Looking At Pipes Can Be An Addiction

cam9 · May 24, 2017

I’m very new to pipe smoking, but I’ve always had a real appreciation for any handmade crafts, where people put their heart into their products.
I can’t stop looking at pipes…even for the few that I wouldn’t necessarily purchase if money was no object, are so beautiful. I can absolutely see how someone can have a LARGE collection of pipes.
For now, I’m trying to take it slow with my 1 Corn Cob and 1 basket pipe and lament about my next purchase in the $75-$100 range. This site has been so helpful to me as I try to minimize as many rookie errors as possible. Thank you.

Edit: Capitalized all words in thread title per rule #9.

ray47 · May 24, 2017

I've got 145 pipes and still look at pipes on various sites everyday. It is a passion and I enjoy it, but my budget keeps my feet on the ground.

papipeguy · May 24, 2017

You're preaching to the choir here. We do enjoy goading others into making absurd purchases; so beware.

zackery · May 24, 2017

I am like a kid in a candy shop or toy store when I go to The Briar and Burley. I want one of everything.

Chasing Embers · May 25, 2017

We're a bunch of enablers here. Makes us feel better about ridiculously large pipe collections. Been buying them for 26 years, and have 115.

anthonyrosenthal74 · May 25, 2017

We're a bunch of enablers here

Yes... indeed we are.

Been buying them for 26 years, and have 115.

You really need to level that out to an even 120..... just enabling, er, I mean, just sayin :mrgreen:

Chasing Embers · May 25, 2017

With my 904 affliction, that will likely happen very soon.

anthonyrosenthal74 · May 25, 2017

With my 904 affliction, that will likely happen very soon.

:rofl:

madox07 · May 25, 2017

cam9 you will quickly find that people around here are divided into more than one category. You have your pipe smokers, then you have your pipe collectors, and thirdly you have what most of us are - pipe smokers and collectors. Truth be told, if you can afford it, why not? Sure ... on a day to day basis you will have 4-5 pipes in rotation, while the rest of God knows how many pieces are just museum display items. But then again, if that is what tips your boat, go for it. Some guys collect stamps, others collect old coins, I personally went through my beer mug collecting period ... so nothing wrong with collecting pipes.

brian64 · May 25, 2017

For now, I’m trying to take it slow with my 1 Corn Cob and 1 basket pipe and lament about my next purchase in the $75-$100 range. This site has been so helpful to me as I try to minimize as many rookie errors as possible. Thank you.

FWIW, I'll share my two cents if it might help. The mistake I think I made when I first converted to pipes from cigars, is I purchased quite a few pipes in a fairly short period of time out of enthusiasm and impulse.
Looking back now, I would have been much better off learning a lot more first and then buying fewer, but higher quality pipes.

madox07 · May 25, 2017

+1 brian64, I have a few pipes like that myself ...

metalheadycigarguy · May 25, 2017

I look at pipes on ebay all the time. That frequently adds to my P.A.D. problem. Heck, I've bought 5 Meerschaum pipes in just the last 3 months. That's a lot for me as I might only buy a couple pipes in a year.

tschiraldi · May 25, 2017

+1 Brian64. I have spent the last year selling off such pipes and purchasing others more to my liking. The ones I sold off weren't bad pipes, but I have learned what I like over time, and my current collection is beginning to reflect that.

frozenchurchwarden · May 25, 2017

I think the best advice for someone on a budget is "buy used".

I try not to get used things for personal items, but in this case there's a certian amount of experience that's really hard to grasp without actually handling a few dozen pipes of a wide range of makes and models.

New, that represents thousands of dollars (which, sadly, is how much my pipe collection cost). You could easily cut that down to a fraction of the cost by ignoring a few harmless tooth marks.

Better yet, buy&sell. With that strategy you could probably try dozens of pipes for the same price as one good new pipe.

newbroom · May 25, 2017

Better yet, buy&sell. With that strategy you could probably try dozens of pipes for the same price as one good new pipe.

Honestly? That was my approach when I started buying estates in my first year of membership in this forum and as a pipe smoker.

It hasn't worked out that way. I keep buying more and selling none. I haven't even tried to sell any. The most I've paid for anything was for a replacement Dunhill stem! Long story.

Yes. Buying estates and used is a great way to learn about pipes.

If you're starting out, I would advise caution on the idea of jumping into the selling market.

Some of my most enjoyable pipe related moments occur during box openings from an estate 'win".

I've got Italian, English, French, and American estate pipes. I've got an African (Tanganyika) estate.

Meer from Greece. shapes, sizes, finishes. So much fun!

ray47 · May 25, 2017

If I could go back 50 yrs to when I picked up the pipe, I would have bought nothing but Cobs. For me they smoke better then briars and I would have put my money into buying tobacco.

newbroom · May 25, 2017

ray47, in my lost opportunities reverie, I think about having discovered this wonderful pastime years ago and how it would have changed my life.

In one scenario, I envision both my Dad and my Father in Law, and maybe even my step dad as contributors and crafters of fine pipes, with me as primary 'motivator'.

Long, pleasure filled days in an open aired tropical shop, drilling, grinding, sanding, shaping, polishing briar and hard rubber and creating desirable smoking utensils.

fitzy · May 25, 2017

I look at them every day and I only own about 25. I try to keep my PAD under control. (Also I sell pipes that don't work well for me)
Cam9 for that kind of money I think your best bet is a Savinelli.
At some point if you want to spend a little more then in the $115 to $200 range I can highly highly recommend Mimmo Provenzano. Excellent hand made pipes with an open draw.
I know some people love cobs but I personally don't like the taste.

oldmansmoking · May 25, 2017

It's probably the same addiction that women have with shoes and handbags. I like most of us have an addiction to owning pipes, however it's what we put in it that counts. The vessel holds the sole! An empty pipe with no tobacco is just an object.

pagan · May 25, 2017

It's probably the same addiction that women have with shoes and handbags.

You sir just killed PAD for me :rofl:

Looking At Pipes Can Be An Addiction

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