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orthodoxpiper

Lurker
Jan 11, 2019
40
27
I started smoking a pipe back in 2007 (you could still easily find Penzance!) and I've been involved off and on in the forums over the years. I used to post here under a different name, but I can't remember what it was anymore. I took a few years off piping to break my nic habit (formed through cigs), and I'm jumping back in now that I feel it's a safe idea.
But I digress...
I've been reading through old posts trying to catch up, and I've thinking about how different the online community is now compared to when I started 12 years ago. When I started, OTC blends were still pretty looked down upon (only for the old codgers who didn't know any better), cobs were only for beginners and hillbillies, and English lovers were the true connoisseurs. Fast forward eight or so years, and the tides had begun to shift. Before I left, I saw more "Hey...Carter Hall ain't half bad" and "I've been reaching for my cobs more and more these last few months".
Now that I've returned, it seems genuine love for Carter Hall has blossomed, people aren't ashamed to prefer their cobs to briar, and being allergic to Latakia isn't so shameful. Heck, even aros are no longer being recommended for beginners!
When I got my first pipe, I loaded up on aros because that was what was recommended, and all I got was a heck of a lot of tongue bite and flavorless steam/smoke. I love that the common recommendation for beginners is now is a cob full of Carter Hall. I like that there's more focus on blends that aren't Lat bombs, and I see more and more people proclaiming to be VA/VAper/Burley centric guys and gals.
All in all, I think pipers spending more time on the internet has been able to develop our hobby in the right direction. I feel there's a lot less gatekeeping, and a lot more "do what you like" and not looking down on things that lack the classic prestige of a suited man with a briar stuck in his mouth. I've even seen people come out as aro only smokers to no derision! Even hipsters are met with much less disdain than even three years ago.
It's a good time to be a pipe smoker! I've always loved the piping community, but I am happy to see it just keeps getting better and better. :puffy:

 
Now that I've returned, it seems genuine love for Carter Hall has blossomed, people aren't ashamed to prefer their cobs to briar, and being allergic to Latakia isn't so shameful. Heck, even aros are no longer being recommended for beginners!

What the Hell forum were you on? Here? You saw this here?
Yeh, we let in a few degenerates, but then the scum started in on this "stop being a snob" crap, and then weak spirited members started being all politically correct, and next thing we know... OTC isn't a put down anymore, and we even let people use them damnedable asswipe cobs.
Now, we get schrill girly screeching noise whenever Esoterica is mentioned, people using their Dunhills as planters, and even people taking aromatics seriously.

It's not my fault, I blame those damn pirates!!!

 
May 9, 2018
1,687
86
Raleigh, NC
It's not my fault, I blame those damn pirates!!!
Hey! I resemble that remark! We crew of the Black Frigate don't fuss over what pipe we use as much as we fuss over which one of us has to clamor down into the bowels of the ship to retrieve another barrel of the leaf and perform the dance of opening before she can bare her wares!
On another note, Carter Hall is a very good blend and if people want to look down there nose at it, then more for me. I will smoke a cob over a briar in a heartbeat if I think a blend tastes better. At least two of my favorite smokers are cobs and they're not as finicky as some briars can be. Just like how you can smoke a meerschaum over and over, so too can you smoke a cob, at least more times before requiring a rest than my briars!

 

sablebrush52

The Bard Of Barlings
Jun 15, 2013
19,623
44,833
Southern Oregon
jrs457.wixsite.com
I think that as more pipe smokers have shared their experiences, a lot of myths and BS have been revealed as being myths and BS. The bottom line has become "whatever gives you a pleasurable smoking experience is fine".

 

orthodoxpiper

Lurker
Jan 11, 2019
40
27
I think that as more pipe smokers have shared their experiences, a lot of myths and BS have been revealed as being myths and BS.
Very true! I just read about someone recommending removing your stem right after smoking and then running water through the bowl to clean the pipe! Both of those things would have been unthinkable ten years ago. Heck, even the char light isn't a gimme anymore. Feels like a strange new world of pipe smoking I've wandered into.

