Inability To Experience P.A.D.

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deathmetal

Lifer
Jul 21, 2015
7,714
32
So, I figured it out:
I do not have P.A.D. I am simply not thrilled by looking at pipes or owning a bunch of them. I imagine this is what it is like to be a gay man at a women's volleyball game. They look pretty, but there is no connection to me.
Instead, what I have is a vast affection for certain pipes. I have owned a number by now, and some have come and go, through either being passed along or dying ignoble deaths like the cob I dropped off an eight-story building. Actually, I'm not sure how many stories it was, but it was at least nine beers tall, and that cob exploded like a dependa once it hit the ground.
There are some pipes, individual pipes, which just smoke brilliantly. I have a few of these, and find myself quite fond of them, as if they were allies in some quest which will take us over the horizon into uncountable terrors and unending battles.
Part of the reason that I do not have P.A.D., I think, is that I view these pipes as individuals. They are diamonds in the rough, and can be found potentially anywhere, even among the Dr Grabow and Rossi brands. There are just some pipes which turn out better than others, and the quest for these sort of obliterates the idea of P.A.D. itself.
Now T.A.D. is another story. It is like an affliction whose root is not wanting the cure. Only when I can fill a barn with Royal Yacht and burrow into the center and ensconce myself there will I feel the sensation of a cure hovering nearby with this one.

 

mso489

Lifer
Feb 21, 2013
41,210
60,433
Non-PAD people, I do admire it. Moreover, I understand and aspire to it, though not strongly enough. Many pipes ago, I need never have bought another pipe. And I deeply enjoy using the ones I have, rediscovering their uniqueness and special smoking capabilities whether the pipe is a treasured handmade work of art or a carefully selected grand factory pipe with abundant virtues of its own. PAD probably extends from a cultural habit of thinking that accumulation of stuff is not only pleasurable in itself but adds each time to our happiness and contentment, which it often doesn't. When too much stuff accumulates, it can bury the previous stuff and congest our lives actually causing unhappiness. Unfortunately, there is always at least a toying with some pipe or another, certainly not needing it, but thinking it would be a pleasant item to own. Everyone has to embrace or deny this in their own way. So far, I think I forgive myself for having too many pipes. I do enjoy the ones I have and feel content in my expansive choice among many, but not so many that I can't review the options in my mind fairly quickly. But good on ya' if you have this in perspective; absolutely, it's a good trait.

 

warren

Lifer
Sep 13, 2013
11,700
16,209
Foothills of the Chugach Range, AK
I'm very similar in thought. I buy few pipes, only smokers and no amassing. I'm the same in blends also, I buy what I'm familiar with and do little testing/tasting. If a "jiminks" review catches my eye I might try the blend. (Sorry Jim, that's a lot of pressure to put on you.) It's all about the pipe and the experience. I'm just not that adventuresome I suppose. My tastes have varied over the years but, I find what I like and do not feel the need to try everything. I do the same with wine, port, vehicles, etc. Just not a fan of surprises and stick with what pleases me.
Addendum: I do not look on such as an "inability" though, such has a faint taint of some sort of short-coming. I prefer to see my style as "self-control."

 

tuold

Lifer
Oct 15, 2013
2,133
165
Beaverton,Oregon
I probably represent the other side of this. Just like there are people who collect pens and never write with them, or guns who never shoot them, or campaign buttons or any other such items associated with the past, I collect a certain segment of pipes and don't often smoke them. Jay Leno has a warehouse full of cars he doesn't drive everyday. He's more interested in the history or background of some of the cars and the connection to history and culture.
Other than that, restoring and collecting pipes is a source of pleasure and relaxation unto itself. For example, it can be a personal challenge of sorts to find and acquire that last LHS Big Dipper I need to complete my collection.
There is also the social interaction with other collectors, though in my case that doesn't happen often.
Of course actually smoking them is not bad either! It's just not the driving motivation for me collecting pipes. If that were the case I'd guess I'd be completely satisfied with just owning a few cobs.

