Question for the "Collectors"
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"At what point does one stop being a collector of pipes and become a hoarder?"
Whatever it is, at 80-some-odd pipes I'm not there yet!
Whatever it is, at 80-some-odd pipes I'm not there yet!
"Alex, I'll take 'Pipes' for $200."
"The question: At what point does one stop being a collector of pipes and become a hoarder?"
(Contestant thinks for a few seconds)
"What is when one becomes peckinpahhombre?"
Ding, ding, ding, ding!
"The question: At what point does one stop being a collector of pipes and become a hoarder?"
(Contestant thinks for a few seconds)
"What is when one becomes peckinpahhombre?"
Ding, ding, ding, ding!
When you have so many pipes that a lot do not get smoked. Ever.
This is from Arno's blog (The Dutch Pipesmoker). Not saying this is hoarding as I believe the owner smokes these.
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This is from Arno's blog (The Dutch Pipesmoker). Not saying this is hoarding as I believe the owner smokes these.
I'm laughing because I don't rack my pipes. I keep them in specially designed pipe cases. Collectors of rare pipes don't have them on display in the open air.
But, there are many collectors who are not smokers. They enjoy pipes as sculpture or simple craftsmanship.
I would say that you're a hoarder, maybe, when you have a lot of pipes that you may have smoked, but no longer do, and are unlikely to go back to.
My nickel's worth of insight.
Collector
A person who seeks, sources and acquires pipes within defined parameters which are readily identifiable when the collection is viewed on aggregate.
Hoarder
A person who acquires pipes for the sole purpose of having more pipes. Pipes are acquired indiscriminately, and are purchased to the detriment of other household expenses.
To my mind, whether a person smokes there pipes or not has no bearing as to whether they collect, hoard, or simply acquire pipes.
-- Pat
Collector
A person who seeks, sources and acquires pipes within defined parameters which are readily identifiable when the collection is viewed on aggregate.
Hoarder
A person who acquires pipes for the sole purpose of having more pipes. Pipes are acquired indiscriminately, and are purchased to the detriment of other household expenses.
To my mind, whether a person smokes there pipes or not has no bearing as to whether they collect, hoard, or simply acquire pipes.
-- Pat
As long as there is floorspace to walk without stepping on a pipe, it's still collecting. :mrgreen:
I've never been comfortable with the idea that a pipe collection must have some kind of theme. That's just me. I'm not interested in having a collection in this sense - pipes, for me, are to be appreciated and used on their own merits, not selected or valued based on how well they conform to a theme. In fact I probably acquired many of my pipes because they represent something I like that is different to what I already have. Maybe there are collections within my set of pipes - four or five makers that I have a significant number from, and I like princes and have a good number of these. But most of my pipes represent a broad range of styles, shapes, and origins.
I have far more pipes than I need - I will admit that. About two hundred. I get a great deal of pleasure from them and I certainly know what I have and why I have each one. It is too many for me to be able to smoke them all on a regular rotation, but they do get smoked and I enjoy being able to select a pipe that fits my mood at that particular moment and perhaps I haven't smoked for a while. I don't think you can put a number to the point at which owning pipes becomes hoarding, but I think we would all recognise a hoard when we see it - probably something that inappropriately takes over parts of the home or is a cumbersome jumble of pipes, many of which the owner has forgotten he has, or that he doesn't particularly like or use but somehow still cannot let go of. I think hoarding is a kind of compulsion to buy new things, while quickly losing interest once they are bought.
So what am I? Not a collector. Not a hoarder - I appreciate and know well each of my pipes and, while 200 is too many it is not so many that they take over the house or get in the way. If you came to my house you would not see lots of pipes everywhere. I think I am just someone who appreciates pipes and enjoys having a broad selection of ones that I particularly like. That's all.
I have far more pipes than I need - I will admit that. About two hundred. I get a great deal of pleasure from them and I certainly know what I have and why I have each one. It is too many for me to be able to smoke them all on a regular rotation, but they do get smoked and I enjoy being able to select a pipe that fits my mood at that particular moment and perhaps I haven't smoked for a while. I don't think you can put a number to the point at which owning pipes becomes hoarding, but I think we would all recognise a hoard when we see it - probably something that inappropriately takes over parts of the home or is a cumbersome jumble of pipes, many of which the owner has forgotten he has, or that he doesn't particularly like or use but somehow still cannot let go of. I think hoarding is a kind of compulsion to buy new things, while quickly losing interest once they are bought.
So what am I? Not a collector. Not a hoarder - I appreciate and know well each of my pipes and, while 200 is too many it is not so many that they take over the house or get in the way. If you came to my house you would not see lots of pipes everywhere. I think I am just someone who appreciates pipes and enjoys having a broad selection of ones that I particularly like. That's all.
I think that statement sums up the difference for me....... when you lose track of what you have, it becomes hoarding, and I may be a little guilty....... :roll:
Warren, I will accept those terms. "Pipe gatherer" sounds nice.
