A Pipe Smoker From 65 Years Ago - Impressions?

[mikethompson]

So imagine it's 1960, and you are a pipe-smoking individual, no specific city, no specific area. You are somehow magically transported to 2025 and shown these very forums. Specifically, what would you make of the current state of the pipe hobby / industry?

Personally, I think the most glaring thing would be how 'niche' pipe smoking has become, how uncommon it is to see people smoking a pipe in public.

 

[Dave760]

So imagine it's 1960, and you are a pipe-smoking individual, no specific city, no specific area. You are somehow magically transported to 2025 and shown these very forums. Specifically, what would you make of the current state of the pipe hobby / industry?

Personally, I think the most glaring thing would be how 'niche' pipe smoking has become, how uncommon it is to see people smoking a pipe in public.

Agreed on the lack of pipe smokers in the public space.

I think the second thing I'd notice is how many blends smokers have access to. In 1960 I could get whatever my local tobacconist(s) carried and whatever I could get from catalogs. I suspect we have easy access today (even with recent events) to a wider variety of blends than the hypothetical time-traveller-me.

Wait, wait wait! The very first thing I would notice is the concept of a computing device that gave me access to these forums. I suspect that would look like magic to 1960-me.

 

[hakchuma]

I would note we are overthinking everything.

 

[wyfbane]

Better put blinders on the poor guy to get him to this site or he'd likely have a coronary at the state of the world. lol

That said, and as it has been discussed before, most of TODAY's pipe smokers would find us high-falootin' and aloof. That guy probably is has a pouch of <insert random codger blend> and would be wondering why we give two shits about how much deertongue is in the latest iteration of Crooner, why it matters who is making 300 blends he will never try, and what our fascination is with posting pics of whichever pipe we are currently using for a smoke.

Then he'd click on the link to somewhere and absolutely have a coronary at the price of pipes today.

 

[sablebrush52]

What a fun question!
What's with all of the anti smoking attitude. Whadaya mean I can't smoke in my office or at the diner. WTF??!! Bloody fascists!
Where did all the pipe shops go?
Buy "on line? What the hell is "on line"?
Where did all the pipe smokers go?
My god, the prices! I just bought a tin of Balkan Sobranie for 95¢!
What happened to my choices? There are only two types of Capstan and they're made in goddamned Denmark? Dunhill is made in Denmark? Lemme try a sample...pffft! This is crap! A horse wouldn't piss on it. Alfred must be spinning in his grave!
What's with all these high priced pipes? Are people so frivolous with their hard earned cash? And those weird Danish shapes! Denmark again. How much are they asking? Who the hell would buy that crap!
Whadaya mean I can't buy Revelation? It's good enough for Einstein.
Escudo is made in Denmark? You gotta be kidding me.
All this stuff tastes the same, blech!
This forum thing is much better than the newsletters I get in the mail. But why is everybody so hung up on the "right way" to smoke a pipe? Just stuff some tobacco in the damned thing and fucking light it. What a buncha pansies.
Pipe clubs? I don't get it. I just head over to my neighborhood tobacconist and hang out, solving the world's problems in 10 minutes.
Where's the Sugar Barrel?
No wonder pipe smoking is nearly dead...

 

[Servant King]

I'd probably pass out. Chiefly from sticker shock. I'd be thanking my lucky stars for my own pocket change, though...they still made silver coins back then!

 

[DeaconPiper]

Awesome question. Great responses, Sablebrush52

 

[warren]

I think people in general worry too much about crap they have absolutely no control over. I'd simply look over the current situation, find a blend or four I enjoy and ... enjoy. Is pipe smoking going away? Why should I give it a thought. If it goes away I'll simply have more discretionary moneys to spend on other stuff. Maybe something healthier or, maybe not. Using tobacco is something I do. It is not my reason for living, not even in the top ten.

 

[Joe H]

Fun question! My dad smoked a pipe from the 1930s until he gave up smoking in the 1970s. He was one of those guys who didn’t worry about things he didn’t control, he was a decent church-going guy and he slept well. If he’d have survived until now or had been transported from the ‘60s to modern times, I’m sure he’d be amazed that pipe smokers treated tobacco like wine connoisseurs. He blasted through pounds of OTC drug store stuff as much for mosquito protection as for pleasure. His fanciest pipe was a Kaywoodie Super Grain. The amounts of money spent on pipes or rare tobacco these days would have astounded him. At the same time, in his day all of the magazines had famous people smoking nice pipes with beautiful women pictured around them so I’m sure he would have wondered what it was like to be one of the monied up famous types. But he wasn’t given to talking about such things.

