Pipe Smokers?

[Arlen]

I smoke Pipes and cigars every two months or so.
I have a traditional white clay pipe with small bowl, an oiled pine pipe that I made myself and I have my eye on a new burred walnut estate pipe.
I used to have one similar but I lost it when I was moving out a while ago.


There's nothing quite like relaxing with a good Whisky and a nice pipe with some deep cherry tobacco.

[Balaamsass51]

Started pipe smoking when I found a small store called Doc James Custom Blended Tobacco in Shrub Oak, NY many many moons ago.

Let's see, I've got a nice Ben Wade (from when a Ben Wade was a Ben Wade), and my wife got me a nice $50.00 Beton Dakota a year or so ago. I've got four Meershaums, three carved and one plain. Got some others for working outside, a long clay one, several others.

Tobacco? Lately I've been going to J&R, who are big on cigars. At their store in Burlington NC they have quite a few nice blends that they don't sell on their website. Don't like latikia. Been sticking with what they call Vanilla and MacScottish, while picking up an ounce or three of some aromatics.

Probably tobacco is as personal a choce as Single Malt Scotch. Has to taste well in the mouth, no burning. The smoke must smell nice, the wife's opinion comes in handy here. Some are just to bland or go too far in one direction or another.

Nothing like attending a Highland Games while smoking your pipe and wearing your kilt!

Matt

[berserkbishop]

I have always loved the smell of a good tobacco burning in a pipe and have yearned to try it but as a broke college student, its just another habit that i cant afford. I do smoke cigars on special occasions. Last time I had a cigar was when we started up my bosses dragster for the first time. Hmmm, I'm hankering for a swisher right now. (I know, I'm cheap). Any good entry-level pipes you all recommend? I have been told to pick up a Peterson second but that is still more than I can justify spending.

Bishop

[Arlen]

I have always loved the smell of a good tobacco burning in a pipe and have yearned to try it but as a broke college student, its just another habit that i cant afford. I do smoke cigars on special occasions. Last time I had a cigar was when we started up my bosses dragster for the first time. Hmmm, I'm hankering for a swisher right now. (I know, I'm cheap). Any good entry-level pipes you all recommend? I have been told to pick up a Peterson second but that is still more than I can justify spending.

Bishop

Get yourself a simple clay pipe or corn cob pipe.
That way you can start out with finding tobacco flavours and see if it's for you.
From there you can start stepping up to different types of pipe and bowl.
(You can find places on craigslist or ebay that sell good quality pipes very cheap.)

[Nick]

I have always loved the smell of a good tobacco burning in a pipe and have yearned to try it but as a broke college student, its just another habit that i cant afford. I do smoke cigars on special occasions. Last time I had a cigar was when we started up my bosses dragster for the first time. Hmmm, I'm hankering for a swisher right now. (I know, I'm cheap). Any good entry-level pipes you all recommend? I have been told to pick up a Peterson second but that is still more than I can justify spending.

Bishop

Other than corncobs, which are great but the stems can have a short lifespan, I'd reccommend a Grabow "Duke". It'll probably run you less than $30, and it's a one time purchase. I ended up with a small pipe collection even when I was a broke undergrad, one here and there as I could afford it, but all you need for an occassional smoke is one or two.

After the initial expense of the pipe and perhaps a pipe tamper you'll find you probably spend less on tobacco. I was running around $16 a year.

Another good place to look for pipes is eBay. Both my calabashes were $40, and they are usually over $100. You can get a lot of good deals on estate pipes, or inexpensive unused pipes, too. Plus it's just fun to browse

Cheers,
Nick

[beowulf67]

BTW, here's the method I learned for packing. I never got it right until I started doing it this way.

-Sprinkle tobacco loosely into the bowl, until full. Loose is the key here.
-Pack with the flat-head tool to half the depth of the bowl, sprinke loose tobacco to the top once again.
-pack to half the depth of the first pack, or roughly to 1/4th the depth of the bowl. Fill to the top again to level with the top.
-Char with one match. Pack to about 1/4" below the rim, then light with the second match.
-Enjoy.

I gently puff constantly. Too fast and it gets hot, to slow and it doesn't taste right for me.

T.

That's pretty much the way I pack it. I think I just need more practice to get the tobacco so it's not too loose or packed too tightly. Sometimes I get it just right and can smoke it all without relighting. Other times I swear the pipe gremlins keep putting it out every time I blink.

I have always loved the smell of a good tobacco burning in a pipe and have yearned to try it but as a broke college student, its just another habit that i cant afford. I do smoke cigars on special occasions. Last time I had a cigar was when we started up my bosses dragster for the first time. Hmmm, I'm hankering for a swisher right now. (I know, I'm cheap). Any good entry-level pipes you all recommend? I have been told to pick up a Peterson second but that is still more than I can justify spending.

