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Easy one first.....buy cob pipes; they smoke great and are inexpensive.
Tobacco choice is tougher.....what are your tastes....looking for something sweet; something savory, something to replace the nicotine of the cigarettes?
May want to look at a sampler pack from one of the online retailers or look at bulk tobacco offerings where you can choose an ounce of whatever sounds good to you.
My recommendations would be 1-2 ounces of Lane 1-Q, some Dunhill MM 965 and/or Early Morning Pipe, and look at some of Peter Stokkebye's bulk offerings.
Tobacco choice is tougher.....what are your tastes....looking for something sweet; something savory, something to replace the nicotine of the cigarettes?
May want to look at a sampler pack from one of the online retailers or look at bulk tobacco offerings where you can choose an ounce of whatever sounds good to you.
My recommendations would be 1-2 ounces of Lane 1-Q, some Dunhill MM 965 and/or Early Morning Pipe, and look at some of Peter Stokkebye's bulk offerings.
Welcome!
@prairiedruid makes a great point suggesting a corncob pipe. Cheap, low maintenance, and can help you determine if you like this hobby or not.
The hobby is a lot about trying different blends. You will find one "best of" recommendation from each of us, which means... there is more than one "best of". With that in mind, there are at least three broad families of tobacco to explore:
- Strongly Flavored (think "plums" or "maple")
- Pure tobacco taste
- "Spicy" tobacco (flavor is added by fermenting / smoking the leaf, plus many other tricks).
You will hear about Aromatics, Virginia-based, Burley-based, English, and Orientals in due time. You will also learn not all pipe tobacco is presented equally (you'll also hear about flakes and plugs and ribbon cuts).
The majority of pipe smokers enjoys more than one "class" of tobacco, perhaps favoring one over the others. Keep that in mind as you explore.
For starters, of the three classes I proposed, which one sounds like something you'd like to try?
@prairiedruid makes a great point suggesting a corncob pipe. Cheap, low maintenance, and can help you determine if you like this hobby or not.
The hobby is a lot about trying different blends. You will find one "best of" recommendation from each of us, which means... there is more than one "best of". With that in mind, there are at least three broad families of tobacco to explore:
- Strongly Flavored (think "plums" or "maple")
- Pure tobacco taste
- "Spicy" tobacco (flavor is added by fermenting / smoking the leaf, plus many other tricks).
You will hear about Aromatics, Virginia-based, Burley-based, English, and Orientals in due time. You will also learn not all pipe tobacco is presented equally (you'll also hear about flakes and plugs and ribbon cuts).
The majority of pipe smokers enjoys more than one "class" of tobacco, perhaps favoring one over the others. Keep that in mind as you explore.
For starters, of the three classes I proposed, which one sounds like something you'd like to try?
I'd say get some of one of the old time favorites like Carter Hall, Prince Albert, or Sir Walter Raleigh for sure.
As a cig smoker, you'll be looking for that nicotine and sucking on the pipe to fast and hard to avoid the pitfall of tongue burn.
If you read about the practice of smoking a pipe, you learn that you will still obtain nicotine w/o inhaling!
That's the way you really should try for. Once you've learned how to smoke a pipe and not burn your tongue and also to taste some of the nuances of the tobacco, you will find that the world of pipes and pipe tobacco is full of variety, and is fun to explore.
The main reason for my tobacco suggestions is packing. Sir Walter Raleigh is a cube cut that packs about as easily as any pipe tobacco. How you load your pipe is of great importance to your success.
Welcome to the forums and to pipe smoking from a former cigarette smoker.
mike
As a cig smoker, you'll be looking for that nicotine and sucking on the pipe to fast and hard to avoid the pitfall of tongue burn.
If you read about the practice of smoking a pipe, you learn that you will still obtain nicotine w/o inhaling!
That's the way you really should try for. Once you've learned how to smoke a pipe and not burn your tongue and also to taste some of the nuances of the tobacco, you will find that the world of pipes and pipe tobacco is full of variety, and is fun to explore.
The main reason for my tobacco suggestions is packing. Sir Walter Raleigh is a cube cut that packs about as easily as any pipe tobacco. How you load your pipe is of great importance to your success.
Welcome to the forums and to pipe smoking from a former cigarette smoker.
mike
I totally agree with the other members above. Start off with a corncob pipe. They are cheap, smoke great, and will be allow you to see if you like pipe smoking. It would stink to invest a bunch of money and find out you hate it, though I feellike a hypocrite because that's what I did, but I didn't have a community like this to tell me otherwise. As for tobacco, very hard to say as everyone has different taste buds. What I did is picked up a few different tins, both aromatics and non aromatics, and with some practice and patience I eventually I found the blends I liked.
