Small Bowl vs Big Bowl Break In

[cigrmaster]

When I get a new pipe, I fill it to the top and then smoke it to the bottom. This is not rocket science. 3/4 or half bowls is nonsense. Oh yeah don't use honey or freaking jelly either, that is a whole other world of crazy.

 

[LeafErikson]

I just fill my pipe and smoke. As many have already said, just make sure your tobacco is nice and dry and smoke slowly if you can. Don't worry about forming an even cake or smoking all the way to the bottom. Many here (me included) actually don't even form a thick cake and wipe out the bowl after every smoke. If it smokes poorly after 10 or so smokes then I'll throw it in the trash. I've only had to do that a couple of times. I just can't bring myself to trade in a sub-par pipe for some other poor soul to suffer through. I don't buy expensive pipes so I view them as borderline disposable but I'm sure everyone has differing views on this.

 

[dPero]

I just fill them and smoke new or no same

 

[jiminy]

If it smokes poorly after 10 or so smokes then I'll throw it in the trash. I've only had to do that a couple of times.

Wow! My cheap nature wouldn't allow me to cave that quickly haha! Mind you, I've normally only had old cheap estates, but now I'm building a small rotation of new pipes, which is a big investment for me

 

[TheWhale13]

Briar is extremely resistant to absorbing moisture. Run a pipe cleaner through the pipe and wipe the chamber with a paper towel and it's ready to go. I often smoke the same pipe multiple times per day for weeks at a time before switching.

I really can't understand why anyone would think that briar would absorb more moisture than any other wood? It should really absorb less since it's so hard. People saying this must really have no clue

 

[jpmcwjr]

Either way you do it, it'll be fine. Sometimes old school, sometimes stuff and light. But careful smoking until cake has formed.

Mainly: Don't stress! Enjoy!

 

[anotherbob]

also untop of what everyone has said. I find a smaller chambered pipe seems to cake more evenly from the start. No clue why. In my larger pipes or more accurately average sized ones the cake on the bottom always is slightly thinner.

 

[spike]

I suspect I’ve been smoking a pipe longer (50 years) than most of you youngsters. I’ve used the old honey treatment and gradual bowl filling (1/2, then 3/4, then full) many years. Never had a problem, even with my latest Rinaldo with bowl coating.

That said, you do what works for you; and enjoy your pipes.