Bishop

I don't know pipe name brands too well, in fact I don't remember the brand I own. I went to my local cigar/pipe shop and talked to the guy that owns it. I'd been buying cigars there for a while already, plus he's in a (bag)pipe band so we always have good conversations.
Anyway, he recommended a good starter pipe and explained why-bowl size and shape, stem length, shape etc. It was around $25-$30 and he threw in a nice pipe tool, pipe cleaners, matches and small bag of tobacco. They blend their own at this shop so I'm slowly working my way through them trying to decide what I like best.

[Hachiman]

Hey folks

I've got two pipes: a cheap falcon bent-stem (my first pipe, which inevitably smokes wet - probably why I don't use it much), and a churchwarden (made in czechoslavakia, bought in Florida). The churchwarden smokes pretty well, although I took the metal 'filter' out of the stem, which improved the issue of condensation forming in the bowl.

I intend to buy another soon, to commemorate my immigration to the USA (my churchwarden was purchased to commemorate my first visit to the US), and have my eye on a merschaum pipe from a vendor in a small town in NC.

As for tobacco, I prefer mild aromatics (not artificially flavoured) that have a 'fruity' smell to them. Currently I'm smoking the "blue ridge blend" from the aforementioned vendor. I'll admit to a) not knowing the specifics of the tobaccos in that blend and b) frequently committing the 'crime' of putting different tobacco types into the same pipe.

Like several others here, I only smoke occasionally - maybe once or twice a month. It's an indulgence, more than an addiction. A pipe, a drink (coffee, tea, or something "stronger") and a few minutes to myself. Since both my pipes have relatively small bowls, my pipes only burn for 10 mins or so before I've gone thru the lot...but that's fine with me.

When I eventually find full-time employment, I'll have to indulge in my vices a bit more: another pipe, and another kilt!

cheers

Hachiman

[piperdbh]

I like my briar churchwarden. It curls low enough to keep the smoke out of my eyes, and the stem is good for pointing at things.
I burn mostly aromatic blends, which I buy at the tobacco shop. They put the tobacco in clear plastic bags, which I never label, so each trip to the tobacconist's is like a new experience.
I usually smoke and talk on the phone at night on my front porch, once every couple of months.

Berserkbishop,
Since you're in college, ask an art major friend to make you a bowl out of clay. Glaze and high-fire it, then fit a stem into it. They're available online, and I've used hollowed-out sticks for stems. It might not look very glamorous, but who cares about that?
Let us know what you come up with.

[Clockwork John]

I have always loved the smell of a good tobacco burning in a pipe and have yearned to try it but as a broke college student, its just another habit that i cant afford. I do smoke cigars on special occasions. Last time I had a cigar was when we started up my bosses dragster for the first time. Hmmm, I'm hankering for a swisher right now. (I know, I'm cheap). Any good entry-level pipes you all recommend? I have been told to pick up a Peterson second but that is still more than I can justify spending.

Bishop

I've also been told you can't go wrong with a Peterson, but they are out of my price range as well. You could get a corn cob for under $10, just to try it out, but they tend to be kind of fragile and my experience is that they tend to get kind of soggy and mucky if smoked regularly. You can get a Dr. Grabow for around $20. I believe CVS pharmacies carries them.

Estate pipes can be a great deal. I picked up two at a junk shop in Santa Barbara, Ca for $10 each. They were well used but well cared for, and one of them is now my favorite pipe. I did some research and both of them would retail for over $30 new.

I would advise against an inexpensive "starter" or "budget" pipe from your local shop. I've owned two. I picked the highest quality I could find... straightest bore, best alignment of bowl and stem hole, etc. One of them smoked pretty well until my friend broke it, and the other one needed some extensive modification to correct the fact that the bowl was drilled too deep. I like that pipe, it looks and feels good, but I haven't smoked it since I picked up my two estate pipes.

My advice would be to learn everything you can about how pipes are made (The different parts, how they should fit together, what a properly drilled bowl looks like, etc.)so that you'll know a well-made pipe when you see one. That way, you'll know what to look for when you go huntin, and maybe you'll get lucky like I did and score a deal or two.

[MacMillan of Rathdown]

I have always loved the smell of a good tobacco burning in a pipe and have yearned to try it but as a broke college student, its just another habit that i cant afford. I do smoke cigars on special occasions. Last time I had a cigar was when we started up my bosses dragster for the first time. Hmmm, I'm hankering for a swisher right now. (I know, I'm cheap). Any good entry-level pipes you all recommend? I have been told to pick up a Peterson second but that is still more than I can justify spending.

Bishop

Let me do some more rummaging around in the attic. I was never really into smoking a pipe in the same way I savor a cigar so I'll happily pass on my smudge pots if I can find them.