Re: Breaking in smokes consensus
- From: halojumper@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Mon, 04 Jun 2007 05:12:11 -0700
On Jun 3, 4:45 pm, Will <m...@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
Will wrote:
I've been lucky enough to be able to have a couple of new pipes recently
and I'm wondering about smoking them during break-in. I use the first
few partial bowls method, but how often do you smoke a pipe during break
in? I have heard everything from "no more than once in three days" to
"smoke it once a day for a week or two then let it rest for a week" and
even had "smoking it all you can stand to for a week or so then let it
rest for a week" recommended. How often do you guys smoke a pipe during
breaking in?
Ok. Thanks guys. It looks like that at least once a day for at least a
week or so is ok then. Thats the answer I wanted to hear. I have a
couple of new pipes to break in and they are pretty sweet :)
Will
For questions like this one, once in awhile I'll dust this one off,
hope it helps a little:
BREAKING IN A PIPE
Since first starting to smoke a pipe a little over 11 years ago, I
have received verbal advice and have read many articles describing the
proper technique to use in successfully breaking in (seasoning) a
briar pipe. Some of these methods seem to be medieval and barbaric in
nature, such as using a red-hot poker, packing the bowl with hot coals
and filling the bowl with alcohol and setting it afire. There are four
less extreme methods that I have tried:
*Using honey and/or alcohol to coat the bowl before smoking for the
first time.
*Filling the bowl up to the top and proceeding to smoke it down to
ash.
*Only filling the bowl half way for the first few bowls and then
adding tobacco gradually until you're at the top.
*Filling only a ¼ of the bowl for the first dozen smokes and then very
gradually adding tobacco until you've reached the top.
Of these four methods, I have used the latter one to successfully
break in hundreds of pipes and is the one that I will attempt to
define and defend here.
The burning of tobacco in a pipe produces smoke that is a combination
of mostly gas and steam with particles and flavorings that vary with
the type and flavor of the tobacco your using. It's the steam that we
have all been taught to try and avoid as much as possible. We are told
to beware of the moisture content of the tobacco and to use a pipe
cleaner often to remove excess moisture from the dottle that lies in
the bottom of the bowl.
To coat the bowl with a sugar product such as honey I think hurts us
more than helps. Sugar melts at around 240 degrees, a temperature that
is easily reached inside the bowl while smoking. If you don't like the
effect that steam produces in your mouth, caramelized sugar isn't
going to be high on your list either. I don't enjoy the taste of
burning honey, but would rather taste the natural sweetness produced
by the briar alone. This point should raise the awareness of the
benefits of buying a good quality briar in the first place, instead of
a pipe you have to add a treatment of any kind to in order to get it
to perform properly.
My goal with any pipe is to be able to smoke it down to the last piece
of dottle at the bottom. Smoking tobacco that is at the proper
moisture level, proper filling, use of the tamper to help maintain an
even burn and using a cleaner regularly while smoking are all
techniques that will help in achieving that goal.
Preparing your pipe for the rigors associated with that desired goal
is why I recommend breaking in the bottom of the bowl first above all
other methods.
When first applying a match or a good soft flamed pipe lighter to
tobacco on the first light produces very high temperatures at the
onset. The tobacco flares up, sometimes a small flame leaps up for
just a moment before that first false light extinguishes itself. After
using the tamper, the first relight produces that same high
temperature, as well as the second and third before things settle down
and you start to approach that "sweet spot" that is strived for with
every bowl.
If you follow the practice of smoking a ½ full or completely full bowl
during the break in you will not achieve the char or cake at the
bottom that you will at the top. This isn't just theory on my part, I
invite you to prove it for yourself. Take a bowl that has been
seasoned in this manner and by using a knife, gently scrape away a
portion of the cake that has formed at the top. Make note of the
amount of pressure you've applied and the amount of the char you've
removed. Now move down to the bottom of the bowl and apply the same
procedure there. You won't be able to remove anywhere near the amount
of cake from the bottom as you did from the top before you begin to
see bare wood. This is because the pipe was allowed to break in from
the top down, with the bottom of the bowl never receiving the same
attention that the top of the bowl did.
Fill your virgin pipe with just enough slightly dry tobacco to fill
the first ¼ of the bowl and fill it somewhat on the loose side. Make
sure that the tobacco is even across the top. Use a match so as to be
able to control the flame and while applying the flame to the top of
the tobacco puff gently several times to allow the tobacco to light
evenly. Continue taking short gentle pulls, using a tamper to mix the
coals up with the unlit tobacco so that the entire top stays lit
evenly along the sides. If a relight becomes necessary, follow the
same procedure, insuring an even light across the top.
Smoke slowly and steadily. You may want to dump out some of the
surface ash that forms so as to have a clear view of the top of the
tobacco, regularly moving the tobacco and coals around, insuring that
the sides are burning at the same rate as the middle. Using a cleaner
while smoking will aid in removing the moisture that you really don't
want to settle at the bottom of the bowl. This is a good time to
mention the advantages of having a pipe that has been well drilled and
will accept a cleaner while smoking. Continue smoking the pipe until
all the tobacco has been burnt to an ash. At this time, I use the pick
of a pipe tool to gently loosen the remains of the smoke and any un-
smoked tobacco, while taking care not to "bump" the sides or the
bottom. Using an alcohol moistened cleaner to clean the stem and the
shank, without disturbing the bottom of the bowl and your pipe is
ready to rest and completely dry out before smoking again.
If you follow this procedure for the first 10 to 12 smokes you will
see the char begin to form. When it looks right, begin to add tobacco
in ¼ bowl increments, being patient in allowing the char that will
begin to form on the sides to match the cake you've established on the
bottom. Follow this procedure right up to the top, smoking the bowl
down to the bottom every time.
You have now given your pipe the chance to become the pipe you will
enjoy every bowl full through. You will notice that the pipe will
start to smoke cooler and dryer. The taste and flavor of the tobacco
will begin to improve and that "sweet spot" will tend to grow in size
and the amount of time you have to enjoy it. The rest is a matter of
maintenance, which is another story.
.
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