Do You Really Care About Passé?

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bassbug

Lifer
Dec 29, 2016
1,112
905
There's another thread active right now about whether freehand pipes are passé or not. Very interesting comments, and it got me thinking.
Pipe smoking in general, it seems to me, is passé. With the exception a small group (maybe 8-10 regulars) , I have not seen a single other pipe smoker in my metropolitan area, which has a population of close to 5 million people.
So...it it important to you if something is trendy or not right now in our pastime (dare I call it a hobby?)

 
Jan 8, 2013
7,493
733
So...it it important to you if something is trendy or not right now in our pastime (dare I call it a hobby?
I could care less if it's trendy. That's not why I got into pipes. I certainly didn't know anybody else doing it at the time. And outside of the forum or facebook groups, I now still know very few pipe smokers personally. I don't follow trends. I do what I want when I want. I've always been that way. Within the pastime/hobby/whatever, if say metal pipes such as Falcon were suddenly "the trend" among the pipe smoking community, I wouldn't rush out to purchase them. They don't appeal to me although I understand why some like them. :puffy:

 

nevadablue

Lifer
Jun 5, 2017
1,192
4
Doesn't matter at all. I see pipe smoking (collecting, fixing, whatever) as a hobby. If it makes ME happy, that is all that matters. If I can help someone else be happy with a hobby, great!
For me, all that matters is the fun of any hobby. Worrying about what others think of it just ruins the fun lots of times.

 

mcitinner1

Lifer
Apr 5, 2014
4,043
24
Missouri
I think you would answer your own question, or not even ask it, after you hang out here a little longer and absorb the attitudes of the members and how they express themselves. You're going to realize that in general, we don't give any thought at all to being trendy, or care much if you like that or not, and it's not a hobby to me either, it's just what I do.

 

briarblues

Can't Leave
Aug 3, 2017
378
565
As I recall I did not begin to smoke a pipe because it was trendy. Everyone around me smoked cigarettes. I guess it's like fashion trends. They come and go, but style is forever. Selecting to smoke a pipe is a style choice, in my mind. I could smoke cigarettes, which I rarely do. I enjoy cigars on hot days. I do not select pipe brands by what is hot or in vogue. I do not select the shape by what is the current much in demand shape. I appreciate the pipes that others collect, even if not what I find most attractive. Cob's, Falcon's, Chacom's, Stanwell, Sasieni, Dunhill, Castello, Bang, Ivarsson what have you. I'd be less concerned about what is passe and more concerned about what you personally like. What others think is not my concern. :)
Regards

Michael J. Glukler

 

bigpond

Lifer
Oct 14, 2014
2,019
13
Interesting question. I don't care, but I'm not a pipe maker. If I were I would probably rely on social media to market my pipes. Since social media is squarely within the domain of the style conscious I suppose I would have to care about making pipes that were on trend to support myself, as a matter of course. Perhaps deeply established pipe makers known for a particular style would be exempt but carving a niche seems to be a lengthy and risky road.

 
When a retailer says that a particular genre of pipe or region of makers is trendy, he doesn't mean a bunch of poofers are strutting about a fashion runway with glitzy pipes. Trendy, passe, I think guys just get bent out of shape or overthink the issue at hand. What is meant is that more people BUY these types of pipes. Whereas some types will probably never sell. Fashion consciousness has nothing to do with it. I prefer bulldogs and Dublins, my preferences, not because I look beautifully elegant with them, but because I just like them. Some guys like trucks with extended cabs, are these guys poofers? I prefer an older truck with a bench seat, preferably side steps. No difference between preferences in pipes and pickup trucks, IMO.

 

cortezattic

Lifer
Nov 19, 2009
15,147
7,637
Chicago, IL
To me, freehands celebrate the pipe as art and contact with nature. The classic shapes are less ostentatious and often more comfortable as a utensil. We (or "the market") may be in the more pragmatic phase.

 

mso489

Lifer
Feb 21, 2013
41,210
60,433
The whole estate market is based on passe (I don't know how to do the accent mark, sorry). Passe is lovely. I keep my new pipes hopefully until they are truly passe. Passe, c'est mois. Passe is beautiful.

 

tbradsim1

Lifer
Jan 14, 2012
9,093
11,011
Southwest Louisiana
Never cared about what was in or out, out of 120 High School Grads Red was the class ring color, I choose Green, Principal called me on it, I told him it was none of his business what I ordered, was he paying for it. Then I told him I was born on Saint Pats day, don't you think Green is appropriate? Wife says I'm ornery, don't care about that, love my Pipes.

 

briarblues

Can't Leave
Aug 3, 2017
378
565
Cosmic, very well said. When a portion of the buying market gravitates towards a specific shape or maker, then it is a trend. But not specifically "trendy". Trends change ( in pipes and fashion ) like the wind. What is "hot" this month, might not be next month.
Over the past years I have seen countless carvers be "the one" then "not" and then come back again. Baldo Baldi's in the 80's went crazy for a while, then in the 90's, fell out of favor. Then there was a small come back and now prices have slid again. Demand is fleeting.
This is why I always say to buy what YOU like, forget what others prefer.
Regards

Michael J. Glukler

 

sablebrush52

The Bard Of Barlings
Jun 15, 2013
19,627
44,846
Southern Oregon
jrs457.wixsite.com
Smoking is passé. Pipe smoking is really passé. Nobody really cares. I don't. In fact I like really passé pipes that haven't been made for many decades. So I'm passé passé passé. And I don't care. The only time I care about the current herd mentality is when I'm making an investment and that's because I'm looking to make a profit, not take a loss.

 

nevadablue

Lifer
Jun 5, 2017
1,192
4
Plus one there Deniz.
Just a comment about my use of the word 'hobby'. I enjoy smoking the pipe, AND messing about with the pipes themselves. I have always been a 'fixer' and one who enjoys 'old stuff'. So, the pipe repair/refurbishment and possibly even making new ones fits right in with my term 'hobby'. I have a big box of pipes that others have cast off, and hope to bring them back to life. The old becomes new again one day.
The retail/commercial aspect of what is 'trendy' makes sense, it just shouldn't matter to most of us, IMO. (The pipe smoker, that is)

 

jpmcwjr

Moderator
Staff member
May 12, 2015
24,570
27,077
Carmel Valley, CA
O/T mso- re accènts. If a Mac, hold döwn the lettęr kēy, and options will pop up. Hit the number corresponding with the desired mark, and you're done!
If on Windows, you're screwed! (Maybe not) .. You can always copy a word or letter from another post to bring that mark into play.
passé passé passé.
é now can be added to pass to become passé. Or blas can become blasé. As if many cared.

 
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