This Isn’t Your Grandfather’s Pipe
-
Kevin Godbee - Dec 2, 2011
- 5 min read
By Kevin Godbee
Who smokes a pipe anymore these days? (I mean a wooden pipe with tobacco in it, not a glass or metal pipe with crack or weed.) If you walked up to a stranger on the street and asked them to imagine, and describe a person smoking a pipe, the vast majority of people would probably describe an old man sitting on a bench, or a grandfather-type figure.
Well, this is one of those times where the general public’s perception is not entirely accurate as to the reality of the moment.
Going back to the earlier part of the millennium, pipe smoking was still in a decline since the 1970s. According to Norman Sharp, head of the Pipe Tobacco Council, in a 2005 article in the Washington Post – "The decline has been persistent and unrelenting," In 1970, Americans bought 52 million pounds of pipe tobacco. In 2004, they bought less than 5 million pounds. "That’s a decline of 91 percent," he says. However, fast-forward just a few years to 2009, to an article in The Wall Street Journal, and we find note of a turnaround in pipe smoking. What’s even more interesting is the observation that college-age, young adults are once again partaking of the briar pipe, which hasn’t been a trend since the 1950s.
Pipe smoking’s first spurt in popularity came in the early 1920s. Subsequent peaks in pipe smoking took place in the 1950s and in the 1970s. The previously referenced Washington Post article also provides a view of what the actual size of the small niche-market of pipe smokers was back in 2003 – "In a 2003 survey, the Department of Health and Human Services calculated that there are 1.6 million pipe smokers in America."
While it’s difficult to come by clear accurate numbers of pipe tobacco sales today because of known reporting inaccuracies by different segments of the tobacco industry, there certainly appears to be continued and growing evidence of the increased popularity in pipe smoking amongst college students and adults in their 20s. It can be found right here in the virtual pages of PipesMagazine.com.
|
Here are a few photos from The Gateway Area Pipe Show and Swap in St. Charles, MO, on February 19, 2011.
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
As stated in the full article here, "There were several 20-somethings in the crowd of buyers, and some, while old enough to smoke in Missouri (18 is the minimum smoking age there), would be too young to legally consume alcohol. It’s pleasing to see this trend of the younger generation’s interest in pipe smoking continuing so the hobby may live on after the old torchbearers have departed."
More evidence that there is new interest in pipe smoking can be found in the member profiles on PipesMagazine.com as well. An optional field on a person’s profile is to list the date they first smoked a pipe. Look at some of the dates in the screen captures below.
 |
 |
 |
 |
The four profiles above show three people that just started enjoying a pipe this year, along with another person that started in 2009. He is still smoking his pipe as evidenced by his just recent sign-up to this site within the last month. Following are two more profile screen shots, one showing that the more mature generation of pipe smokers is also represented here with a man that smoked his first pipe in 1957, and one more expressing how new he is to the world of pipes.
As the Publisher and Editor-in-Chief of PipesMagazine.com, I travel to many pipe shows and various retail tobacconists all over the country. My travels have continued to provide evidence that the past-time of pipe smoking is continuing to grow, and that many, if not most of the new entrants are in their 20s and 30s. This comes from personal observation of the attendants of pipe shows, from talking to retailers about their customers, and from several posts in the Pipe Forums.
Speaking of our Pipe Smokers Forums, I will leave you with some photos of our younger members, and you will see that the notion that pipe smoking is only for "old men" needs updating. While were at it, let’s break another stereotype … while they are a quite small minority of pipe smokers, women, and younger woman at that, are enjoying pipe smoking today as well.
These are all members of PipesMagazine.com. (A few are pictured twice.)