I don't think we should casually reject the accusation of being hoarders, though. Hoarding, or buying irrationally, is a kind of sickness in our society and most of us probably do it to some extent. It is too easy to buy things on a whim - especially online - and we get seduced by marketing. Our economies are artificially inflated - maybe 30-50% - because of irrational consumerism. With the technology we have to make things more efficient, we should really work far less than we do - produce less, consume less, and focus on what is important in our lives. And we could easily do this if we stopped buying what we don't need or really value.
I sometimes wonder if the Greeks would be smart to implement a 3-day working week and make this the norm, or work full-time but save money and retire at 50 (which is the same thing, eventually). They would have full employment and have plenty of leisure time to enjoy, spend with their families, and smoke pipes. They would have enough money to buy everything they could reasonably need. They would not be able to spend money on buying and accumulating things they oughtn't, and their homes would be nicer and less cluttered. That sounds like a better kind of life than mine.
We should all question ourselves about whether we are buying things we don't really value or need. It is probably self-perpetuating. We are too stressed and work too much, and then we try to make ourselves feel better by buying things, which simply perpetuates the need to work more.
I'll leave a link here to a very thoughtful, short essay about this. The writer makes the same point, that our lives are wrongly balanced and that with technology there is no reason to work more than four hours a day. The thing is, the writer was the philosopher and pipe smoker, Bertrand Russell and he wrote this in 1932! It is even more relevant today.
In Praise of Idleness
I wonder how many pipes Bertrand Russell owned.
I don't think we should casually reject the accusation of being hoarders, though. Hoarding, or buying irrationally, is a kind of sickness in our society and most of us probably do it to some extent. It is too easy to buy things on a whim - especially online - and we get seduced by marketing. Our economies are artificially inflated - maybe 30-50% - because of irrational consumerism. With the technology we have to make things more efficient, we should really work far less than we do - produce less, consume less, and focus on what is important in our lives. And we could easily do this if we stopped buying what we don't need or really value.
I sometimes wonder if the Greeks would be smart to implement a 3-day working week and make this the norm, or work full-time but save money and retire at 50 (which is the same thing, eventually). They would have full employment and have plenty of leisure time to enjoy, spend with their families, and smoke pipes. They would have enough money to buy everything they could reasonably need. They would not be able to spend money on buying and accumulating things they oughtn't, and their homes would be nicer and less cluttered. That sounds like a better kind of life than mine.
We should all question ourselves about whether we are buying things we don't really value or need. It is probably self-perpetuating. We are too stressed and work too much, and then we try to make ourselves feel better by buying things, which simply perpetuates the need to work more.
I'll leave a link here to a very thoughtful, short essay about this. The writer makes the same point, that our lives are wrongly balanced and that with technology there is no reason to work more than four hours a day. The thing is, the writer was the philosopher and pipe smoker, Bertrand Russell and he wrote this in 1932! It is even more relevant today.
In Praise of Idleness
I wonder how many pipes Bertrand Russell owned.
I want what I want. AND I WANT IT NOW!
If I ceased working I'd just shrivel up and die. Thank goodness I love what I did before retirement and, what I now do, shooting wildlife. I always enjoyed putting in the hours, I'm competitive, it put me ahead of those that didn't like to toil. I will admit that I did and do know how to play hard though, when the time is right.
I bet Russell worked, if a philosopher really works, more than eight hours a day.
If I ceased working I'd just shrivel up and die. Thank goodness I love what I did before retirement and, what I now do, shooting wildlife. I always enjoyed putting in the hours, I'm competitive, it put me ahead of those that didn't like to toil. I will admit that I did and do know how to play hard though, when the time is right.
I bet Russell worked, if a philosopher really works, more than eight hours a day.
Sable keeps his pipes in a hermetically sealed tomb and only takes them out to smoke in his infrared photo lab.
Kidding aside, I would too if I had some of the rare gems in his collection.
Kidding aside, I would too if I had some of the rare gems in his collection.
I struggle with this question frequently. I vowed not to have more than 60 pipes that I smoke. I think that currently, I'm up to about 65...
I have thirteen pipes, which is more than I meant to have at this point.
My problem is that I don't really know what I like, yet. I started with a really crappy (but pretty!) no-name briar from Amazon. Smoked like crap, and I nearly quit the hobby.
Since then, I've bought cobs, various hardwoods and some briar. Each has it's good and bad points. I originally felt an attraction to very bent pipes but I find myself leaning toward straights and quarter-bents lately.
I'm tending to stick with cheaper pipes until my tastes stabilize, but sticking with cheaper pipes might be preventing me from really falling in love with anything. I don't think I'll ever really be a "real" collector, but I would like to have a good rotation of pipes that I really loved.
My problem is that I don't really know what I like, yet. I started with a really crappy (but pretty!) no-name briar from Amazon. Smoked like crap, and I nearly quit the hobby.
Since then, I've bought cobs, various hardwoods and some briar. Each has it's good and bad points. I originally felt an attraction to very bent pipes but I find myself leaning toward straights and quarter-bents lately.
I'm tending to stick with cheaper pipes until my tastes stabilize, but sticking with cheaper pipes might be preventing me from really falling in love with anything. I don't think I'll ever really be a "real" collector, but I would like to have a good rotation of pipes that I really loved.
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