 

mso489

Lifer
Feb 21, 2013
41,210
60,433
tuold, that's a good reminder that there are a variety of motivations for buying pipes, and just buying good smokers isn't the only one, and collecting in an intentional way is a whole separate branch of this interest. One Forums member said he didn't smoke at all and only collected. I have no vision of my pipes as a collection, only as my stable of smokers, and my infatuations with particular pipes is impulsive, mostly. People are different, and that should be both our privilege and why we're interesting.

 

aldecaker

Lifer
Feb 13, 2015
4,407
42
They have little blue pills for PAD dysfunction, Deathmetal. If you experience PAD lasting longer than four hours, consult a tobacconist.

 

irishearl

Lifer
Aug 2, 2016
2,146
3,762
Kansas
Yeah, I'd say at this point I don't have PAD. Haven't bought a pipe in about 3 years. Now there is 1 pipe I'd like to buy if/when I have the funds that keeps tugging at me and a few more after that. But, generally, don't have a strong compulsion to buy as I have more than enough pipes now, most of them am quite fond of. My attitude has always been,(since I buy pipes to smoke not simply to look at), that one should not own more pipes than 1 can smoke more than a few times per year. :)

 
May 4, 2015
3,210
16
Eh. There's joy in collecting to some people as much as the smoking. It's not like people who collect stamps plan on mailing a bunch of letters with them.

 
Mar 1, 2014
3,646
4,916
For a similar concept, if you're good at tinkering, you can take any pipe and make it feel like something completely different.
For an extreme example, I've probably spent over 40 hours re-shaping the shank on a Brebbia Jumbo Bulldog that I bought this spring (it doesn't even say "Brebbia" anymore, now it's just a "Breb"). I have a newfound appreciation for crisp edges on a diamond shank. Over the period of time of sanding and polishing, the thought of looking at other pipes never crossed my mind.

 
I also consider myself a non-PAD person. Although I have been buying pipes for the last 6/7 weeks and have 10 pipes now, I have slowed down for last couple of weeks and eventually stop when I have a series of solid smokers in my rotation.

Having said that, the small number of pipes I plan to keep need to have some unique story around it - Like the estate Mac Baren pipe I have, which was supposedly made by Jensen, the Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson figural meer set, which I picked up New in eBay at and unbelievable price, my Savinelli silver - well the sliver band makes it for me, and my initial sets of meers which are now coloring nicely, and so on! Every single pipe has a story, though I do not have a single pipe enthusiast friend outside this forum whom I can tell the stories!

 

zitotczito

Lifer
Aug 12, 2014
1,128
175
I also can say I do not have PAD, thank goodness. I have around 30 pipes and various cobs. If I see one that just grabs me I would get it, but I don't look for them. Now TAD is a whole other matter.

 

deathmetal

Lifer
Jul 21, 2015
7,714
32
So, the question is, is collecting an addiction?
Hmm. I see addiction as a cycle. It has these parts:
1. Something which promises to improve sensation

2. But is never as cool as the mental image

3. Requiring ever-increasing doses
Collecting is something that never occurred to me. I suppose one could have a collection of pipes, like a record collection.

 

mortonbriar

Lifer
Oct 25, 2013
2,652
5,663
New Zealand
I have a small 'accumulation' of pipes, maybe around 30 if I added in the cobs and clays. I expect the accumulating to continue but I am not forcing the issue.

 

jefff

Lifer
May 28, 2015
1,915
6
Chicago
I have tried for years to keep my Briars at 12. I know have 12...but only because I sent 1 to SPC and two to Shaintiques. As someone who smokes 1-2 bowls a day I don't want to have to deal with too many choices. I want Pipes I smoke and I want those pipes to be smoked regularly.
I feel pretty good about 14 Briars and 3-4 cobs.
We'll see how that goes.

 

warren

Lifer
Sep 13, 2013
11,700
16,209
Foothills of the Chugach Range, AK
Jefff: Fourteen sounds reasonablet. I've got a couple more between meers and the briars I stumble across in my travels. The nice thing about having "enough" is you don't feel compelled to buy more, as in PAD. Now, when you stroll through a pipe shop it's curiosity not compulsion. Should something catch your eye, scream at you and try to follow you home, you can access the pipe, fondle it, check the fit and finish and then... maybe, treat yourself.
Good on you!

 
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