What is Pipe Damage?

[mikejungle]

Hi ya'll.

So I just started smoking a new pipe that my friend got for me from Holland (it's an Angelo?). And I was wondering what exactly is meant by "damage" caused to the briar by smoking too fast.

There were several imperfections and asymmetries in the pipe, so I spent considerable time reshaping it and then learning how to stain properly. The bowl came pre-carbonized, but I sanded most of it out...just because.

Anyway, I started to smoke it w/ no coating and I noticed that the bowl got quite hot to the touch. I had read to pack it only halfway for the first few smokes and then alternate thereafter, but I sorta glazed over the part where it said smoke the pipe slowly...

So judging by the heat i felt from the bowl, I think I smoked my pipe too fast.

Question is...is my pipe probably damaged?
And if it is damaged, what should I be noticing? Is it reparable?

It only got hot 2...maybe 3 times. And I've smoked it about 7-8 times now.

Thanks for your help.

[FredS]

. . . I spent considerable time reshaping it and then learning how to stain properly. . .

How thin are the walls of the bowls now? If you puff like a train, you can make pretty much any pipe get hot, but of course the thinner the bowl wall, the more prone the pipe is to getting "hot".

[mikejungle]

It's a bent apple pipe and so it's thinnest at the top, where the walls are 1/4 an inch. I don't think that's too thin.
I also measured the thickness of the bottom of the bowl and it's about 1/2 an inch.

So yeah...I was probably smoking like a train.

So...damage? What should I look for and observe?
The inside of the bowl looks nice and black...hopefully from carbonizing and not burning?
I don't really know what to look for in taste. I don't THINK it tastes sour, but what would I know? I'm a newb.