What Brought You To The Pipe?

[gamzultovah]

I have always been intrigued by pipes for as long as I can remember. The smell, the look and the image of a man clenching a pipe were all very appealing to my young mind, but completely out of the question, given my non-smoking/anti-smoking upbringing. When I reached 40 years of age, my intense curiosity got the better of me and I bought my first pipe along with a recommended blend at a local Tinderbox store (a Calabresi full bend, rusticated cauldron and probably, Lane 1-Q). Since then, I’ve had the pleasure of owning many pipes from across the spectrum of pipe collecting; everything from Dunhill’s to Cannoy’s, Eltang’s to Castello’s and beyond. Being a former craftsman myself, the art of the pipe had piqued my interest far more than the tobaccos that went in them...and it still does to is very day, fifteen years after that first purchase at the Tinderbox.

I enjoy finding abused, high quality pipes and restoring them to their former glory. I also like finding rare, unsmoked artisan pipes and saving them from the match for future generations to enjoy. I enjoy displaying what I’ve restored and collected around my house as functional objects de art, and I love when friends and family come over and recognize them as such. I have always enjoyed this aspect of the pipe game far more than smoking them; and I’m good with that. Two bowls a week does me fine and always has. The allure of the pipe itself is what brought me into this game and it is what keeps me in. What brought you into the game?

On a side note, given my own particular allure for piping, you don’t need to worry me hoarding up all y’all’s tobacco! ?

 

[Chasing Embers]

A green eyed redhead working at Rite Aid back in the Summer of '91.

 

[gamzultovah]

A green eyed redhead working at Rite Aid.

Did you marry her???

 

[alaskanpiper]

Lack of time for a cigar. That and curiosity.

 

[mikefu]

I had an uncle that smoked a pipe, and I have fond memories of that smell that I experienced frequently as a kid. When in college I gave a pipe a whirl, but was mostly into cigars. I also had an extremely low end pipe and no knowledge or teacher, so it was a short lived endeavor. I came back to it in 2006, and with the advice of an experienced tobacconist, have been piping seriously since then. I love the contemplative nature of pipe smoking and the seeming endless variety in the artistry of pipes and tobacco blends, both of which tick the boxes of my personality. I still smoke pretty conservatively, no more that a couple a day, but I find the constant learning coupled with a forcible slowdown to be a perfect combination to manage my stress levels and interests.

 

[Chasing Embers]

Did you marry her???

Nope, that lasted about six months.

 

[ray47]

Trying to give up cigarettes back in 1967.

 

[hauntedmyst]

Reading Sherlock Holmes and the Lord of the Rings in my teens and uncle who smoked a pipe. It always intrigued me. When I got to be 16 or 17 he let me try it and soon after I got myself a job at a tobacco shop and I've been a pipeman ever since.

 

[Fantasm]

In the beginning it was being frustrated with keeping cigars properly humidified, pipe tobacco in a jar is so much easier. Plus i can custom smoke the amount of tobacco i want. Its nice to smoke , then let it die, go do something and relight when i get a chance with out loss of flavor.

But after while of smoking a pipe, now its the art of keeping the fire stoked, and enjoying the moment.

 

[bullet08]

tried to get away from tobacco forever. was able to do it with vape, but something was missing. pipe smoking gave everything i wanted and more. nicotine, tobacco, good flavor.. all without the downside of cigarettes.

 

[seanv]

I was never a big cig smoker but I did enjoy them from time to time. Cigars were too much of a time investment for me after a while. Pipes at first seemed over complicated and I did give up for a few years. I got back into it and have enjoyed it since. Now I think i smoke maybe five cigars a year and maybe one pack of cigs a year

 

[verporchting]

My Great Grandfather smoked a pipe when I was a wee child and I always loved the smell and admired him greatly. I knew from a very young age I wanted to smoke a pipe just like him. He died when I was pretty young and I never knew what tobacco or pipes he liked but every time I saw or smelled a pipe I remembered him fondly. As soon as I was able I bought my first pipe and have been a pipe man ever since.

 

[adui]

My dad had a pipe rack and half dozen pipes when I was a little kid. I remember the smell and liked it so in the mid 90's when a friend of mine smoked his pipe I decided to try it. Liked it, but set it down for a long time after only a year. Here recently, another friend offered me a pipe when we were relaxing in his pool. I took him up on it, remembered why I liked pipe and got one.

 

[gervais]

Lotr. No shame either
?‍

 

[Chasing Embers]

Lotr. No shame either
?‍

I hadn't even heard of Tolkien until some time after I started smoking.

 

[bullet08]

I hadn't even heard of Tolkien until some time after I started smoking.

i remember smoking cigarettes and blowing smoke rings in 8th grade. thanks to lotr, books not the movies.

 

[Chasing Embers]

i remember smoking cigarettes and blowing smoke rings in 8th grade. thanks to lotr, books not the movies.

I was more Arthur C. Clarke, Frank Herbert, Isaac Asimov, H.P. Lovecraft, and Edgar Allen Poe. Tolkien didn't fall into my radar until my mid twenties.

 

[Parsimonious Piper]

I had an uncle that smoked a pipe, and I have fond memories of that smell that I experienced frequently as a kid. When in college I gave a pipe a whirl, but was mostly into cigars. I also had an extremely low end pipe and no knowledge or teacher, so it was a short lived endeavor. I came back to it […]

…a couple years ago. Otherwise my story exactly. Now it‘s mostly one bowl to start the day along with a mug of hot tea and my morning Bible and news reading. Nearly perfect relaxation.

 

[warren]

As I state every time this question arises, "Co-eds!" That occurred 50+ years ago.

 

[troyniss]

I worked at a clothing store in a mall when I was in college. During my break period I would walk around the mall and just so happened that there was a TinderBox a few doors down. Walked in, bought a basket pipe and some aromatic tobacco. Didn't know anything about pipe smoking. Would smoke from time to time at night and before going into work for about 6 months.

Mind you, none of my family members are smokers, cigarettes, cigars or pipes. My aunt smoked for a while but quit long before I picked up the pipe. I had always been interested in tobacco, mainly cigarettes before my college years.

After college I didn't smoke at all, but used American snuff, mainly Skoal while doing construction.

Went to my mothers house one day and brought my pipe that I had bought in college, as my stepfather said to bring it over. Smoked some cheap cherry tobacco, can't remember the brand. Accidentally left it there. l was teaching in Korea (and still am) and she sent it to me while I was in Korea. Brought back good memories and decided I'd use it again. That was back in 2018. Since then, the rabbit hole keeps getting wider and endless.