 

npod

Lifer
Jun 11, 2017
2,942
1,024
Welcome back to the board. I enjoyed your comments and agree with most. Except one. The cobb guys still talk smack about my mother behind my back :rofl: They are a nefarious group of pipers. All joking aside, I do agree with you that the internet in general has been to niche hobbies like ours. That is a good effect of having access to such information, it helps one form their own conclusion.

 

npod

Lifer
Jun 11, 2017
2,942
1,024
One of the (great) things about internet boards like this one is that they allow open communication and discussion. Good or bad, all critique can be constructive if done well, and this board monitors the chatter well. People disagree on here all the time and that allows others to get opinions and data for themselves. Instagram and Facebook and other social media outlets are cool, the pictures are fun to look at, and brand images shine. But on a good old fashion board we see the back-and-forth and consensus along with discord. Eventually a common trend emerges and a pirate captain with a Dunhill pipe planter ends up ruling us all.

 

trouttimes

Lifer
Nov 26, 2018
5,169
21,491
Lake Martin, AL
Cosmic you are right! Where are these low life degenerates coming from? Is there no shame? Who let the dogs out? I got to go clean my Falcon but you hold the fort Cosmic!

 

mso489

Lifer
Feb 21, 2013
41,210
60,433
I like the humor posts on this thread, but I am also interested in the evolution of the discussion on Forums over time. I miss some of the interesting personalities who no longer post. We veer from various points of view. I enjoy the posts by people who have ample funds for the finest artisan pipes, and I enjoy the posts by people who have mostly cobs and enjoy pouch and bulk tobacco. A lot of different people have elbowed around and made room for themselves and their interests. I wish this was the temper of our culture at large. I've learned a lot about pipes and tobaccos, but also fundamental information about general subjects like the planting of sugar can stalks and how that works. My ignorance was kind of embarrassing, assuming the stalks stood up by themselves, whereas of course the shoots grow out of the stalks flat on the ground. But learning something is always hugely pleasing.

 

trouttimes

Lifer
Nov 26, 2018
5,169
21,491
Lake Martin, AL
Amen, MSO! I too have learned a lot and our culture could learn a lot about accepting differences and being more open. I'll even listen to what cob smokers have to say. I would agree, but I'll listen.

 

mso489

Lifer
Feb 21, 2013
41,210
60,433
'Wish some of the women members remained and were a little more outspoken. I guess it is like me trying to participate in a mostly women's gathering; it's a little difficult to get the right tone and cred so you feel like you're heard. The dangers of man'splaining. Another cultural discussion. I think we do try to welcome women, but not with ongoing success, usually.

 

PlanxtyPipes

Starting to Get Obsessed
Mar 6, 2013
222
2
I also started smoking a pipe in 2006 and 2007 and then took a big break for about 5 years. Thinking back the big thing that stands out to me when I returned in 2012-ish...is that I couldn't' find Penzance anymore! (just as you mentioned!). I also was bummed that Frenchy wasn't selling pipes anymore (I believe he closed up shop in 2010-ish). I got my first two Peterson pipes (estates) from him and they were incredibly reasonably priced and he was a pleasure to do business with. He used to be THE guy everyone on the forums recommended buying from.
Honestly I don't remember cobs and OTCs being that looked down upon myself, but I may just be forgetting. I know I bought a cob and some Carter Hall to try shortly after my return to the pipe community on the recommendation of many others. So by 2012 that sentiment had definitely dissipated if it ever did exist. I do know that aromatics in general seem much less derided then I remember them being when I first started. They obviously had their fans but there was a large section of the community that openly hated aromatic tobacco. In that area things definitely seem to have changed. Now even those who don't really smoke aromatics tend to concede that there are at least some decent ones out there.

 

lawdawg

Lifer
Aug 25, 2016
1,792
3,801
That was an interesting read. Thanks for posting. It was this forum that turned me on to Carter Hall and other codger burley blends years ago when I was a beginner and a forum lurker.

 

jpmcwjr

Moderator
Staff member
May 12, 2015
24,568
27,070
Carmel Valley, CA
Ha ha, MSO, we have more women here than you'd think. Just because they don't tell us they are women, doesn't mean they are men. :wink:
Michelle- are you trying to tell us something?? Wink, wink, nudge, nudge.

 
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