In a related article, you can hear directly from a 20-something pipe smoker: Collegiate Smokers and a New Era of Pipe Men
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
Kevin Godbee is the Publisher & Editor in Chief of PipesMagazine.com. Kevin started smoking pipes and cigars in 1998 and started an online cigar magazine & community site in 2005. (The site was acquired in 2008 and no longer exists.) He launched PipesMagazine.com in 2009, and in less than three years the site has become the largest trafficked pipe smoking related site, and the #1 Source for Pipes and Pipe Tobacco Information. In October of 2011, he launched Cigar Chronicles. In the beginning of his career, Kevin worked in the hobby and specialty toy business for 16 years in sales, marketing, advertising and product development for three different manufacturers, and with his own company. Over the last 10 years working in the online business, he has become an expert in Internet Marketing and SEO. Kevin is a Certified Master Tobacconist (CMT) through Tobacconist University, a member of Cigar Rights of America, is on the Executive Committee of The United Pipe Clubs of America, and is a "Media Member" of the International Premium Cigar & Pipe Retailers Association. In his spare time he plays guitar, cooks, and enjoys all the wonderful places to go and things to do in beautiful downtown St. Petersburg, Florida where he lives in his penthouse bachelor pad. |
Written by Kevin Godbee
22 Responses
Recent Posts
Welcome to The Pipes Magazine Radio Show Episode 641. Our featured interview tonight is with Jeremy Reeves. Jeremy is the Head Blender at Cornell & Diehl and is featured in our recurring series, “Ask the Tobacco Blender”. However, tonight he will be the interviewee as we learn about how he became a pipe smoker and collector, when he got his first pipe and how he progressed from there. At the top of the show, Brian will have a review of the rare German tobacco blend, Tumblin’ Dice.
I remember the first time I heard someone else say it. “How many pipes do I need? Just one more.” It’s glib, sure, a bit of a joke, but it also rings a bell of truth, at least to me. I certainly have “enough” pipes, but pipes are seductive little things. Just when we think we’re all set, we have enough, another will come along that tempts us beyond any sense of reason. I suppose it’s the same way with any sort of collecting. There’s always another white whale we’re in pursuit of. When we finally track that one down, though, another will almost inevitably breach the surface, taking its place as the new object of our desire, enticing us to change course and set sail once again. But, there’s a potential problem with having a lot of pipes. Maybe. The more pipes we may have, the harder it can be to keep them in rotation. It makes sense. We tend to gravitate towards our current faves, the ones that most appeal to us for whatever reason, and sometimes, maybe they stay in rotation longer than they really should. The side-effect of this, of course, is that another favored pipe might end up too-long forgotten. That’s exactly what happened recently. Exhibit A: The Castello pictured is one that has been long overlooked. It’s a Trademark shape #55. It’s a really nice example of the shape. The red pearlized stem is beautifully done. The wood isn’t really anything special to look at, but it’s evenly covered, without any bald spots. When I look at it, I wonder why it wasn’t done in the more typical dark ruby-red finish that adorns most Trademarks. I’ve seen a great deal of variation amongst the grade over the years, including one really nice bent-bulldog that left the factory with a brown sandblasted finish. (For those who don’t know, Trademark has long been the lowest Castello smooth grade, usually finished in a dark red.) Was this a stamping/grading error, or is there just more leeway in the grade than we’ve come to expect? I might never know. This example is from the early 1970s, maybe even the late 1960s, identified by the upper case Ks in the grade designation. (On Sea Rock and Old Antiquari pipes, the Ks reflect the size, while with the smooth finishes, Trademark, Castello and Collection, the Ks represent the relative grade.) It has been living in a different rack than the one housing the majority of my #55s. I don’t recall why I put it there, but as many of us can relate to, rack space is often at a premium. I stumbled upon it while looking for something completely different. “Oh, you? Why are you there? I remember you smoke pretty well.” Yeah, I sometimes talk to my pipes – one of many quirks, I suppose. I won’t begin to worry until they start talking back. I grabbed it from the rack, dusted it off, and decided to give it a fill with a bowl of a slightly aged VA/perique blend, Telegraph Hill, from 2018. What a delightful smoke! At five years, the tobacco is expressing a lot of the complexities of aged Virginias and the perique adds a delightful fruitiness. When young, the composition is a bit brighter, maybe a little spicier, but time has polished any edges, and amplified the sweeter notes. Like the pipe, I’d forgotten about this blend for quite a while, but one evening in March, after chatting with my good friend Nate, who is quite a fan of it, I decided it might be time to revisit it. I got a couple of fresh ones, and excavated a couple older tins from the library. I normally reach for Fillmore when I want a VA/perique thing because of its boldness and depth, but in revisiting this one, I’m finding something soothing and comfortable about it that I’ve really been enjoying, both young and aged. Sticking with the theme of the forgotten, and as a perhaps interesting tidbit to the photographically inclined, I shot the pictures for this month’s column with my old Nikkor-O 35mm/2.0 mounted on my trusty Nikon Df. The last time I used this lens, it was adapted to one of my Fujifilm bodies, and I didn’t care much for the results, so I put it away and pretty much forgot about it. But, I’ve recently been exploring some of my old kit, deciding what to keep, what to pass along, and this one once again came to my attention, kind of like that old Castello. On the Df, there’s something about its vintage rendering that I find truly appealing. Another forgotten treasure, and just like with that old pipe, it seems that, at least today, everything old is new again. If your collection is on the large side, are there pipes or tobaccos that you’ve all but forgotten, only to come back to them one day to find yourself wondering why? Maybe it’s just another fun dimension to this endlessly fascinating journey.
