Breaking in a Hardwood MM

So, I bought this:

http://corncobpipe.com/diplomat-maple-hardwood-pipe.html

It will be my first pipe and as I've mentioned in my other thread, I am an utter n00b. I've been reading a bit about breaking in a pipe, smoking it slowly and coolly to build the cake, and I have some questions about this one as it's not a briar:

1. Is it necessary to build a cake on a maple pipe?
2. Is the process the same as for a briar pipe?
3. This is finished with a few coats of clear lacquer and I've read that some is inside the bowl. Is it okay to gently sand the inside to remove this?
4. Can mineral oil be applied to the outside of this pipe to darken/season it, or is that pointless because of the lacquer?
5. Some people have smeared a little honey (or grape jelly!) inside the bowl, presumably to give a better flavor during break-in. Is that ridiculous or ingenious?
6. Finally, what's a reasonable tobacco* to use for break-in, or does it matter?

Once again, thanks so much for answering my oddball questions!



*Side Note: I want to keep the nicotine level low, which points me to Virginia, Maryland and Turkish/Orientals

Hopefully someone can answer some of these, but as far as to what tobacco, I'm a fan of carter hall to break in pipes...mostly because of is so easy to smoke slow and cool.

I've never had a maple pipe so I can't say about the break-in, etc., but I'm sure some of the more experienced folks will chime in. For break-in on a briar Boris said it...some burley for awhile.

As for a mild tobacco...besides the excellent suggestions that you will get (I think Escudo is kind of mild but I also smoke Royal Yacht, Nightcap, Tambolaka, etc.) you may want to play with:

Go to the search page on Tobacco Reviews.

http://www.tobaccoreviews.com/search

Click on the Show more search fields.

Then click in the Blend type box and select what blend you're interested in (Virginia, Burley, etc.) Then click in the Avg. Strength box and select the strength you want. To start with I'd also click in the Cut box and select Ribbon as it's easier to pack and keep lit...mostly.

Then click the search button.

http://www.tobaccoreviews.com/search?BlendType=Straight+Virginia&Cut=Ribbon&Strength=Mild

Congrats on the pipe!

1. No. Don't worry about building cake. It will happen naturally over time. Those MM hardwood pipes are constructed similarly to cobs so read up on the corn cob primer and smoke it the same way. http://pipedia.org/wiki/The_Complete_Corncob_primer The only "break in" you need to worry about or be aware of is that your first few smokes down to where the shank comes in to the bowl may burn away a little material. This is normal; just be aware that you may suddenly taste burning wood about 2/3 of the way through your first bowl and don't worry about it.

2. Yes, but again, don't worry about it too much--it will happen on its own.

3. Yes, if there's any overspray of lacquer in the bowl, you can sand it gently to remove.

4. No, it wouldn't penetrate because of the lacquer.

5. There are lots of secret potions for breaking in a pipe, but they are really just designed to start building cake. Old timers used to use honey, grape jelly, faerie dust, and any number of things. The REAL secret ingredient to breaking in a pipe building cake is time. Just smoke it and cake will build over time. Also, smoke it slow. If the pipe starts getting really how, just sit it down and let it go out, then relight.

6. A lot of folks use burley blends like Carter Hall to break in a pipe. The reason is that they are well-behaved, flavor neutral, and easy to smoke. Carter Hall doesn't pack a big nicotine punch, so don't worry to much about that. Virginias can be difficult to smoke for the novice smoker. They have a higher sugar content, and if you puff away at them like a locomotive you can get tongue bite. With that said, if you are set on an oriental or virginia to break in your pipe, stay away from a flake tobacco and get a nice ribbon or shag cut--something that will pack well. Rattray's Hal O the Wind (Va) or Old Gowrie (VaPer) are both excellent, come straight from the tin without being overly wet (many tobaccos benefit from a little drying time before smoking). Dunhill Elizabethan (VaPer), Early Morning Pipe (Va/Lat/Orientals), or Aperitif (Cav/Oriental/Lat/Va) would also be well-behaved blends for you to start with.

Also, I noticed your location is listed as near SF. You may want to check out the Briar Patch in Sacramento if it's convenient. http://www.briarpatch.biz You'll be able to smell lots of different tobaccos and talk to pipe smokers, and get good information. Nothing beats watching someone pack a bowl, light it, and them smoke it to get a sense for how this whole thing goes. Youtube is also your friend.

Above all, remember that learning to smoke a pipe often takes a little time. Don't stress, enjoy it for what it is, and think about how to make each bowl better than the last, and you'll definitely get there.

Hirsute speaks many words of wisdom.

everything will take time. I think the more important things to focus on are loading your bowl, and learning your cadence, and enjoy!

