A return to The Pipe..& thereby hangs a tale.....

[widge]

....so please indulge me a little? And heartfelt greetings from the UK!
I would so much appreciate any wisdom and/or encouragement you feel you might offer.

I last smoked a pipe in the early '80's when I was still young (ish) and dashing-(opinions varied!) but mostly have been a dreaded 'pack a day ciggy-smoker' since. We call them 'fags' here but I guess that has other meanings over the pond?

To cut a long story short....I 'enjoyed' smoking-could never seem to give up, and closed my mind to the risks as so many have and continue. I became however, increasingly conscious of my own mortality as I approach 60 so embraced 'vaping' whole-heartedly a couple of years ago. Enjoyed this immensely although I realise this is anathema to pipe afficianados...but I bought into the whole 'thinginess of it; building my own mods and revelling in all the brass and stainless steelness. I am rather 'blokey' when it comes to 'things!
I still 'dual fueled' and alternated between cigs and vape but felt encouraged that I could ultimately quit the noxious cigarettes for vape at a stroke when I decided the time was right. But my loving wife developed an allergy to the PG in vape or in some ingredient common to the flavourings and I stopped vaping at home (even in the Wood-Shed) and my cig smoking went back up to previous levels.
A couple of months ago I began to feel very unwell...vague but very real symptoms of sickness, dizziness and malaise and feared..after a lifetime of medium to heavy smoking-the worst outcome. A visit to the doctor ensued and he suggested that although I wasn't presenting with the most obvious symptoms of lung disease....he would run bloods and offered me a chest xray..The bloods didn't show anything untoward and I have taken a cowardly rain-cheque on the xray. I have however....NOT had a cig for some 3 weeks now-but without vape as well I have found it really HARD. It occurred to me to look out my old pipe and maybe just savour a bowlful or 2 a day to somewhat ameliorate my withdrawal angst-although I know this is WEAK-MINDED!
I found my trusty 'Falcon' but discovered that these days hardly anyone smokes a pipe any more and tobacco was almost impossible to obtain or at best limited in choice. My first few bowlfuls of 'SuperMarket' baccy were most distasteful...hot-bitter-not at all how I remembered it!
A little internet research, however came up with the notion that for starters , a 'cob' pipe was very cheap and forgiving (although laughed-at by pipe-afficianados) and there were still bespoke tobacconists online who could still supply a blend for any taste/preference.
I ended up buying a MM 'Dwarf Cobbit (!) pipe and 50g of a tobacco likened unto a blend called Lanes 1q or some such which I found most delicious. The pipe -amazingly- smokes beautifully cool and is very small and manageable. I have been treating myself to just one or two bowlfuls a day and somehow am kidding myself that I have made a small but possibly meaningful lifestyle change/improvement...but am I really just kidding myself?
It's a tricky one for me. I recognize that the cigs where(are?) probably killing me-but there art of course many aspects of smoking that I simply ENJOY...and going cold turkey,however sensible and advisable, is beyond my strength of will just now. (I think)
Shame the vaping didn't work out...BUT...I am liking very much my interim solution and am glad to have found a surprisingly pleasant compromise with my trusty cob and light blend baccy for now.
Thanks for reading thus far.

Does any of this strike a chord with any of you?
...or am I barking up a gum-tree? Any wisdom/recommendation/advice/encouragement or admonishment greatfully received.
All Best
Widge

 

[jazz]

I can relate to what you talk of. I took up the pipe originally to give up the fags. I still smoke them when I go to the pub but have pretty much got rid of the things in the rest of my life and feel better because of it.
You are not kidding yourself when you say you have made a meaningful lifestyle change but smoking has risks no matter what method you use. Pipe smoking is the best and least damaging way to enjoy tobacco in my opinion. Make sure you don't inhale. You're not meant to and you would be amazed how many people don't know that. There are some who disagree with that, even here, to that I say whatever. Try as many different blends as possible and your enjoyment will forever increase.
The pipe is an exquisite pleasure when you find tobacco you really love and you get the hang of it. Either give up tobacco completely or stick with the pipe is what I say. Cigars are fine too but damn expensive where we live. Good ones that is.
Also, stay around this forum. It really is the mother lode of pipe and tobacco information. It is also very entertaining.
Oh, and welcome to the forums.

 

[aldecaker]

Welcome aboard! Cigarettes, IMHO, are the most harmful form of smoking tobacco, so anything that helps you smoke fewer is a plus, in my book. Congratulations on your purchase. Anyone who scoffs at cobs is not a pipe aficionado, they are an idiot. Pipes are a smoking device, not a vehicle for one's snobbery or personal vanities!

 

[newbroom]

Congratulations fellow nicotine addict. You've discovered the best way to acquire your drug.

I've had a love/hate relationship with nicotine for decades.

I rolled my own cigarettes for many years, between several year's long 'quits'.

Now that I 'use' a pipe, I feel much better about the leaf and myself.

Major improvement both physically and mentally.

 

[fitzy]

Welcome aboard and keep on piping!

