Do You Buy New Pipes To *Not* Smoke Them?

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sablebrush52

The Bard Of Barlings
Jun 15, 2013
19,623
44,833
Southern Oregon
jrs457.wixsite.com
Years ago, maybe 1995, I worked with a guy who bought a brand new Corvette and parked it in his garage and never drove it. He said it was an investment.

A couple of years later he quit and went into real estate and we lost touch.
I have a sneaking suspicion that a lot of car collectors buy cars they will exhibit, but never drive. It's probably inconvenient to take your Stanley Steamer on a long trip.
 
My best friend. In the world inherited his father’s car collection, most of which are from now defunct carriage companies who made the first cars, most with wooden frames. He still collects cars and has become very close friends with Jay Leno, who trades with him. But, he now collects more diverse cars than his father. He enjoys it. But, the most these cars ever get driven is when they load them onto trailers to take them to shows.

I know others who collect opals, just the stones, not jewelry. We are talking $1000 to $100,000 a rock.

People have their reasons. It’s not for me to judge. But, when we wanted someone to drive my daughters and their dates to prom, we had a friend who chauffeured them there in a 1911 Model 33, ha ha.
 

pipestud

Lifer
Dec 6, 2012
2,010
1,749
Robinson, TX.
It seems like there is an awful lot of unsmoked estate pipes out there. Some must come from the bowels of some old tobacconist shops, and some from collectors who do not smoke them, but there must be some who were bought and just not used? When I see a pipe that is 70 years old and unsmoked, I wonder how it managed to stay that way for so long.

Do you have any on your rack that you bought new but are consciously not smoking? Why?

If I purchase a pipe, it is to smoke it. I admit that I will admire a few for a couple of weeks before the urge to light up overwhelms me. I waited almost a month not too long ago until I lit up a Silver Gray that I had gotten. My first thought was, "Dang, I just wasted a month of my pipe smoking life!"
 
Mar 1, 2014
3,646
4,916
It seems like there is an awful lot of unsmoked estate pipes out there. Some must come from the bowels of some old tobacconist shops, and some from collectors who do not smoke them, but there must be some who were bought and just not used? When I see a pipe that is 70 years old and unsmoked, I wonder how it managed to stay that way for so long.

Do you have any on your rack that you bought new but are consciously not smoking? Why?
I'm just on the tail end of getting my gum infection under control after about four years of intensive dental procedures. It could be said the dozens of pipes I bought in that time were purely decorative.
I can imagine other people in the past may have gone through the same sort of experience and never returned to the pipe.

It's possible some of my pipes will sit in the case forever and never get smoked, but I doubt it.
 

shanez

Lifer
Jul 10, 2018
5,188
24,083
49
Las Vegas
I have a few pipes that I simply haven't got around to smoking yet but I do intend to smoke them.

I do have 2 pipes, however, that I do not intend to smoke. They were part of a large purchase and not singled out for any particular reason. After going through everything I realized what they were and right now I can't bring myself to smoke them. One is a Teddy Knudsen Eagle Grade and the other is a Larson Pearl Grade.
 

beefeater33

Lifer
Apr 14, 2014
4,063
6,119
Central Ohio
I've got quite a few............ I've got a few guns too, that will never see a round through them.
I guess I enjoy collecting, and if I'm going to collect something, it might as well be in mint, unused condition.

I had a guy tell me once that "Pipes are meant for smoking! You need to smoke them all!"
I replied "Money is meant for spending! Go spend it all!"................ we didn't talk much about collecting after that......................
 

shaneireland

Starting to Get Obsessed
Jun 14, 2014
135
922
Conway, SC
www.smokingpipes.com
I’m only interested in pipes that will make the rotation, which saves me from buying a lot of beautiful pipes that are impractical for my needs (usually either too heavy, or with large chambers).

My collection has gotten to the point where I usually have between 2-6 unsmoked pipes at any given time. Occasionally, I’ll feel like I need a new pipe and I’ll dig in the drawer and “shop” for something to break-in. Also, I don’t really care for breaking-in new pipes, so sometimes I’m just too lazy and I’ll get to it when I get to it.

I do have one exception... it’s an unsmoked Dunhill Root Briar Group 1 Prince from 1970 that came with a factory original green Bakelite stem. Rarest of the rare, and I’ll never smoke it.
 

Papamique

Part of the Furniture Now
Mar 11, 2020
789
3,953
Not on purpose but I have a handful of NOS pipes that I haven’t got around to smoking yet. Someday.
 
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jaytex1969

Lifer
Jun 6, 2017
9,517
50,591
Here
About 2/3 of the pipes I've acquired have gone straight into the "strategic reserve".

Like my tobacco cellar, there's a lot in there I've not yet tried.

Of those reserve pipes, they are a sporadic mix of new and estate pipes, from cobs to White Spots.

Long after the last B&M or web shop has been eradicated by the "space lasers", I will still be trying new blends in new pipes...



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OzPiper

Lifer
Nov 30, 2020
5,756
30,562
71
Sydney, Australia
I have stayed away from buying pipe that are too precious to be smoked.
I do have a few pipes (unsmoked estates) I have yet to around to smoking - when the "right" occasion comes around.
Just like some bottles in the cellar - "waiting" for the right group of inebriates to drop around
 

tobefrank

Lifer
Jun 22, 2015
1,367
5,005
Australia
I recently bought a new pipe of a model I had been looking at for years. When I got it in hand, the fit and finish just didn't wow me. The stem was/is loose and the silver work was already tarnished. Rather than smoking it, I put it to the side where it has been for the last 3 months or so. I may still pick it up and smoke it at some point, or I may sell it on unsmoked.