Pipes or Tobaccos?

[settersbrace]

I pose the following to all of you regardless of your experience or how much or little you smoke a pipe.
Do you feel that you know/understand pipes and what makes a good one or are you better versed in the subtle nuances of various pipe tobaccos?
In other words what's your strong suit, pipes or the delectable weed we stuff into them? Also, explain why you stand on one side or the other.
For me it's pipes and I know that it's because I'm wired with a mechanical aptitude and have worked with my hands all my life. I know how to use a wide range of tools, both hand held manually operated as well as power tools. I'm a fundemental learner, teach me to fully understand the foundation of anything and I can spring board onward from there. Engineering a smoking pipe is not rocket science but crafting a beautiful piece of functional art requires talent and loads of it. This is one area where I'm weak, little to no artistic ability. I can peg a well made smoking instrument when I see one, I mean I must handle it, disassemble it and examine it. I can't pick one from a web page and say that's going to be a good one.
Tobaccos on the other hand are a mystery to me. Even after a decade and a half I still feel like a Neanderthal in the art of gourmet tobacco tasting. I know what I like and I know what I don't like and for now, that's good enough for me. I do envy those that can detect the subtle flavors of specific oriental leaves that this blender mixes in or the faint topping that was applied to a given blend when all I can determine is "that's a Virginia".
I hope that you all can see where I'm going with this and I'm looking forward to ALL the feedback we can get here. I think it'll help us all get to know each other a little better.

 

[metarzan]

I am far from being a master of either and both have endless possibilities. I tend to settle on a few pipes styles that I know well and experiment with the ever growing number of blends. I can identify a pipe by looking at it but sometimes have a hard time identifying a tobacco by smoking it. So for me I know pipes way better than tobaccos. I like the idea of smoking a mystery blend and hearing various reviews. I wish there was more of that going on around hear. Of course I would much rather smoke a world class tobacco out of a cob than schwag tobacco out of an Eltang.

 

[fishingandpipes]

I wouldn't call myself a master of either, but I know what I like.

 

[rmbittner]

I know a lot more about tobaccos than I know -- or care to know -- about the details of pipe construction. I know what I like and what I look for in a pipe. But I'm seriously bored by all the talk about draft-hole diameter, etc. Could not care less.
It's not hard to become knowledgeable about either area, though, if that's what you want. There are lots of tobacco books available, and I'm sure there's a wealth of detailed information on the Web. But it's reading about a dozen books on the topics that gave me the foundational knowledge I have. After that, it's simply experience -- trying as many different blends as possible, across as many genres as possible, and being open to discovering what each one has to offer.
However, I think the whole "gourmet tasting" thing has been pushed to absurd levels, especially by folks posting online reviews. I don't need to taste 12 different flavors in a straight VA. For me, it's enough to be able to determine whether a particular blend contains African or American VA (or something else), Cypriot or Syrian latakia, cavendish or no cavendish, burley and how much, etc., and then pick out a few significant traits that are fundamental to a particular blend's character. There are only two professional tobacco authorities whose palates I trust -- and tend to agree with -- when it comes to a more detailed analysis. Everyone else I tend to ignore.
Bob

 

[mso489]

That's an engaging question. I'm not sure I have a ready answer. I'm not a pipe carver or restorer; I have pretty much bought

pipes new and maintained them, some for decades. I think my tobacco experience is narrow but deep, in the sense that I have

been focused and an eager learner, without being methodical or going after large numbers of blends. I "listen" carefully to my

taste buds and my nose, and I mix tobaccos (but I don't blend them with pressure, heat or aging). So I count myself a somewhat

learned amateur who knows well where my knowledge stops. I can give you a good off-hand review of a blend, but I can't compare

it to a wide array of famous blends. I've probably smoked only about 100 tobaccos and blends, and have a clear memory of about

50-75 of those. I guess I'm a serious amateur. I can recommend good pipes and tobaccos, but maybe not the ones you'd like best.

If I have one specialty, it is advising on low-price pipes that are well above their price point in quality.

 

[phil67]

Neither. I simply know what I like when it comes to a pipe, but I've got a couple that after smoking I don't really care for.

As for tobacco I've got the taste buds of 40 grit sandpaper. I'll have to agree with rmbittner about some of the posted tobacco reviews on the Internet. Sometimes I think that these so called, and self proclaimed 'gourmet tasters' go a tad over the top in trying to detect nuances in a tobacco that simply don't exist. I think that many are just trying to impress others with their ridiculous flowery descriptions and analogies. But hey, at times they are good for a laugh. :wink:

 

[settersbrace]

MSO wrote:
If I have one specialty, it is advising on low-price pipes that are well above their price point in quality.
Priceless knowledge right here!^^^^^^

 

[puffdoggie]

+1 fishingandpipes. :: I also don't know Art but I know his brother. :rofl: