Cigar Smoker Making the Switch to Pipes

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burlpettibon

Starting to Get Obsessed
Sep 1, 2013
210
0
Tacoma, Washington
Good Morning! I recently decided to get into the whole Pipe biz and I was looking for some advice on the types of Tobaccos to get. I smoked Cigars for a number of years and was wondering if they made some tobaccos for pipes that are similar and if I could get some recommendations from the more seasoned vets on here.
In the cigar world I have been a HUGE fan of Illusione and Padron but when I look around for Pipe tobaccos all I seem to find are flavored types or Virginia grown with none of the variation that cigars have had for me. No sun grown or shade grown specification or Nicaraguan Sumatra or Ligaro tobaccos or what have you, only Blackbeard's Delight or Pilot Ace or other nonsensical names. If someone could help me out and point me in the right direction it would be GREATLY appreciated.
Thank you all for your time!

 
Jul 12, 2011
4,135
4,201
I crossed over from almost 20 years of cigar smoking; I would suggest perhaps some nice Med->Full English blends to start,

then perhaps move into some nice VaPer & VaBurs and then straight Virginia flake; :puffy:
Med-Full English Blends;

C&D's Billy Budd

C&D's Crooked Lane

C&D's Star of the East Flake

Dunhill's Nightcap

Dunhill's EMP
VaPer & VaBurs

SG's St. James Flake

Peterson's Irish Flake

Peterson's UF

MC's St. James Woods

Solani's 633
other stronger blends you might enjoy;

SG's Bracken Flake

SG's 1792

 

burlpettibon

Starting to Get Obsessed
Sep 1, 2013
210
0
Tacoma, Washington
Thank you VERY much for the quick reply and all the options, I cant wait to start looking into/trying them out! I LOVED cigars in the past but that habit has just gotten far to expensive for now and I've gotten into overnight/multiday hiking and it is just too much of a pain in the butt to haul around a bunch of cigars and keep them from getting squished.
On that note I've seen a few pipes with what looks like a slated metal cap on the bowl for a form of wind screen, have you had any experience with those?
Sorry for the quizzing...

 
Jul 12, 2011
4,135
4,201
No need for thanks Brother, Welcome to PM.com
The wind screens do work well , when outdoor conditions are fighting you. I would also suggest MM Corn Cob pipes for hiking, they are easy to manage. You do have to watch out for windy conditions as it might overheat the bowl and could cause a burn-out

 

burlpettibon

Starting to Get Obsessed
Sep 1, 2013
210
0
Tacoma, Washington
Sweet. I'm starting out with a Mr.Brog #114 Churchwarden, I'm a huge fan of smoking and reading, but I will most certainly have to invest in a purely hiking pipe. Another question, I've been looking into the pipe tobaccos that you recommended (just looking, still need to buy and try) but it seems that they use tobaccos from around the world and not just the Central Americas like cigars. Is that something that is present in all Pipe Tobaccos or are there any brands that stick with the cigar theme? Also, I was trying to look around for specifically Ligero Pipe Tobacco, it was my favorite type in the past, and I'm not seeing anyone that markets it. Is that just the difference in the communities or do they simply advertise differently or should I simply scrap everything I think I know about tobaccos in relations to cigars and just start my education over again?

 

burlpettibon

Starting to Get Obsessed
Sep 1, 2013
210
0
Tacoma, Washington
Thank you for the welcome! I've been using this site more and more for reference material and figured if I'm going to jump into this with both feet I probably ought to join!

 
Jul 12, 2011
4,135
4,201
Pipe tobacco is an entirely new ball game from cigars, but it is well worth digging deeper into this great new world :puffy:

 

papipeguy

Lifer
Jul 31, 2010
15,778
33
Bethlehem, Pa.
Welcome, burl. I was a pipe smoker before getting into cigars. Pipe tobaccos offer a much wider variety of tastes and aromas than cigars. I do smoke a box of Camacho Corojo's a week, however.

Dragon's, recommendations are very good ones so you'll get a nice start with any and all of those blends. Good luck and check in frequently.

 

burlpettibon

Starting to Get Obsessed
Sep 1, 2013
210
0
Tacoma, Washington
Good choice on the Camacho Papipeguy! If you like the Corojo tobacco I would wholeheartedly recommend an Illusione MJ12 (natural though the maduro is very good as well). Its probably my favorite "I could smoke this every day" cigar. Not to be confused with my favorite cigar of all time the Padron 1926 80th anniversary edition (natural).

 

cigrmaster

Lifer
May 26, 2012
20,249
57,277
66
Sarasota Florida
Welcome to the site. I was a big cigar smoker when I took up the pipe and Escudo was the blend that opened my eyes to how great a pipe could be.
Other blends I would recommend are:
Mac Baren Old Dark Fired

Solani Silver Flake

Peterson Irish Flake

Samuel Gawith Full Virginia Flake and St James Flake.
You will need some decent quality pipes for these blends, I am not a fan of smoking flakes in a cob, but that is me. Since you know how expensive cigars are, the money you save smoking the pipe will be amazing even when you consider buying some nice pipes. Here are a few pipes I think will go nicely with the blends I have recommended. You will need to do some research on how to prepare and smoke flakes, but in my opinion it is well worth learning.
For under 100.00.

http://www.smokingpipes.com/pipes/new/savinelli/moreinfo.cfm?product_id=122122

http://www.smokingpipes.com/pipes/new/savinelli/moreinfo.cfm?product_id=117434

http://www.4noggins.com/Savinelli-Porto-Cervo-Rusticated-128.aspx

Under 200.00

http://www.smokingpipes.com/pipes/new/winslow/moreinfo.cfm?product_id=111211

http://www.4noggins.com/SavinelliMiele628.aspx

 

burlpettibon

Starting to Get Obsessed
Sep 1, 2013
210
0
Tacoma, Washington
Cigrmaster, is there any reason that you would recommend those specifically? For the price would you still recommend Savinelli or would Johs work ok as well?
Once again I want to thank everyone for contributing, it is really making switching over to pipes a breeze!

 

canadianbiggame

Starting to Get Obsessed
Jun 24, 2013
155
1
Edmonton Alberta
Welcome to the forum, sutliff have a neat quiz o the bottom left of their main page "want to find your perfect blend" My wife and I both took the quiz and are looking forward to trying their suggestions.

 

cigrmaster

Lifer
May 26, 2012
20,249
57,277
66
Sarasota Florida
burlpettibon, I have owned a number of Savinelli's and Winslows and they have all been great smokers. Bang for the buck they are real tough to beat. I have no experience with Johs and therefore cannot recommend them. I have no idea how they are drilled where I know how the Sav's and Winslows are and they are nice and open which provides a nice easy smoking pipe. I have owned a few Savinelli 6mm pipes, and always smoked them without the filter, they smoke great that way.

 

burlpettibon

Starting to Get Obsessed
Sep 1, 2013
210
0
Tacoma, Washington
CanadianBigGame, thank you for pointing out the quiz, I'll have to try a couple of the recommendations from there once I know a bit more of what I like.
Cigrmaster, I appreciate the pipe recommendation! As soon as I have a spare 70ish bucks laying around I'll be sure to pick one up. The reason I started with the MrBrog was because it was affordable with a lot of choices and I wasnt quite sure I was going to stick around but with the support network of this site and the sheer VOLUME of choices that are around for both pipes and tobacco I will surely have to pick up at least another pipe and experiment for the next 5-50 years!

 

cigrmaster

Lifer
May 26, 2012
20,249
57,277
66
Sarasota Florida
burl, my pleasure. I think once you get the hang of this you will really enjoy it. I find the multitude of different flavors that pipe tobacco offers is far more interesting than cigars.
Here is a pic of my humidor when I was big into cigars, there was about 3000 in there when that pic was taken in 2004 I think. Of those 3000, 2700 were Cuban and the rest was either Padron Anniversary Maduros, VSG Illusions, Opus , Diamond Crowns, Ashton Cabinets, and Don Carlos. The amount of money that I am saving is staggering, pipes and pipe tobacco is the cheapest way by far to enjoy tobacco.



 
Jul 12, 2011
4,135
4,201
Some other good choices in bacci pipes @ around the $100-$200

range; (I have several of each and they are outstanding smokers)
Jake Hackert

Mark Balkovec

Mark Tinsky

Stanwell

Boswell

 

burlpettibon

Starting to Get Obsessed
Sep 1, 2013
210
0
Tacoma, Washington
Sweet Jesus cigrmaster... That is the cabinet of my DREAMS. You really earn your name dont you? Personally I got burnt out on Cubans while I was stationed in Okinawa. I liked the variety of the Central American Tobaccos a bit more (I know its blasphemy) but even so that is an IMPRESSIVE collection!
And thank you for more suggestions thesmokingdragon, I'm searching ebay right now for a deal on a pipe and the list you provided is helping out. I'm a bit of a poor chap since getting out of the Corps, those steady paychecks gave me some habits that are hard to support when you have to buy your own food and pay for rent!

 
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