Ditto for cob pipes. They smoke as well as much more expensive pipes. I'd recommend that you try a variety of blends before making a decision on the hobby. Try an aromatic, an English, a Virginia, a Virginian with Perique, a Virginia with burley, and a Kentucky Dark Fired.
Smoking just one blend and deciding on whether you like the pipe would be like like trying a single glass of wine and deciding whether you like drinking.
Smoking just one blend and deciding on whether you like the pipe would be like like trying a single glass of wine and deciding whether you like drinking.
For pipes I'd say pick up some inexpensive cobs to get going. They really are reliable quality smokers. If you really want a briar then do some research and hunt the estate markets. Great pipes to be had at a more affordable price.
As for tobacco I'd say look into bulks if you're looking to save money and get some samples in the different blending styles. A good aro bulk is 1Q by Lane Limited. A good VaPer bulk is Stokkeybye's Luxury Bullseye Flake. A good English bulk is Early Morning Pipe by Dunhill. A good straight Virginia bulk is Newminster's No. 400 Superior Navy Flake.
As for tobacco I'd say look into bulks if you're looking to save money and get some samples in the different blending styles. A good aro bulk is 1Q by Lane Limited. A good VaPer bulk is Stokkeybye's Luxury Bullseye Flake. A good English bulk is Early Morning Pipe by Dunhill. A good straight Virginia bulk is Newminster's No. 400 Superior Navy Flake.
Just to be clear, when talking about cobs we're talking about Missouri Meerschaum cobs. There are really inexpensive (think 2-3 dollar) cobs on the market that come from China and aren't worth the money. Missouri Meerschaum cobs cost $10-35 depending on the model when buying online. If your local drugstore actually sells pipe tobacco they may have a few MM cobs behind the counter for around $7 (I know the Walgreens stores in my area do).
I'd suggest going to tobaccopipes.com and signing up for their newsletter. When you do so, they'll send you a coupon code for a free 5 tobacco sampler with your first purchase. You can then buy a cob from them and get five tobaccos to try for free.
I also highly recommend the sampler from Milan Tobacco of their house blends. They send you 8 one ounce samples. Four aromatics and four non-aromatics. Their house blends are wonderful.
I'd suggest going to tobaccopipes.com and signing up for their newsletter. When you do so, they'll send you a coupon code for a free 5 tobacco sampler with your first purchase. You can then buy a cob from them and get five tobaccos to try for free.
I also highly recommend the sampler from Milan Tobacco of their house blends. They send you 8 one ounce samples. Four aromatics and four non-aromatics. Their house blends are wonderful.
If for some unknown reason the thought of smoking a corncob pipe does not work for you,look into the Kaywoodie Saxon line of briars. Under $25.00 and smoke as well as many higher priced pipes.
Another thing to keep in mind. You do not have to move on. Many, many folks start with Cobs and old time OTC tobaccos and stay with them. There is no problem with smoking what gives you pleasure.
Another thing to keep in mind. You do not have to move on. Many, many folks start with Cobs and old time OTC tobaccos and stay with them. There is no problem with smoking what gives you pleasure.
Proper pipe packing is one of the first things you really need to learn. Watch these videos. I tend to use the Frank method:
Pipe Packing Methods
Also you don't want to puff like a chimney. Just slow sipping. Barely keeping it alive is where you'll get the most flavor end enjoyment. Don't worry too much about having to relight.
I agree with most of the suggestions above. A MM cob and I would get an assortment of tobacco types. Take a look at the bulk tobacco's on smokingpipes.com or pipesandcigars.com. Also think about maybe a sampler from Pipeworks and Wilke http://www.vtpipes.com/
Pipe Packing Methods
Also you don't want to puff like a chimney. Just slow sipping. Barely keeping it alive is where you'll get the most flavor end enjoyment. Don't worry too much about having to relight.
I agree with most of the suggestions above. A MM cob and I would get an assortment of tobacco types. Take a look at the bulk tobacco's on smokingpipes.com or pipesandcigars.com. Also think about maybe a sampler from Pipeworks and Wilke http://www.vtpipes.com/
[/quote]Just to be clear, when talking about cobs we're talking about Missouri Meerschaum cobs. There are really inexpensive (think 2-3 dollar) cobs on the market that come from China and aren't with the money.
If you're looking for something to deliver the same level of nicotine as cigarettes, only cheaper, pipe smoking is probably not it. It's sort of an apples/oranges thing. If that is what you're after, you might want to try the roll-your-own route. Much cheaper, and better tobaccos to be had to boot.
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