How to Break In a Pipe

Once you've made the decision to try smoking a pipe you need to learn how to do it correctly. There are any number of ways to mess the process up and turn you against pipe smoking forever. But after you learn how to smoke a pipe, you have to break one in, because only then can you have the genuine smoking experience.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderate

Things You’ll Need:

• Pipe
• Matches
• Honey
• Pipe tool
• Pipe cleaners
• An ash tray
• Pipe tobacco
• Whiskey (optional)

1. Learn the basics before you make a major investment. Practice with one of those cheap pipes you can buy at the drug store. They're not well-made, and they don't have the same qualities and properties that nicer pipes do, but it's much better to make mistakes with something that's not expensive.
2. Buy some nicer pipes. Depending on how often you intend to smoke your pipe you should have a minimum of two to seven of them. And try to smoke the same type of tobacco blend in one pipe at all times (one pipe for latakia tobacco, one type for burleys and so on).
3. Break it in. A good technique is to smear a little dollop of honey around the inside of the bowl. This will cause a cake of burned carbon to build up and adhere to the inside of the bowl. Take some pipe tobacco and twist it into the bowl in a corkscrew fashion, as if you're screwing in a light bulb. Twist it in firmly, but only fill the bowl up about halfway. You should only smoke half a bowl the first two or three dozen times.
4. Allow the cake to build up to a thickness of about one-sixteenth of an inch. Don't let the cake get too much thicker than that and don't scrape it out to where it's much thinner. Too thick or too thin cake can damage and even break the pipe. After you've built up a cake you can fill the bowl all the way up. The bed of tobacco should be firm, yet springy.
5. Use matches to light your pipe. Strike the match, let it burn for a few seconds and then and only then should you bring the flame to the tobacco. Light the tobacco evenly. Puff, but don't puff too hard. You're not Popeye and you're not a steamboat. If you smoke a pipe too hot and too fast you can crack the bowl. You can, however, relight the pipe if it goes out too quickly.
6. Don't bite on the stem. Pipe stems are easily damaged and are a pain to replace. Watch out for drool. If you tend to produce a lot of spit try to avoid getting that into the stem. Some dripping is probably unavoidable, but excessive spit can make for an unpleasant smoke.
7. After you've smoked most of the bowl set the pipe aside. Don't take it apart and tinker with it. Don't clean or scrape it. Don't empty it. Don't knock it in the ashtray or on the bottom of your shoe. Don't fill it up again. Don't mess with a still-hot pipe or you can risk breaking it. If you want to smoke some more, fill up a different pipe.

Tips & Warnings

• When cleaning your pipe use a metal pipe scoop tool, not a nail or knife as they can damage the pipe. Swab the inside of the pipe, from stem to bowl with a pipe cleaner. Some pipe enthusiasts like to put a few drops of whiskey on their pipe cleaners before swabbing, but that's entirely a matter of personal taste.
• Avoid the use of honey with meerschaum pipes.
• Avoid smoking your pipe outdoors in the winter or in really windy conditions, as that might cause you to inadvertently huff and puff, not to mention spray hot coals onto your clothes.