Hai everyone and question.
- Thread starter rexp
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Welcome to the forums! To find a quality pipe you need not look further than the sponsors on this site. I recommend a sampler that comes with a briar pipe or perhaps a MM cob and a pouch of Carter Hall to get you started. Can't really go wrong there.
Scroll down on the left to the sponsors column and click on any of them. As a group, they offer a vast array of pipes.
Start with smokingpipes.com, 4noggins, iwanries.com, cupojoes.com, tobaccopipes.com, and keep going. Huge
price range from $20 to $3,000 and up, of every imaginable finish, material, shape, nation of manufacture.
Welcome to Forums, rexp.
Start with smokingpipes.com, 4noggins, iwanries.com, cupojoes.com, tobaccopipes.com, and keep going. Huge
price range from $20 to $3,000 and up, of every imaginable finish, material, shape, nation of manufacture.
Welcome to Forums, rexp.
I can only echo what has been previously said. Our sponsors make this forum possible. They are here because they provide quality merchandise and service and you won't go wrong with any of them. In addition, they can provide advice on a wide range pipe smoking topics.
best advice I would give has already been given
Missouri Meerschaum Corn Cob or 2 and some Carter Hall
Missouri Meerschaum Corn Cob or 2 and some Carter Hall
Welcome to the madhouse...
Yeah, as everyone else has said - check the sponsors. pipesandcigars, smokingpipes, 4noggins, all get great reviews on here.
As for pipes - cobs always seem to get good reps. I'm English, and we don't really get cobs this side of the pond, so I can't comment on them. I started out with a half decent briar, and it worked for me.
Tobacco? Best bet is probably something aromatic. If you have a local tobacconist, go and have a chat. See what they recommend, see what smells nice to you. Again, we Brits don't get the same bulk blends as Americans get, so I have no experience of most of the commonly recommended ones - 1Q and Carter Hall. I ended up with one fairly nice "Kentucky" bulk blend and one not so good Black Cherry one.
Yeah, as everyone else has said - check the sponsors. pipesandcigars, smokingpipes, 4noggins, all get great reviews on here.
As for pipes - cobs always seem to get good reps. I'm English, and we don't really get cobs this side of the pond, so I can't comment on them. I started out with a half decent briar, and it worked for me.
Tobacco? Best bet is probably something aromatic. If you have a local tobacconist, go and have a chat. See what they recommend, see what smells nice to you. Again, we Brits don't get the same bulk blends as Americans get, so I have no experience of most of the commonly recommended ones - 1Q and Carter Hall. I ended up with one fairly nice "Kentucky" bulk blend and one not so good Black Cherry one.
Welcome to the forum. Just about everything has already been said here. My opinion is buy the best quality pipe you can comfortably afford. A decent starting briar in the $50-$100 range will last you a long time if not a lifetime. On the other side of the coin, as 05venturer says, get a couple of cobs. The advantages to them are: they are cheap; they can take a beating and they are great for trying blends without the peril of ghosting your briar first.
Good luck with your search and enjoy the hobby. Look forward to hearing more from you.
Good luck with your search and enjoy the hobby. Look forward to hearing more from you.
One other bit of advice if you're determined to buy 'in person', as it were... Check your local yellow pages or do a Google search for "Pipes & Tobacco", then weed out the head shops. :wink:
Take some time to wander through the shops you identify, and see how the employees treat you. Personally, I like to be left alone to check on things myself, but it's nice to have someone check to see if I have any questions. When I bought my first pipe, I told the employee who checked in with me exactly that - I was interested, but totally ignorant, and the employee guided me to the section of pipes in my price range, then suggested I try a particular blend (first sample bowl on the house, which was nice), then made sure I had some pipe cleaners and some way to light my pipe (cheap butane lighter to start with), and then we made conversation for a while as we discussed music, beer, etc. - and I've pretty much stuck with that B&M ever since, even though I think there's another well-known tobacconist slightly closer to my house...
Good luck, read as much as you can, and take your time.
Take some time to wander through the shops you identify, and see how the employees treat you. Personally, I like to be left alone to check on things myself, but it's nice to have someone check to see if I have any questions. When I bought my first pipe, I told the employee who checked in with me exactly that - I was interested, but totally ignorant, and the employee guided me to the section of pipes in my price range, then suggested I try a particular blend (first sample bowl on the house, which was nice), then made sure I had some pipe cleaners and some way to light my pipe (cheap butane lighter to start with), and then we made conversation for a while as we discussed music, beer, etc. - and I've pretty much stuck with that B&M ever since, even though I think there's another well-known tobacconist slightly closer to my house...
Good luck, read as much as you can, and take your time.
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