The Importance of Breaking in All the Way Down

[Briar Lee]

One of the prime differences that a young Ozark American learns when he leaves his home and mother dear, and fights the battle of life on his own, is that “outsiders” tend to refuse to use careful philosophical reasoning and long experience to preserve their cherished possessions.

A hillbilly boy buys something that’s good, and he wants to keep it good so his heirs can enjoy it.

I’ll bet the day Harry Hosterman died every one of his briar pipes were clean, well cared for, and are likely still in service.

A new briar pipe, especially a higher grade such as a Lee Star Grade, should be a lifetime possession one’s children can enjoy for ever after.

It should be kept clean, the wood kept shiny with grapeseed oil, and the stem blacked with Obsidian oil. They should never be smoked hot, or wet, and kept rotated. A careful break in once done, need never be repeated.

Those that follow after us, should be given every advantage we can leave them, you know?

You’d not want your kids to say the old man neglected his briars.

Wayfaring Stranger
Traditional

 

[anotherbob]

personally I believe that all pipe things are under the umbrella of magick. It really works out to think there are tobacco elementals and fairies controlling all the finer details. Why does one pipe smoke the way it does? Because of the spirits that live inside of it. Why does breaking in work? Because that's the ritual the fairies settled on. Why is this blend so sublime and this other one that tastes almost identical just meh.... Cause of the tobacco Gods have their ways and we're just tourists in their realm.
Works for me.

 

[Chasing Embers]

Although it’s small numbers, I’ve consistently found a brand new Danish freehand will be a hot, bitter, awful smoking pipe until a dozen or more bowls are smoked in it. The makers probably do not cure and age their large pieces of briar before carving. Also, even a heavily caked estate pipe with bare briar at the bottom I’ve found will have a distinct, bitter, hot taste at the bottom of the bowl until they are smoked all the way down about a dozen times.

I'd love to see that. Many Danes leave the draft a few millimeters above the bottom of the chamber to act as a moisture trap.

 

[ashdigger]

I’m probably old fashioned. I just smoke my pipes. Crazy, I know.

I’ve smoked over 100 yr old pipes, new pipes, artisan pipes and everything in between. Hell I’ve even slummed it up by smoking cobs.

Here’s the secret to smoking pipes. Smoke the goddamn pipe and think less.

Thus endeth the master class.

 

[Simmerdown☕️]

I smoke ?s so no real need to break it in. I’ve never really considered break in periods. I just load & ?. It shouldn’t be complicated. ️

 

[sablebrush52]

I suppose on the surface, these are all myths, but underlying them all seems to be something you alluded to, which is a series of cool and slow set of smokes that allow the pipe to develop it thin carbon lining. Ultimately, how this happens doesn't so much depend on the rituals involved, but the slow and deliberate smokes used by the one engaging in ritual.

I do agree that the heat curing is a misdirection and a slight of hand. There is heat because there is fire in the bowl. Carbon coating of the bowl occurs because of the heat due to the fire. Heat does only one thing to wood when in abundance and that is to char it - something no one wants to happen to their pipe. The heat in the discussion above is not the primary method of curing the pipe - it is the "element" used to create a carbon shield around the outside of the bowl to prevent charring.

Would you agree?

Yes, I would. The speculation about mysteries such as "heat" curing being caused by the "breaking in" of a pipe is the "myth". The reality is that briar is already boiled, heated, aged, etc and is essentially already cured when carved and turned into a pipe. That's why it's dimensionally stable and can be carved into a stable shape. Relatively high silicate content in briar retards its flammability, but if immolation is your thing you can cremate a pipe. It's a piece of wood, not unicorn testicles.
The consequence of burning tobacco, essentially carbonizing it, eventually leads to a build up of carbon over the walls of the chamber if you do it right. The heat of combustion can also cause fissures to form in the wood from too much heat and moisture. That's one way to know that you did it wrong.
Slow cool smoking is best for one's pipe. Frankly, the tobacco tastes better as well.