Welcome to The Pipes Magazine Radio Show Episode 640. Our featured interview on tonight’s show is with Ben Rapaport. Ben has been known internationally as an avid pipe smoker, antique pipe collector, and book author. His first book on pipes was published in 1972, and his latest book – his 10th – is out now in very limited quantities. The distribution has already sold out, but you can still get a copy of “The Wide World of Wood Tobacco Pipes. Two Centuries of Craftsmanship and Creativity” by contacting him directly at ben70gray@gmail.com. At the top of the show we’ll be turning the tables on our recurring Ask the Pipemaker segment. This time, Jeff Gracik will ask the questions, which Brian will answer as a pipe collector, and you can give your answers too.
Welcome to The Pipes Magazine Radio Show Episode 639. Our featured interview on tonight’s show is with Per Billhäll. Per is the owner of Scandinavian Pipes, which is an online retailer of high grade pipes. He started smoking pipes in the 1960s. His first high grade pipe was made by Hans “Former” Nielsen, who is one of the living legends from Denmark. That led to Per becoming a huge pipe and tobacco collector, and show attendee where he became well known. Along with pipe book author Jan Andersson, they started The Pipe Club of Sweden in 1991. Then in 1999, Per started “Scan Pipes”. He is now one of the pipe retailing legends from Sweden. At the top of the show Brian will talk about holiday blends, and other special pipe tobacco blends.
Welcome to The Pipes Magazine Radio Show Episode 638. Our featured interview on tonight’s show is with Fae “The Sassy Pipe Lady” Simmons. Fae is the owner of Tobacco Treasures, which sells new, vintage, & estate pipes, and smoking accessories on Etsy. She has been in business since 2017, and has been surrounded by pipes and tobacco most of her life. Her father and his brother smoked pipes, and so does Fae. Her husband is also a retired tobacconist that worked all over the industry from coast to coast for several different companies in the industry. She has a great story of how her business got started with a great inventory of unsmoked vintage pipes. At the top of the show we will have an Ask the Tobacco Blender segment with Jeremy Reeves. Jeremy is the Head Blender at Cornell & Diehl, which is one of the most popular boutique pipe tobacco companies in the USA.
