbow grease is likely the safest bet for stems, in general. I'm still observing the water vs. alcohol debate for briar with great interest.

 

[sablebrush52]

The expert here is jpmcwjr, who has been evangelizing this for some time. Essentially you set your faucet to emit a very small stream of hot water, such as will fill the chamber without overflowing, and let it run through your pipe for 10 seconds or so. Then use wadded paper toweling to dry off the chamber, fluffies and regular pipe cleaners to sop up the moisture in the airway. I break down the pipe before flushing it and thoroughly dry out the mortise, giving it a moment to further dry before reattaching the stem, which I flush separately. If I understand John correctly, he doesn't break down the pipe by separating the stem before flushing it with water. What I found when I tried this was that the pipe tasted much sweeter than it did with the alcohol. Once dry you're good to go.

 

[pianopuffer]

Wonderful thanks! I always suspected that such a high proof spirit would eventually dry out natural substances like wood, so it’s good to have a safer and still effective way to thoroughly clean my pipes. I’ll use the Everclear sparingly going forward.

 

[Chasing Embers]

Am I risking the structure of my pipes by using an Everclear and pipe cleaner method every few months as needed?

Not at all. I just do it yearly.

 

[darthpipe]

As always gents, thanks for the help and info!!!

 

[cigrmaster]

Jesse, I am trying to picture this in my head. You get a small stream of hot water, then you put the shank under it letting the water go through into the bowl and out into the sink? Then you take a paper towel and dry out the bowl? What does that do to the cake, does it melt some away?
I have always used Everclear to clean my shanks and do so after about 15-20 bowls. I have never had an issue structurally using Everclear.

 

[jpmcwjr]

I've gotten more relaxed about how I clean the pipe, so sometimes after the hot water flush I do nothing. No towel, no pipe cleaner, no mortise cleaning. But I do the full monte every 5-10 smokes, and after an initial flush, I flush again with the stem out to really clean the mortise.
And I let water roll over the whole pipe, but I don't have a fine stable of collector's items as does Mr. Brush. I dry the stem immediately, and have not found any sign of oxidation due to the brief contact with water. Most of my stems are vulcanite, and some acrylic.

 

[sablebrush52]

Jesse, I am trying to picture this in my head. You get a small stream of hot water, then you put the shank under it letting the water go through into the bowl and out into the sink? Then you take a paper towel and dry out the bowl? What does that do to the cake, does it melt some away?

Other way around. I let the water go through the bowl and out the shank. Doesn't hurt the finish, nor the wood. After all, briar is very nonabsorbent. The only issue I've had is with pipes on which I used a microcrystalline wax. When the hot water hit that stuff it just washed it away. So I just reapply and all is good again. But I've gotten better at regulating the flow so that it doesn't splash over the outer surface. What can I say, other than I prefer the clean scent of a pipe that I've cleaned with a water bath. And they smoke well right after being cleaned and dried.
The brief water exposure won't hurt a hard carbon cake, but it does seem to help with the soft gummy stuff.
I thought about this a good long while before giving it a try. Works great. If I have any caveat it's that I would not try this on pipes that have had some significant chamber restoration work done as I would not want to risk disturbing those repairs. But I wouldn't do an S/A treatment or boiling alcohol retort treatments on such pipes either.

 

[jpmcwjr]

And not with cobs! Or any briar that has visible cracks in the chamber or around the mortise.
It also works just fine with meerschaums.
Another benefit is you can do it after every smoke, though not necessary, and you don't need to set up anything, and the clean up of the clean up is easy. A paper towel or two.

 

[pianopuffer]

I can’t wait to try this tonight with a pipe that is growing something funky and gummy in the chamber from recent aromatic bowls.

 

[mso489]

Good advice in posts above. Breaking in isn't quite as esoteric as beginners are lead to believe. Many, maybe most, pipes don't need much help. Pack 'em and smoke 'em and any new-pipe off flavors soon disappear usually. 'Sounds to me like you are over cleaning. For example -- and people do this different ways -- I just scoop out the ash, wipe out the bowl with a paper towel or napkin, run a pipe cleaner through the pipe, and buff it off briar and stem with a cloth. When needed, every twenty smokes or so, you do more cleaning, to your own standards. Wiping the bowl out with the paper napkin or towel will keep the carbon layer thin so you don't need to build cake, and won't need a reamer, but most choose to build cake -- that's your call. This has worked for me with pipes I've had for about 40 years, and I prefer it, as do some other Forums members. Old time smokers didn't carry pipe cleaners, smoked the same pipe all day, and often only one pipe until it burnt out. So there is a wide range of ways to go. It's supposed to be enjoyable, not another list of chores, so take it easy.

 

[olkofri]

I've been doing what mso489 does with my pipes: after every smoke, pipe cleaners and napkin for the chamber. Won't build a heck of a cake, but that's OK with me. I read somewhere that to help with the cake build, once you've finished your smoke, you cover the chamber hole with your thumb and shake a couple of times, to make the ashes swirl around and stick to the chamber's walls, then you can proceed to cleaning. I sometimes do this, to help build a wee bit of cake.
Most of the pipes I've bought have come with a coating, and one of them left me with a black tongue once after the first time I smoked it: most likely from the coating the manufacturer applied.
I clean all my pipes with alcohol upon buying them and before I smoke them for the first time, to disinfect them. Afterwards, it's only mso489's method.