 

[Briar Lee]

I'd love to see that. Many Danes leave the draft a few millimeters above the bottom of the chamber to act as a moisture trap.

Danish makers have produced about the same product now for over fifty years.

After breaking in, I consider a big pick axe Danish the best smoking of all briar pipes, bar none.

About the only way to lower costs on a Danish freehand is to reduce the cost of the chunks of briar used, and the customer expects to have to break in his new pipe.

One advantage of buying a Danish freehand is you can see the product was made using a big block of plateaux briar, by the root ends at the top and at the end of the shank.

But they tend to not be overly cured or aged.

The last two I’ve bought new were torture to break in all the way down.

But now, both pipes are among the best smokers I own.

 

[telescopes]

It's a piece of wood, not unicorn testicles.

Unless of course, it’s this.

 

[sasquatch]

But they tend to not be overly cured or aged.

I mean, you spout all kinds of weird shit, but this is just... not something you can verify.

Do all Danish pickaxes smoke the same? How do you know that? Are they all made identically? Is there Danish briar?

This is all nonsense.

Danish (or maybe better to say Scandinavian) pipe making has changed greatly over the last 70 years, both in terms of aesthetics and smoking. Bo Nordh (a swede) paid all sorts of attention to briar, drying it longer after drilling etc. The idea that there's all this weird "uncured" briar floating around is horse shit. It's all treated the same at the mills, it's cut, boiled, dried, and sold. There's no reason at all, no advantage at all to a pipe maker using wet briar, and it's not such an expensive resource that any of us have to do. Hell most of the Scandinavian guys were getting their briar from Stanwell, who get it out of Greece.

Yes, if you smoke a bare bowl all the way down, it will burn near the airhole and you'll taste it. Of course you will... it's burning wood. That's indicative of absolutely nothing.

I hate this myth making. It's kinda fun, but it's not helpful in any way to the community.

 

[telescopes]

.

I hate this myth making. It's kinda fun, but it's not helpful in any way to the community.

When I taught literature, it was always a challenge to separate out what was myth, legend, folktale, tall tail, fable, fairy tale, etc. Nidwestern rural folks combine them all and use story telling as a way of explaining Everything. Our good friend @Briar Lee is what is known in the Ozarks as a there potato preacher.

 

[Briar Lee]

I mean, you spout all kinds of weird shit, but this is just... not something you can verify.

Do all Danish pickaxes smoke the same? How do you know that? Are they all made identically? Is there Danish briar?

This is all nonsense.

Danish (or maybe better to say Scandinavian) pipe making has changed greatly over the last 70 years, both in terms of aesthetics and smoking. Bo Nordh (a swede) paid all sorts of attention to briar, drying it longer after drilling etc. The idea that there's all this weird "uncured" briar floating around is horse shit. It's all treated the same at the mills, it's cut, boiled, dried, and sold. There's no reason at all, no advantage at all to a pipe maker using wet briar, and it's not such an expensive resource that any of us have to do. Hell most of the Scandinavian guys were getting their briar from Stanwell, who get it out of Greece.

Yes, if you smoke a bare bowl all the way down, it will burn near the airhole and you'll taste it. Of course you will... it's burning wood. That's indicative of absolutely nothing.

I hate this myth making. It's kinda fun, but it's not helpful in any way to the community.

There’s really not any technical reason a Danish freehand should smoke any differently than a standard shape of the same bowl size and stem length.

The traditional Danish pick axe shaped pipe is a big pipe. Since it’s obvious there’s a lot of waste involved hand turning a big piece of briar down to a marketable product, the Danes buy large pieces of plateux briar, which cost a lot more than smaller ebochons.

I can’t remember ever seeing a puttied fill in a name brand Danish freehand. They are expertly carved from good briar.