Ok, so it’s that time of year, as we all know. Family feasts, houses, yards, and big trees festooned with lights and dangling ornaments, just high enough to keep the cats from reaching a paw into the greenery. It’s also the time of year when your pipe-smoking-significant other makes vast hints about a new pipe. That’s to be expected since he or she was a good boy or girl during the year. Yes, ladies smoke pipes, too. Oh, you want an example? Okay, try Actress Greta Garbo, Millicent Fenwick, Mary Frith, and my late grandmother (who died when she was 93) dipped snuff and smoked a cob occasionally. So now that we have settled that the gentler side of life will puff a pipe too, let’s move on to the upcoming biggest holiday of all. Of course, that huge event is brought to us by the hefty fellow in a red suit, puffing his pipe all the way in a sled filled with presents, being led by a reindeer with a red nose. Or some such. That’s Santa Claus, of course. Becoming a bit more serious, Christmas is such a wonderful time for families and friends. It’s also quite special for pipe puffers. For many of us, this brings up a nostalgic look back to our pipe-smoking or cigar-smoking friends who have died during the current year. A great journalist pal whom I often joined in a local brick-and-mortar pipe and cigar shop. I puffed my pipe, and occasional cigar, as he enjoyed a cigar. He died in October and will be missed. On the happier side of things, Christmas is also a time when mind workers of the world renew their collections with fresh additions. Pundit included. A French passion has overtaken Pundit, from reading more Albert Camus, a heavy cigarette smoker, as were many French intellectuals of a certain time. Instead of cigarettes many of us prefer the more relaxed enjoyment of pipes for that “calm and objective judgment” in the comings and goings of the world. This brings me to French pipes. While visiting France once in the long ago, I happened by a “Tabac” shop in Paris, Tabac Des Vosges. I purchased a beauty of a Chacom bent. I also later bought a Ropp made from ancient briar. To learn more about the dawn of briar pipes and beginnings, take a peek at a well-done piece by Davin Hylton in Pipe Line on April 12, 2023, on Saint-Claude, France, the birthplace of briar. Also in the long back when, on a cold Christmas afternoon, Pundit wandered into an Atlanta bricks and mortar pipe shop to look around. There, resting in an enclosed glass counter was an exquisite Comoy. An older gent, smoking a beautiful bent, asked me if I wanted to look at that pipe. It had a $100 price tag. A college student working for a grocery store chain to help with college tuition at the time, Pundit didn’t have one hundred cents, let alone a C note! I declined and found a $5 basket pipe. A Christmas tradition had just begun. Since that early time, Pundit has made it a holiday ritual to either reward himself, or a special friend, with pipe or tobacco. A Claudio Cavicchi would be nice. Just sayin.’ And now for a couple of December-born Pipe Smokers of the Past: Joseph Rudyard Kipling was born on Dec. 30, 1865, and died on Jan. 18, 1936. I always prefer to believe the best of everybody; it saves so much trouble—Rudyard Kipling. Martin Van Buren, born Dec. 5, 1782, and died July 24, 1862, U.S. President, 1837-1841 As to the presidency, the two happiest days of my life were those of my entrance upon the office and my surrender of it—Martin Van Buren. And one more note to recall a deceased World War II veteran who loved William Somerset Maugham, the author. Maugham, a pipe smoker, was born in Paris, France, on Jan. 25, 1874, and died on Dec. 16, 1965. One cool afternoon as the veteran and I talked while sitting in his backyard patio, he looked off into the distance as if studying something. Nothing in particular. Just looking. He turned to me and said if I wanted to learn about life, “read Somerset Maugham.” I did. It wasn’t until late in life that I discovered how easy it is to say, ‘I don’t know’ –W. Somerset Maugham And now a Parting Shot: Any day with an old friend with pipes and tobacco is a good day.
Hopeful in that the newer members in the Brotherhood of the Briar, especially the younger crowd, are allowed to continue to take their pleasures as they see fit.
Fun article Kevin!
Way cool, I hope more and more pipe smokers can learn and enjoy pipes and tobaccos due to Pipes Magazine.
well I started as a student, right now I’m not so old,
but most important: I will be always young inside 😉
It’s nice to see new blood. I would be curios to hear how much pipe tobacco sales have gone up over the last couple of years – say in pounds?
It’s very pleasing to see so many new younger pipe smokers, and it gives me hope that this fine hobby will survive.
It’s good to see new life in the old practice, and seeing people willing to step out of the box to experience tobacco as it should be enjoyed.
@clanobucklin
Unfortunately the reported numbers of pounds of pipe tobacco sold are unreliable and hugely over-inflated the last few years because of the RYO tax situation.
