Breaking in the ol'e pipe

[physiognomy]

It sounds simplistic, but my suggestion would be to simply smoke it... Depending on the pipe, you might find some benefit in filling it 1/3 - 1/2 to begin with, but I haven't always found it makes a difference. Most pipes (especially those with some type of bowl coating) will show some 'off' flavors for the first few bowls... This link gives a fairly good description of the method I have followed: http://www.ehow.com/how_2243280_brea...riar-pipe.html