But I also can’t remember one that was easy to break in, except a smaller SON branded pipe that I recently paid $35 from a Serbian seller, that appears brand new and turned on a CNC milling machine, beautifully polished with a cast stem. It was coated inside with some kind of a black carbon.

Supposedly it’s over 55 years old and made by a young Eric Nording before he started his own company.

But when I check the Nording web site Nording doesn’t have any original SON pipes displayed, they are so rare.

I guess sometimes you win the eBay lottery, but who knows?

 

[sasquatch]

What if I told you you don't buy pipes with good enough stems to even be able to judge the briar? (And I don't mean to sound rude - I've been pretty deep down the rabbit hole for a pretty long time, just coming up for some air here)

 

[sablebrush52]

Bo Nordh (a swede) paid all sorts of attention to briar, drying it longer after drilling etc.

Interesting. Barling did the same thing. One of their early brochures has a picture of a drying room for their stummels after being drilled and shaped, prior to finishing.

 

[sasquatch]

Interesting. Barling did the same thing. One of their early brochures has a picture of a drying room for their stummels after being drilled and shaped, prior to finishing.

As did Sasieni, they in fact baked the hell out of their stummels and some percentage failed under the torture test. But this is also factory-grade briar we are talking about, probably akin to a "primo" grade today.

I think in a factory environment that makes all sorts of sense, having a by-rote QC.

In a one-off shop, the guy making the pipe should be able to detect any defects in the wood. You know a pipe pretty well after handling it for 7 hours straight.

 

[sablebrush52]

As did Sasieni, they in fact baked the hell out of their stummels and some percentage failed under the torture test. But this is also factory-grade briar we are talking about, probably akin to a "primo" grade today.

I think in a factory environment that makes all sorts of sense, having a by-rote QC.

In a one-off shop, the guy making the pipe should be able to detect any defects in the wood. You know a pipe pretty well after handling it for 7 hours straight.

Good points! Barling and Comoy also had the advantage of harvesting, treating, and milling their wood.

 

[sasquatch]

I imagine back then controlling the incoming product was a pretty big deal, with lots of rival companies and people trying to make orders for 500,000 blocks a year. It would have been critical for those "serious" pipe making firms to have absolute regularity in that end of the business. I think some of the big French factories still basically have direct in-house briar processing, I'm not sure. For the rest of us, there's only about a dozen places to buy wood right now, and only a handful of those that are really any good. Luckily, those few are very good indeed in my opinion.

 

[Briar Lee]

What if I told you you don't buy pipes with good enough stems to even be able to judge the briar? (And I don't mean to sound rude - I've been pretty deep down the rabbit hole for a pretty long time, just coming up for some air here)

The vast majority of pipes I buy are thirty some dollar Lee Star Grades, and in recent years I’m extremely particular about condition.

Early Lees show more workmanship on the vulcanite stems. The buttons are better shaped on 7 and 5 pointed star era pipes, Yet no Lee ever seems to suffer from deep oxidation that’s hard to remove. He must have used the best grade of vulcanite.

What I’ve found is that any Lee from any era requires no break in, much like a cob or meerschaum. The first few bowls through a Lee are pleasant, but so are all other brands of briars after a dozen or so careful smokes all the way down to the air hole.

A dozen smokes is about a pouch or two of tobacco at the most. The pipe will then be good for thousands upon thousands of smokes.

But an early Lee will never have a loose stem. It may need reclocked, which is easy to accomplish with a pair of pliers.

 

[Donb1972]

The vast majority of pipes I buy are thirty some dollar Lee Star Grades, and in recent years I’m extremely particular about condition.

Early Lees show more workmanship on the vulcanite stems. The buttons are better shaped on 7 and 5 pointed star era pipes, Yet no Lee ever seems to suffer from deep oxidation that’s hard to remove. He must have used the best grade of vulcanite.