Great points in this article. When people try pipe smoking (and are giving a helping hand) they like it. People (especially younger people) are always looking to try new things, and when they get over stigmas of pipe smoking (and get past the anti-tobacco rhetoric) they’ll find are true pastime. The industry relies on word of mouth right now, but there’s a market out there that real advertising and promotion of smoking could reach if someone spent the effort/money.
The National Survey of Drug Abuse has reliable figures on the age distribution of pipe smoking, which I reported on one of the fora. I don’t remember the percents, but under 35 had the highest percentage, followed by those over 50.
Pipe smoking is an important tradition (even Santa smokes a pipe!) and it’s good to see the younger generation carrying it forth.
Hah and there I am. Happy to be a part of the culture and take part in such a proud tradition. Great article sir.
Another nice article from you.
In a related article, you can hear directly from a 20-something pipe smoker:
https://pipesmagazine.com/matchstickman/pipe-smoking/collegiate-smokers-and-a-new-era-of-pipe-men/
Nice article. Hard to believe that it has been just over a year since I have begun this new “hobby” and I don’t think I will ever give it up.
Check out the update box above. We have a 38% increase over the last 7 years.
Had anyone had the sense to introduce me to briar when I was young, I wouldn’t have torn my lungs up for 15 years smoking cigarettes. Though I’m closer to 40-something than 20-something, being in the company of younger people who enjoy the pipe makes me feel positive about where the world is heading. Pipe smokers are part of a unique subculture, but one that is free and open to any willing to take the time and learn to participate.
Very nice kevin i hope the pipe smoking get as big as cig, were at one time!!
I would not do without all my pipes and all the different tobacco varieties, we can buy here in Denmark. I am in Esbjerg Pipe Guild, and we meet once a month to once a good smoke and tobacco tasting. It’s wonderful to have such a good and satisfying hobby.
Great to see some of the young folks and young ladies (my wife has just taken up the hobby too!) getting into the joy of pipes! Don’t be shy about puffing that pipe outside where folks can see you. Let’s start a trend!
It was good to read this and I have a few thoughts on the subject.
I am not gonna go in to the female pipe smokers because I dont know anything of that trend.
But this is what I see and my oppinion of why. I am a former bouncer of 16 yrs Ive worked in all “Gentelmans clubs” all across the U.S from high scale places to biker dives. At one time in the upper class places all one would see is business men and pretty boys with their shaved chest and legs in clothes I wouldnt be cought in living on a trust fund or spoiled mamas boys with crotch rocketts and the biker dives were just that men in their mid 30 and up rowdy as hell on some sort of American made scooter. Over the years I have noticed a trend of younger men or should I say boys on American bikes in the rowdy bars. Now whats this have to do with pipe smoking you may be asking right now. Well here it is. It appears to me all these trends going on with the younger men are all leaning to old times where men were just that men. Maybe a little Machismo tossed in. The youth of today are longing for a time where it was ok to be a man it was ok to open a door for a woman it was ok to stand up for what you believed in. And yes ive seen these mamas boys hide behind a woman to keep from getting hit now I see the younder ones standing up for a woman as it should be. This just my oppinion
Amen Jaysin!
started collecting before i started smoking(strange i know)love that more of us may be coming out of the woodwork. i just worry that by the time im older, they wold have made tobacco illegal!
I am 60 now and had quit smoking for 25 years. After I retrieved a Meerschaum from my folk’s house I decided to collect. After collecting enough from eBay to begin to annoy my wife I decided that I would have to start smoking again in order to justify my hobby. I am facinated by the patterns in the briar and it’s fun to keep looking for styles I don’t have yet. A few months ago I came to win the bid on an Oom Paul (C.B. Perkins) that had a sand blasted finish. When I got it I could see that the surface on either side of the bowl was worn smooth and shiny. All I could imagine was that the previous owner had held that pipe for hours and hours, day in and day out to wear off that sand blasted finish. I felt awed and sort of humble knowing that I was holding someone’s favorite pipe (or only pipe). This is one of the things I get from collecting pipes that you just don’t realize with other hobbies. Pipe ownership can be such a personal thing. Anyway, I’m happily trying to do my part ot increase the sales volume of pipe tobacco in the U.S. – Happy puffing!