Few satisfactions in life equal that of obtaining a new pipe. Of the hundreds of thousands available, we chose this particular briar. Its lines and proportions, grain, and shape resonate with a yearning inside of us, harmonizing with our tastes and experiences and personal artistic appreciation. It's perfect, a pleasure to turn over in the hands and examine from all angles, certainly destined to deliver world-class smokes.

We load it with our favorite, never-fail tobacco, full of anticipation for clouds of smoking euphoria. We light it, tamp, relight, and pause, analyzing the experience, and are horrified to perceive that it smokes like superheated New Orleans dumpster sludge.

It's an appalling betrayal. Maybe we've spent weeks considering this pipe, revisiting the shop or the website over and over, falling more desperately in love with each rendezvous until we decide to build a potentially lifelong companionship. We're invested in this pipe. How dare it not smoke well?

How dare it not smoke well?

Sometimes a new briar pipe smokes great from the first light. Other times, a new pipe can smoke hot, wet, and miserably, making us suspect that perhaps we were villains in a former life and karma has chosen this moment for retribution. Most new pipes smoke fine, and a few need moderate break-in, but now and then a stubborn pipe comes along that takes longer to behave. They're rare, thankfully, so maybe we weren't guilty of excessive villainy.

Why Pipes Require Break-In

Perhaps it's best to start with why some pipes don't require break-in. Those that are well made and well cured usually perform well, but pipes can smoke all kinds of ways, especially when they're new. Much depends on how well the pipe is made in terms of engineering and airflow. If the draft hole is misaligned or there are obstructions in the airway, like rough surfaces or incorrect mortise-and-tenon fit, it will be more challenging to find the right way to smoke that pipe. I have one pipe that smokes well only if I pack the first half of the bowl loosely and more aggressively compress the tobacco in the lower half of the bowl. It's a great pipe, but I had to learn what tobaccos work in it and how to alter my smoking prep and technique to maximize its potential.

The reason that good consistent airflow is important is that airflow turbulence inside the pipe will generate moisture in the smoke, and excess moisture is a contributing factor in tongue bite, heat, and poor flavor performance. However, airflow is not affected by break-in. A pipe with poor engineering that is well broken in will still have poor engineering. It's a cofactor in identifying a pipe's weaknesses, and the need for break-in will be more easily recognized if not compounded by incorrect construction.

A pipe with poor engineering that is well broken in will still have poor engineering

Some pipes smoke great even with poor construction, and that's most likely because the briar is so good. Briar has flavor, and when it's good briar, it's a wonderful experience. The soil where it grew had a good balance of nutrients and minerals and the attributes of that soil affect the smoking characteristics of the wood. More important, though, is good curing, which can make even mediocre-tasting briar much better.

When briar is cut in the wild it's full a sap and resins, and when we talk about curing the briar, it's a process of removing those saps and resins. It starts at the briar sawmill, where briar is boiled for days, the heat and water helping to push out the impurities. Then it dries slowly, to avoid cracking, for about 18 months before it's made available to pipe makers.

Those pipe makers then apply their own curing methods, usually by letting the briar stabilize in a temperature- and humidity-controlled environment. Depending on the manufacturer, the briar may get little more time or lots more time. Castello let's their briar sit for five years and sometimes set aside batches for even longer curing.

Most artisan carvers let their briar sit for at least a couple of years. Others have their own techniques, generally kept confidential. Larry Roush does not share his curing techniques, nor does J.T. Cooke, nor do 90 percent of pipe makers. Why would they? They've spent years perfecting their curing methods. Cooke's pipes weigh from 7-10 percent less after curing than before, which is impressive and indicates that the majority of any resins are gone by the time the pipe is ready for smoking.

The more resins that are cured from the briar, the better the pipe will smoke, generally. Some blocks are stubbornly dense with impurities, though, and there's no way to know for sure before smoking them, except by weight. If a pipe seems light for its size, it will probably be a great smoker. If it's heavy in comparison to other pipes of equal configuration and size, it's at risk of smoking hot with a slightly acrid taste. However, it takes the handling of many pipes to recognize what to expect in terms of comparative weight.

If a pipe seems light for its size, it will probably be a great smoker.

The lower overall density of well-cured briar makes the resulting pipe smoke cooler and more flavorfully, and allows the briar to absorb moisture and impurities from the tobacco at a more efficient rate.

When curing time has been shorter than optimum, it's up to the pipe smoker to cure the briar by smoking it. Each time a pipe is smoked, it helps break down the resins still residing in the wood.

Cake

An important aspect of break-in is the building of cake inside the tobacco chamber. Cake is the carbon buildup that accompanies smoking. It adheres to the walls of the chamber and provides an insulating effect, keeping the briar more stable in temperature and protecting the pipe and the smoker from excessive heat.

