cracks in bowl

[blackop555]

I recently was given a pipe by a friend that he had found out at his fathers camp. Anyways my first step was to remove the cake. It was unusal because it was the only pipe i ever had seen that i lightly poked my pick on my tamper into it and the cake just came out in chunks. took like 30 seconds to get all the cake out. Thats my first question.. why was it so easy to remove. My next question would be the cracks i just noticed. they are not seen easily except in bright light. they are not deep look cracks and do not extend to the outside of the bowl. they are hairline cracks and it seems to swirl in the bowl like the grain of the wood. This is a briar pipe and i was wondering if these cracks are bad or nothing to worry about. How would i fix these cracks if need be. My guess for the cracks is that it wasnt smoked to hot because there are no burn spots but to me the pipe looks dry. its hard to explain but it just looks dry unlike any other pipe i have ever seen. Thanks for help

[blackop555]

i sanded the inside of it and the hairline cracks dissapeared in areas. i think that maybe the dark grain of the briar shrunk or something. The only cracks left are you know how in some briar wood there are spots that look like the birds eye in birds eye maple... looks like little dark knots. Well those are cracked in the center of those. Usually knots are the toughest parts of wood and they will burn last in fires and everything and also break bits and dull saw blades. my guess is in fact it wasnt heat. because in other woods when they are really dry the knots can crack. Of course i could be way off and it could be the heat.. any help would be appreciated. im thinking about honey on the inside of the bowl. I dont know if wood putty would be good.

[blackop555]

update: i sanded it down and those cracks are gone but new ones started. its not as bad as it was before. i smoked an ashton VSG today and i saved the ashes ill being doing the pipe mud technique tommorow. hoping for the best

[RJpuffs]

If the pipe smokes OK and the cracks are not going through the bowl - don't worry about it. Just break it in gently as one would a new pipe, to ensure an even and "strong" cake, it will protect whats left of the briar.