My primary work pipe is a maple Country Gentleman. It is a great pipe that requires no over thinking regarding smoking it. Load it with tobacco, apply flame and smoke away. I will smoke the maple pipe 3 to 4 times a day for several days in a row and think nothing of it. I don't rest it. I only run a pipe cleaner through the stem. Since I smoke it so much, the lacquer has worn off in places and it looks like an old grimy work pipe (which is what it is). Any tobacco you like is the perfect tobacco to smoke in your pipe. I have been abusing this maple pipe this way for several months now and it has never failed to provide an excellent smoke. The maple does not seem to build a cake like my briars do. For the price that they cost, I figure that if I beat it to death in a years time I got more than my money's worth out of it.

Mike,
Thanks, I've found that site and read reviews of some of the tobaccos mentioned here. I didn't know about the search feature, so I'll make good use of it.

Hirsute,
Thanks so much for the great reply! I appreciate all the information and I spent some time on the Primer today. I'll have to read it a few more times to truly take in what's said - even though it's written with new smokers in mind, there are acronyms and references that I don't understand.

Another something to learn, more experiences await...

Stevew443 said:

My primary work pipe is a maple Country Gentleman. It is a great pipe that requires no over thinking regarding smoking it. Load it with tobacco, apply flame and smoke away. I will smoke the maple pipe 3 to 4 times a day for several days in a row and think nothing of it. I don't rest it. I only run a pipe cleaner through the stem. Since I smoke it so much, the lacquer has worn off in places and it looks like an old grimy work pipe (which is what it is). Any tobacco you like is the perfect tobacco to smoke in your pipe. I have been abusing this maple pipe this way for several months now and it has never failed to provide an excellent smoke. The maple does not seem to build a cake like my briars do. For the price that they cost, I figure that if I beat it to death in a years time I got more than my money's worth out of it.

Click to expand...

Steve, that's a very succinct summary of some important points. Cheers!

Agreed with most everything above. Breaking in a pipe, or just smoking a pipe, is about taking it easy, not puffing away like a stream engine. If you can't place the bowl against your cheek comfortably mid smoke, you're getting it way too hot, not to mention you're risking serious bite.

Hirsute for the win!!!

The honey/whatever else thing isn't something I do. I believe Russ Ouelette (a famous tobacco blender and pipe smoker) advised against it. His reasons were that the honey burns up and attracts tobacco to it but the tobacco doesn't leech onto the interior of the tobacco bowl like it does if you don't use honey.

After you smoke a bowl you can put your thumb over the tobacco chamber and shake the pipe gently to evenly coat the warm areas with ash. Let the pipe sit until it cools down and then dump the ash. This can be a way to "speed up" the caking process. But like many members have said slowing down, smoking it gently and just using it is probably the best way to build up a cake in your pipe.

The build up of cake and it's importance is very much a YMMV thing. Some prefer some cake, others prefer little or no cake, some don't care one way or the other. I fall in the later category. Cake only matters if it matters to you. I'm only an occasional pipe smoker, but I have many pipes. Most were acquired as estates and as such I removed any accumulated cake as part of the general clean up process. The few new or un-smoked pipes I have acquired have little to no cake built up as of yet, but then I smoke each pipe only occasionally, so it would take a few life times to build up significant cake anyways. Bottom line is that they all smoke fine to me, whether old veterans or shiny and new.

Stevew443 said:

My primary work pipe is a maple Country Gentleman. It is a great pipe that requires no over thinking regarding smoking it. Load it with tobacco, apply flame and smoke away. I will smoke the maple pipe 3 to 4 times a day for several days in a row and think nothing of it. I don't rest it. I only run a pipe cleaner through the stem. Since I smoke it so much, the lacquer has worn off in places and it looks like an old grimy work pipe (which is what it is). Any tobacco you like is the perfect tobacco to smoke in your pipe. I have been abusing this maple pipe this way for several months now and it has never failed to provide an excellent smoke. The maple does not seem to build a cake like my briars do. For the price that they cost, I figure that if I beat it to death in a years time I got more than my money's worth out of it.

Click to expand...

I'm with this guy. Sometimes my MM Ozark maple is my main pipe that gets used daily or even multiple times a day and all I've ever had to do is smoke it.

On to the questions:

1. Cake is unnecessary but if you want it, it happens.

2. Maple is not finicky like briar, nor is it expensive/precious like briar if you somehow manage to mess it up.

3. Sand off the lacquer if you want but I never bothered and I've started a few of these.

4. Mineral oil is probably pointless.

5. Honey or grape jelly sounds like a nice flavor addition but I personally wouldn't bother.

6. Smoke what you like. Using a neutral plain Burley is important if you're an expert taster who will be unable to enjoy smoking if a faint ghost of flavor from a previous smoke makes its way into your current smoke, but if you're that sort of guy you should dedicate a pipe for each blend anyway.