Pipe maintenance and care
Do not break in a pipe by holding out the window of a moving vehicle. This builds up way to much heat and can cause the bowl to "burn out". Do not use honey or anything else to coat the inside of the bowl of a new pipe. Honey will clog the pores in the wood. If anything, use your finger to coat the inside of the bowl with water before smoking a pipe for the first time.
It is best to clean the inside of the stem and shank of your pipe (do not scrape the bowl) every time you finish smoking it. Try to smoke the pipe all the way down. If you don't, then dump the remaining tobacco out, so the bowl will have a chance to air out. Don't hold the pipe by the stem to knock it out (this is how a lot of pipes are broken). It's better to use a pipe tool to dig out the unused tobacco. After smoking a pipe let it cool for a few minutes before removing the stem to clean it. Never remove the stem from a warm pipe, the tendon of the stem could break or worse yet you could crack the shank of the pipe. Use lots of pipe cleaners. If your using a tapered cleaner, use the thick end to run down into the bowl and the thin end to run through the stem. Do not try to pull the cleaner all the way through the stem, if a cleaner breaks off inside the stem, it's very difficult to get out. After cleaning your pipe, store it in an upright position to allow air to flow through it and help dissipate excessive moisture. Do not leave a cleaner in your stem, this will block the air flow through the pipe.
Rotating your pipes will help them to air out and stay fresh. If you smoke the pipe too much in one day, the moisture does not have time to evaporate which can lead to a soggy, sour-tasting smoke.
A certain amount of cake is good. About a sixteenth of an inch is best. Once it builds up more than that, the pipe will need to be reamed. Use a reaming tool to cut the cake back to an even layer. Do not use a knife, as there is a good chance of cutting into the wood, also, it's hard to get the cake even with a knife. Uneven cake will cause the bowl to heat unevenly which could lead to stress cracks in the wood.
Do not smoke radically different types of tobacco through the same pipe. A rich smoky Latakia blend may not taste right in a pipe that has been used for a black cherry Cavendish. However, different light vanilla Cavendish blends in the same pipe would probably not confuse the flavors too much.
