I Caved and Bought My First Expensive Pipe

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PipeIT

Lifer
Nov 14, 2020
4,376
26,150
Hawaii
Oh, and seriously give yourself time when making purchases, meaning, when you think you saw the next one, look around at a lot of places and I mean a lot, because before you know it, there’s another great looker out there and it never stops... LOL ?

I’ve been looking at Castello pipes for 6 months, before I finally settled on what I wanted, getting ready to finally order it. There are just so many bloody choices out there and they constantly change too.
 

LotusEater

Lifer
Apr 16, 2021
4,084
55,927
Kansas City Missouri
View attachment 78249
This piece called out to me this morning and it was still available when I got home from work so I figured it was meant to be mine! This is my first pipe that was more then $120 US. I hope she don’t spoil me and that I can continue to enjoy the pipes I already own so I can continue to focus on filling my cellar with tobacco.
Nice pipe! I’m sure you will enjoy it.
I tend to buy less expensive estate pipes myself but I feel like a bigger purchase is likely inevitable:)
 
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mso489

Lifer
Feb 21, 2013
41,210
60,433
Fine nicely crafted durable looking pipe. I like the blast. That's a good price point, usually having a lot of high quality points without breaking the bank. I have quite a few mid-market pipes and a few up-market. Have fun smoking that one. I don't think it will require much breaking in.
 
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OneGoodBulldog

Can't Leave
Nov 2, 2020
316
924
Beautiful grain. Enjoy the pipe. Sandblast pipes are the best in so many ways. Great grain on a smooth pipe is great but sandblasted pipes are, for many of us more alluring and show the skill of the artisan equally or more.
I think sandblasting is a mixed bag. On cheaper pipes I feel like it's a way to salvage an otherwise low quality block. When it's on an expensive piece, like the one posted, it's done only on grains that will benefit. With this pipe, lucky owner by the way, clearly they decided this nice ring grain would look amazing with a blast. They were not wrong!
 

saltedplug

Lifer
Aug 20, 2013
5,194
5,097
I didn't come by pipe mania innocently. I started by thinking that the pipe was merely instrumental to my enjoyment, and I stayed at this point for about 8 years. I collected tobacco. It was far more affordable as well.

But after 8 years of reading about others' interest in pipes, I thought to see what I could see, and I began a practice of pipe-gazing on the retail sites, and of course reading, in an exhaustive comparison and contrast, guided simply by what I liked.

In the process I desensitized my revulsion at the prices, yet when I started a Don Carlos smooth at $300.00 on Synjeco seemed entirely costly.

I write this because pipe appreciation leads to buying expensive pipes, a rabbit hole that although I had no intention of going down, I did, simply because I hung around and was interested.

When I had the privilege to gaze upon the large collection of pipes for sale in that recent auction of pipes from a private collection, it was delightful. Such talent! Such artistry!

Such prices!