Break-in rituals

[jlong]

Prince of Albert here. It tastes great, smokes cool, and cakes up a bowl fast. The prince doesn't wreck the taste of anything I plan to really stuff in my new pipe after break in. It enhances the taste if there is any effect at all. If I was a Virginia kind of guy, The prince would be off limits I'm sure. I do the half bowl thing for half a dozen bowls then slowly work up to the rim.

 

[ThroughHisStomach]

Hi All,

Total newb here and have been trying out pipes after years of being a cigar smoker.

I have an order on the way for a Butz-Choquin Rolando Negoita, and it looks like it is not "pre-charred."

My concern is what to use for the first bowls in the pipe, if I don't know which direction I am going to go with its use. I imagine long term it would be used for either aromatics maybe, but most likely Latakias or Orientals.

I have tins of Larsen's 2012, Fox's The Bankers, and Sunday Picnic now, and my question is can I use any one of these three to break it in without altering the pipe for future use long term?

Thanks for bearing with,

Joseph

 

[monbla256]

For over 40+ years I've always just loaded the new pipe with my favorite tobacco at the time and broken it in with it. As my tastes have changed, I've changed the tobacco I smoke in the pipe. Not really noticed much in the way of the "dreaded ghosting" everyone speaks so much about as I've changed over the years. I think that much of this is borderline OCD, but I'm one of "those" old guys so what would I know I've just enjoyed my 80 + pipes over the years and a lot of good tobacco!

 

[George Kaplan]

Joseph, it seems like this:

For over 40+ years I've always just loaded the new pipe with my favorite tobacco at the time and broken it in with it.

is pretty much the consensus on break-in. I've heard some pretty elaborate plans for "properly" seasoning a fresh pipe, and I floated this thread in hopes of hearing some more for a good laugh. The point is, there's no perfect way to do it. Somewhere along the line the idea of using Carter Hall or other burly got stuck in my head, so that's what I do, but I doubt that anyone could convince me by scientific argument that one type of tobacco is better than another for the first few smokes. The only thing that need concern you with your new pipe is starting off slowly and gently and smoking it all the way to the bottom for a nice even char. Even so, there's a lot of leeway for "even char".
I don't believe in ghosts. Sometimes I might think I'm in the presence of some "spirit from the past", but after a bowl or two, I realize it was just my imagination. In the long run, the tabac you break your pipe in with should have little or no bearing on what you smoke in it in the future.
Enjoy that new Butz-Choquin!
-G

 

[ThroughHisStomach]

Thanks fellas.

Very reassuring to hear.

Be well!

 

[Milan]

I used to break pipes in with three or four half bowls of burley before going for it, but now I just pack the pipe with the tobacco I think I will be smoking in it and go for it, slowly though. The problem is that you will find some pipes work better with certain tobaccos or that you simply enjoy certain blends better in certain pipes. This can change over time so ghosting is a part of pipe smoking. I keep three categories of pipes. Those that I use for latakia blends; english, balkans, and some oriental blends. Then I have a couple aromatic pipes, but I only smoke two aromatic blends that are similar so I don't notice when swapping blends and pipes. Then I have my virginia or flake pipes. Pipes that are less frequent in my rotation I play around with a little. I try different blends in them to see if I can determine a reason for why I don't smoke them as much. Is it the blend to pipe match, or some other reason? Switching a pipe that has been used for latakia heavy blends to an aromatic or flake pipe takes a little getting used to. I've had pipes that transitioned well and some that haven't. I ream the pipe completely and then scrub out the shank with everclear. I will rescrub the shank if the ghosts have not moved on after a couple smokes. It usually takes a couple scrubs and a couple smokes, but the ghost will disappear eventually. All-in-all the key to breaking in a pipe is simply not to smoke it too quickly and to let it rest a couple days between smokes. You never put a new fish directly in the tank. You leave it in it's bag and float it in the tank for a little bit before releasing it. Acclimate your fish, acclimate your pipes.