 

[LeafErikson]

Better put blinders on the poor guy to get him to this site or he'd likely have a coronary at the state of the world. lol

This legitimately made me laugh out out.

 

[lraisch]

Since I picked up the pipe in 1966, I'm almost qualified to answer.

First where are all the affordable pipes? I can't imagine spending more than $25 for a pipe. In 1974 I took three trips to a tobacconist before I could convince myself to spend $50 for a Comoy Blue Riband.

What happened to all of the tinned blends? Where are the royal warrant Dunhill tins, Four Square, State Express and Craven mixture?

What do you mean, people buy used pipes or "aged" tobacco?

Can I go back to my own time now?

 

[TheIronMonkey]

”What's with all of the anti smoking attitude. Whadaya mean I can't smoke in my office or at the diner. WTF??!! Bloody fascists!
Where did all the pipe shops go?
Buy "on line? What the hell is "on line"?
Where did all the pipe smokers go?
My god, the prices! I just bought a tin of Balkan Sobranie for 95¢!
What happened to my choices? There are only two types of Capstan and they're made in goddamned Denmark? Dunhill is made in Denmark? Lemme try a sample...pffft! This is crap! A horse wouldn't piss on it. Alfred must be spinning in his grave!
What's with all these high priced pipes? Are people so frivolous with their hard earned cash? And those weird Danish shapes! Denmark again. How much are they asking? Who the hell would buy that crap!
Whadaya mean I can't buy Revelation? It's good enough for Einstein.
Escudo is made in Denmark? You gotta be kidding me.
All this stuff tastes the same, blech!
This forum thing is much better than the newsletters I get in the mail. But why is everybody so hung up on the "right way" to smoke a pipe? Just stuff some tobacco in the damned thing and fucking light it. What a buncha pansies.
Pipe clubs? I don't get it. I just head over to my neighborhood tobacconist and hang out, solving the world's problems in 10 minutes.
Where's the Sugar Barrel?
No wonder pipe smoking is nearly dead...”—jpberg

Fixed it for you.

 

[OzPiper]

I was still wearing shorts in 1960. And living in Malaysia.
Both my parents smoked cigarettes, as did a lot of the adults I knew then.
I recall a photo of my younger brother with a pipe in hand, but have no recollection of Dad ever smoking a pipe.
Nor were there any pipe smokers amongst our relatives or family friends.

Cigarettes were a part of everyday life in Malaysia in the 1960s
As was chewing betel nuts.
But pipes - not so.

 

[Sigmund]

They would probably wonder why the screwed up SWR as that was the only blend sold in town.

 

[BingBong]

"Three Nuns? That's not Three Nuns!"

 

[Andre_T]

So imagine it's 1960, and you are a pipe-smoking individual, no specific city, no specific area. You are somehow magically transported to 2025 and shown these very forums. Specifically, what would you make of the current state of the pipe hobby / industry?

Personally, I think the most glaring thing would be how 'niche' pipe smoking has become, how uncommon it is to see people smoking a pipe in public.

Let me look on this here computer thing and see who was President in the 1980s.... Ronald Reagan?!?!?!?!.... THE ACTOR?!?!?!?!

 

[cosmicfolklore]

What do you mean "sit at a computer all day"? How does anyone get anything done? When you go anywhere, everyone is looking at their damned phone. Online dating, online orders, online socializing? These computer things are draining the intelligence right out of the masses. Turn that shit off and get outside and talk to girls. Buncha weirdos.

Also, it would depend on whether the guy came from the city or the country. A city guy might be dissapointed at the state of B&M's, but the country guy would wonder where all of the local twists and plugs went... or wonder what happened to their one blend they had the local General Store carry. "What happened to the general store?"

 

[MisterBadger]

"Three Nuns? That's not Three Nuns!"

Precisely what my father would have said

Regarding the taxes, legislation, health warnings etc., he might have added: "Whatever happened to free will and personal responsibility?"

and regarding the forum:

"Harmless I suppose, but they ought to get out more."

and regarding the internet:

"Online ordering? It'll put thousands out of work, including me."

Thanks for an interesting thought experiment.

 

[Sigmund]

"Where did the tobacco adds go?"
"Who Killed JFK?"

"What do you mean I cant smoke here? IM OUTSIDE! You people are nuts"

 

[pappymac]

My grandfather would be upset that he couldn't just walk into the drugstore and buy pipe tobacco.