New pipe break in ?

[Liberty_2112]

I got two new pipes in the mail this week. One of the pipes, the David Jones, does not have the "pre-blackened" bowl like I had on my other pipe. Is there anything special that I need to do to "break this in"? Anything I should avoid when cleaning?

Thanks.

 

[Liberty_2112]

 

[bbauer09]

You are probably fine. I have broken in bowls with and without the extra black carbon layer.
Some guys on here might recommend rubbing a very little bit of honey or sugar water on the inside of the bowl before smoking. This "supposedly" allows you to break it in faster. In my opinion you are fine though and I have never messed around with any of that. Just make sure you smoke it nice and slow for the first couple of times you smoke it.
Have fun though! Breaking in a pipe is a lot of fun. You get to see the pipe mature. And that is a beautiful pipe!

 

[Hunter]

Just smoke it, when you clean it don't scrub too hard in the bowl, but the best way to break in a pipe is to use it.

 

[michiganlover]

Just smoke it, when you clean it don't scrub too hard in the bowl, but the best way to break in a pipe is to use it.

So you don't think the "smoke 2-3 half bowls, and then alternate between half bowls, and full bowls for the next 3-4 bowls" is necessary?

That's the recommended breaking in procedure on the back of the blister pack for my Dr. Grabow pipe.

 

[Liberty_2112]

So you don't think the "smoke 2-3 half bowls, and then alternate between half bowls, and full bowls for the next 3-4 bowls" is necessary?

That's the recommended breaking in procedure on the back of the blister pack for my Dr. Grabow pipe.

I'm hoping that isn't necessary! That seems way too confusing for me.

 

[Hunter]

So you don't think the "smoke 2-3 half bowls, and then alternate between half bowls, and full bowls for the next 3-4 bowls" is necessary?

That's the recommended breaking in procedure on the back of the blister pack for my Dr. Grabow pipe.

Smoking a pipe is a lot like drinking scotch, there is only one way to do it, how ever you damn well please. If you want to do it that way, I'm a pretty big fan of just rotating my pipes and eventually the new ones get broken in. If you only smoke half bowls you are really only going to start a cake on the bottom of your bowl. I just build cake all over.

 

[Commander Quan]

Agreed. You don't need to do anything special, just keep it from getting too hot till you get some carbon built up.

 

[PinoySteel]

I like to use a little spit on the inside of a new pipe to keep it cool and it also gives the tar something to hold onto. I do load half bowls with new pipes, but then I usually only smoke half bowls at a time anyway, and I haven't picked up any of my pipes in several months!

 

[Liberty_2112]

I thought I would ask David Jones what his recommended method is. Here is his reply: (Super nice guy to deal with.)

"Breaking in a new pipe is not a pleasant experience but will pay dividends long term.. The goal is to form a protective cake from the bottom up.. Moisten your pinky with saliva and dampen the bowl bottom.. Fill the bowl about one-third full.. Tamp gently with a finger.. Light with a wood match (I use kitchen matches).. Butane lighters burn too hot; Zippo-type lighters will "taint" the tobacco flavor.
.
... Puff gently, lightly tamping.. Relight when it goes out.. Set the pipe aside and let it cool before emptying the bowl.. Repeat this several times (without the saliva).. Then fill the bowl 1/2 full several times; then 3/4 full several times.. Thereafter you may smoke it full.
.
... Rest the empty pipe vertically in a pipe rack so that it can dry properly.. Use lots of pipe cleaners!"

 

[Hunter]

Use lots of pipe cleaners!"

I have about 400 around my place, but they are also super handy to have kicking around, and are really good at cleaning dust and stuff out of the keyboard

 

[Schmitz Bitz]

I have to say I've never understood why such a big deal is made over this...I mean, seriously, I've seen people suggest all sorts of crazy stuff as a 'bowl-prep', from saliva to honey and water to activated charcoal and grape jelly (often referred to as grape fish-$@!^), while suggesting incremental bowl loading (you know, 1/4, 1/3, 1/2, 2/3, 3/4, 5/8, 15/16). I personally think this is a complete waste of time.
The idea behind the bowl preps is that the sugars will caramelize, helping to build cake faster...and to some degree it does seem to help build mass - unfortunately, it builds a gummy mess, not the rock hard shiney cake that simply smoking tobacco will provide. Cake doesn't appear overnight - but it isn't that difficult to build.
As for the partial bowls, the point is to ensure that the heel has cake built-up, but I ask you this: if you can't smoke to the heel with a full bowl, do you really need cake down there? And why would anyone want more cake at the heel than at the rim? I suspect this was actually a marketing ploy by companies making reamers to generate sales (ok, I don't really).

When I buy a brand spanking new pipe, I follow a very simple break-in routine. I remove the pipe from the sock, hit the stem inside and out with alcohol and Obsidian stem oil to disinfect and clean, run a saliva dipped pipe-cleaner through the airway and around the bowl to remove dust, then simply load and smoke. If the pipe gets hot, put it down for a few minutes...it's all good; trust me, the idea that the pipe will 'always go out' at the point where you first let it stop smoldering holds about as much water as a sieve.

 

[oc_in_fw]

Agreed. You don't need to do anything special, just keep it from getting too hot till you get some carbon built up.

Yep, just fill it and smoke it, IMO.

 

[Liberty_2112]

Just smoked my first bowl from the David Jones. Time dictated that I just smoke 1/2 a bowl, so I'm sure this helped to begin to build cake.

Overall, I love this pipe! It felt great in the hand. Perfectly weighted. Nice smooth draw. Loved it!