What I’ve found is that any Lee from any era requires no break in, much like a cob or meerschaum. The first few bowls through a Lee are pleasant, but so are all other brands of briars after a dozen or so careful smokes all the way down to the air hole.

A dozen smokes is about a pouch or two of tobacco at the most. The pipe will then be good for thousands upon thousands of smokes.

But an early Lee will never have a loose stem. It may need reclocked, which is easy to accomplish with a pair of pliers.

While I don't agree, or disagree, with the smoke to the bottom idea(for me, if it happens, it happens...if not, that's okay, too). But you've sold me on Lee's. If I can find a nice looking one, I'll give it a shot.

 

[frozenchurchwarden]

Yes, I would. The speculation about mysteries such as "heat" curing being caused by the "breaking in" of a pipe is the "myth". The reality is that briar is already boiled, heated, aged, etc and is essentially already cured when carved and turned into a pipe. That's why it's dimensionally stable and can be carved into a stable shape. Relatively high silicate content in briar retards its flammability, but if immolation is your thing you can cremate a pipe. It's a piece of wood, not unicorn testicles.
The consequence of burning tobacco, essentially carbonizing it, eventually leads to a build up of carbon over the walls of the chamber if you do it right. The heat of combustion can also cause fissures to form in the wood from too much heat and moisture. That's one way to know that you did it wrong.
Slow cool smoking is best for one's pipe. Frankly, the tobacco tastes better as well.

Boiled isn't nearly the same as the 400-500 degree heat of burning tobacco.
Oil Curing, yes, but almost no-one does that anymore.
Breaking in your pipe (heating the bowl with smouldering tobacco for 5-10 hours) causes chemical change, that is a fact. How exactly that affects your tobacco could be the subject of much research I'm sure, for all I know the effect on your smoking experience could be absolutely nothing, but the idea that the fundamental composition of the wood of your pipe changes after break in is not speculation.

 

[sasquatch]

The vast majority of pipes I buy are thirty some dollar Lee Star Grades, and in recent years I’m extremely particular about condition.

Early Lees show more workmanship on the vulcanite stems. The buttons are better shaped on 7 and 5 pointed star era pipes, Yet no Lee ever seems to suffer from deep oxidation that’s hard to remove. He must have used the best grade of vulcanite.

What I’ve found is that any Lee from any era requires no break in, much like a cob or meerschaum. The first few bowls through a Lee are pleasant, but so are all other brands of briars after a dozen or so careful smokes all the way down to the air hole.

A dozen smokes is about a pouch or two of tobacco at the most. The pipe will then be good for thousands upon thousands of smokes.

But an early Lee will never have a loose stem. It may need reclocked, which is easy to accomplish with a pair of pliers.

I don't own a Lee, but I do have pipes with stems of a similar ilk, the old MasterCrafts are made with some form of vulcanite or para that basically doesn't need any care either, where my otherwise acidic saliva (or perhaps just my personality) will turn an ordinary vulcanite stem green in two seconds.

But my point about those old Danish pipes you are talking about is two fold - first, they got cheap, poor stems mostly. Second, the pipes are drilled and fitted with hardly any care for the most part. And the result is absolute mediocrity. But it's not because the briar is poor. My Mastercrafts and frankly your Lees are much poorer quality wood in general (and yet they smoke just fine as we both know, so much for the wood hypothesis).

Buying cheap, roughly fitted pipes and generalizing about groups of pipes, "Danish" (or "pickaxes" or "bulldogs" or "rusticated pipes", whatever grouping a guy happens to choose) is wrong headed.

If Lees were oil cured or honey impregnated or if they are simply made from nice tasting wood and they break in faster than some other pipe, that's great. I feel the same way about Castellos, and that's why I buy them. But if the average Castello is a much nicer pipe to smoke than the average 1970's cheapo factory freehand, it's not because the Danish pipe is inferior wood, it's because it has a crap stem and crap drilling most usually, assembled and shaped in mere minutes.