Select a pipe that suits you:
The width of the mouth piece should give a satisfactory grip
The pipe should have the right weight for you.
For the beginner, a medium sized bowl.

Fill your pipe bit by bit, pressing the tobacco slightly, firmer as the pipe gradually fills up, keeping in mind that the tobacco maintains its resilience. A pipe filled too tightly, will require strong pulling power, and a pipe filled too loosely, will result in fiercely burning tobacco and a hot bowl (A consequence may be wet smoking and an irritated tongue).
Care for an even burning pipe. Bring, after lighting, the curling tobacco back into the bowl, press lightly and, if necessary, relight. Should your pipe be extinguished during smoking, just remove the layer of ash, and relight the tobacco. Tobacco does not quickly lose its flavour. Use long matches so you have plenty of time to light the tobacco evenly.
Smoke in peace and quiet. Forceful and rapid draws cause a restlessness, fast burning pipe that does not taste nearly as good. Pipe smoking should become a natural extension of the breathing rhythm - unhurried and gentle. This might explain the pipe’s mystique. Peace of mind and relaxation are to be transferred to you.
Maintain a coin-thick layer of carbon in the bowl. From its first smoke a briar begins to form a coat of carbon within the bowl which will thicken, almost imperceptibly with each subsequent fill. The carbon should not be more than a coin-thick or otherwise you risk cracking the bowl.
Use pipe cleaners to keep the pipe clean and dry. Put the pipe aside with the stem upwards. When your pipe is empty, it is better to clean it right away with a cleaner, and set is aside for some hours with a cleaner in the stem. In this way much moisture is absorbed by the cleaner. On the other hand the cleaner should not be left permanently in the stem; a pipe benefits from ventilation.
Re-use the pipe only when it is completely dry. This will explain why regular smokers have a selection of pipes at their disposal; they smoke pipes in rotation.
Do not smoke a hot pipe or re-fill one that is still warm. If you need to relight halfway through a pipe, first remove all ash and tap the remaining tobacco down gently and then light up. But do not top up with new, until you have smoked or emptied out the remaining tobacco.