I've recently expanded into pipes with some enthusiasm and having never broken-in a new pipe (Though I've had Grabows and a gorgeous estate pipe I bought from DrDubzz), I thought I'd share my experiences. It's my new Chacom Plume 905, which I had filled half way with some Ashton Gold Rush, a straight Virginia that I had dry boxed for about 12 hours.

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I made sure to fill it according to accepted conventional wisdom and paid attention to the draw before lighting. This worked out well as it was a cool, yet rather boring smoke. I also tried to synchronize my sipping of the pipe with my breathing, and I seemed to hit a good rhythm. The pipe is called Plume with good reason: it is somewhat small-ish at 5.1 inches in length, very light and quite comfortable to clench. Further, I experienced no gurgle or moisture related issues at all. I smoked it down to ash and it all dumped out with no effort. I'm very pleased with this pipe but I think I'll stick to my regular English blends for the foreseeable future.
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Nice review, Darren :-)

It's a nice looking pipe. If you only plan on smoking English blends, I'm not sure if using a VA is completely necessary for breaking in, but maybe there's something I don't know.

Thanks for sharing your experience!
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Well, the Rev said that VA's make the hardest cake, but you know, I'm with you; I think I'll be okay with English's.
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Hmm that's true, I forgot about that. I was thinking ghosting I guess.
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