If you have the opportunity to examine many unreconditioned estate pipes, perhaps at pipe shows or in shops that do business in estates, you may notice a tendency for uneven cake buildup. The upper parts of the chambers are often heavily caked while the lower parts have little to no cake, most likely a result of smoking tobacco that is too moist. The tobacco becomes wetter as it is smoked down the bowl because water is removed from the upper region as it burns and migrates downward into the remaining tobacco, making it harder for carbon to adhere to the sides of the tobacco chamber. Cake seems to build more at the top even when smoking dried tobacco, so reaming that cake and keeping its thickness even is essential.

Cake seems to build more at the top even when smoking dried tobacco

One method proposed for helping to build initial cake in the lower part of the chamber is to start smoking a new pipe with only a quarter bowl of tobacco for a few smokes, then half, three-quarters, and finally full. It takes patience, and most smokers do not bother with this technique. If your tobacco is not over-moist and the pipe is reamed when necessary, cake will build evenly.

Uneven cake is dangerous for the pipe because carbon cake expands and contracts when heated and if it is uneven it will expand at different rates according to its thickness. If let go, uneven cake, or cake that is even but too thick, can crack the briar.

Cake will also tend to insulate the flavor of the briar itself, which can be bad or good, depending on the briar, and usually not entirely. If the briar is resin-laden and astringent in taste, cake will improve it. If it's great-tasting briar, that character will be reduced but still evident. Either way, it's better to have good cake.

Bowl Coatings

Pipe makers often assist with the initial cake buildup by providing a coating inside the bowl to protect it during the first few smokes, usually a mixture of sodium silicone, also known as water glass, and carbon. Some have developed bowl coatings that are sticky, allowing cake to build very quickly.

Many pipe enthusiasts prefer no bowl coating when they purchase a new pipe, and if one is already in the bowl they remove it with sandpaper wrapped around a dowel of appropriate diameter. The reason is that some don't like the characteristics of bowl coatings or prefer their own. Some use diluted honey, some use a recipe including yogurt, some have their own special concoction that they have developed to build good cake. Some like a prefabricated coating, some do not.

However, the reason that the bowl coating is provided is to protect the pipe while it builds its initial cake. That cake should not exceed the width of a nickel lest it expand too much when heated.

Sometimes a new pipe will have a chamber that is stained, which is never good. Maybe it's fully stained, the result of dip staining, in which the entire stummel is dipped in stain to save the time of painting it on. Most stains are alcohol-based, so wiping it out several times with Everclear or another high-alcohol-content libation is recommended. Stain, no matter how beautiful, does not taste good. It's possible to smoke through it, but expect some substandard bowls while that stain is burning off.

Briar Impurities

Even longer lasting than stain, though, are the impurities within the briar if it has not been well cured. Break-in refers to smoking through those resins, heating the pipe moderately over and over until they break down. If the briar is full of impurities, it will take many bowls, as many as 30 or even more, with gradual improvement throughout. Eventually, the pipe will smoke cooler, will manifest less heat in the hand, and will project the full flavor of any tobacco chosen — but it takes work to get there.

Most experienced pipe smokers have favored brands that they return to when purchasing a new pipe, because they have experienced those brands and know how well-cured the briar is. They know what to expect of an artisan maker who cures the briar well before carving, or they know a particular factory tends to have good briar and they can trust the construction.

Curing briar is time intense and expensive for manufacturers, so cheaper pipes are more prone to needing more break-in. To reduce costs, the time invested for curing is reduced, leaving that curing to the smoker who performs it during the break-in period. Just as one might season an iron skillet or wok, or run a new engine slowly at first to break it in for better performance, smokers slowly break in their pipes for optimum characteristics.

The Steps in Breaking In a Pipe

Here's a concise list of things to keep in mind when breaking in a new pipe:

1. Be sure the pipe is well constructed with no internal alignment issues. When you purchase a pipe, draw through it empty. If there's any sort of whistle or high pitch accompanying that draw, return the pipe before smoking it because that sound indicates obstruction somewhere in the airway.
2. Check for bowl coatings or stain in the chamber. If there is stain, remove it with consumable alcohol. It's best to leave any manufacturer bowl coating in the chamber, but if it's bothersome, sand it out before smoking.
3. Fill the pipe and smoke it slowly. Fast puffing is rarely positive, but slow smoking is especially important with a new pipe.
4. Smoke the pipe all the way to the heel, or as close as possible without scorching the floor of the chamber.
5. As the cake builds, use a reamer to keep it evenly distributed around the chamber walls.
6. Enjoy the pipe as it becomes a better and better smoker as break-in proceeds.

There's never a guarantee with briar. It's a natural product and the only way to know its potential is to smoke it. Some expensive pipes smoke poorly; some cheap pipes smoke admirably. But with break-in, they all improve, and sometimes a pipe can start terribly but finish as a cherished performer. It takes just a little patience, but the rewards are often astounding.