 

[beerandbaccy]

Welcome.... one thing though, go have the x-ray. I had to have a brain CT scan the other day with thoughts of a brain tumour and it was very nerve-racking. The all-clear was a marvellous thing and a massive weight of my mind! Knowledge is power!!
::

 

[oldreddog]

Widge Howya. I'd sooner take my chances with a pipe than vaping.

I'd suggest that the otc you got in the UK are smoking hot because you are smoking a pipe like a Harry rag. Slow down with the pipe and your tounge and taste buds will thank you. Also dry your tobacco and little.

I'm suspecting you bought Clan. :P
Their is such a variety of flavours in pipe tobacco as to knock the ciggies into a cocked hat.

If you pm we your address I'll send you a broad spectrum of tobacco to sample.

 

[spanishkarl]

There are several online tobacconists in the UK that deliver. Look them up!

 

[mso489]

Cobs laughed at by pipe afficianados? Not hereabouts. This is more like the temple of the cob pipes. Welcome aboard! Feel free with questions. The only dumb question is the one not asked, etc. Pipe interests here run the gambit from museum pieces by the classic carvers priced at thousands, to basket, factory, and no-name pipes, especially if they smoke well.

 

[warren]

When it comes to smoking, tobacco in any shape or form. I admit to be totally self-centered. I smoke cigarettes, pipes and cigars. In the Air Force I chewed on the flight line. I accept the risks and embrace the nicotine. I will do all possible to turn others from the habit though as it is a waste to burn up money and risk one's health. That said, I do so love my nicotine. It's not a hobby for me, it's an addiction I can live and die with. Unless, of course, some compelling reason arises which causes me to rethink the life style. That would be money of course and, thank goodness, I have a sufficient supply of that for my one, chosen vice.
I firmly believe smoking is a good indicator of fiscal irresponsibility and personal idiocy. I am the poster child for that type of idiocy I suppose.
So, if you accept the risks, can afford the costs, have at it and enjoy. I would still caution against it.

 

[mawnansmiff]

"I firmly believe smoking is a good indicator of fiscal irresponsibility and personal idiocy."
Perfectly put Warren :clap:
However, if one is determined to rely on nicotine then smoking a pipe is by far the least dangerous of the many methods one could employ.
I was a RYO smoker for 30 odd years afore I took to the pipe late 2015 and to me that was the biggest lifestyle change I ever made in my life.
As regards baccy, you would do well to have a look at Mysmokingshop.com and see the broad range they have on offer. They too are UK based and I've never had any issues with them.
Also you ought take up Dave's (Oldreddog) generous offer of some free samples to try.
Welcome to the forum by the way ::
Regards,
Jay.

 

[Chasing Embers]

A little internet research, however came up with the notion that for starters , a 'cob' pipe was very cheap and forgiving (although laughed-at by pipe-afficianados) and there were still bespoke tobacconists online who could still supply a blend for any taste/preference.

If they laugh at a cob, they are not afficianados. Each material brings a different facet to the smoking experience. I hang my cobs on the same rack as my artisans. Love them all!

 

[widge]

Well...first of all...can I say a sincere THANKYOU for your responses and warm welcome!!

I feel somewhat encouraged, emboldened and HUMbled by you taking the time to respond!
So much wisdom and empathy....
@jazz...yup...embracing the pipe is something I should have pursued before developing my pack-a-day habit. Hindsight is a curse!(And I am enjoying this forum already)
@aldecaker, chasingembers and mso489 - I kind of got the fact that 'The Cob' is in fact regarded by non-snobs as the quintessential smoke. My 'cobbit' smokes way better than the 'Basket Pipes' I started with years ago. Wish I'd known!(although it is already falling to bits.)

I also had a Falcon 'Alco' back then, which was my favourite smoke but have since bought a proper 'Falcon' standard which is better/cooler than the Alco which was simply a 'metal' pipe and lacked the clever spirally tube thing. (I still prefer my Cob to the Falcon though!)
@ beerandbaccy ...

I know you are right!....I still don't feel well....I just lack the courage to bite the bullet. It might be 'good news' but on the other hand it just doesn't bare thinking about. However-I suppose in the end what will be, will be...thanks for emboldening me.
newbroom and fitzy. Your encouragement is much appreciated! And warren seems to have a good philosophy going there!!
Mawnansmiff and Karl- I have indeed discovered mysmokingshop.com which supplied me with some starter baccy light-years better than anything I can get OTC...(and NO...it wasn't 'Clan'! Even I knew from bitter experience that clan smoked even worse than it smelled!)
Finally-oldreddog. Are you serious? I would just love to be in a position to sample a few choice blends and see exactly what the world has to offer that isn't just 'St.Bruno'. ....Your offer is kindness itself but I hardly feel worth the effort. (and suspect I live rather a long way from you in deepest rural Devon.) I thank you anyway.I would be happy to pm you?
I'll keep you all informed if I may with my journey unto the Pipe and keep you updated?
Many many thanks.
Widge

 

[mawnansmiff]

"...starter baccy light-years better than anything I can get OTC..."
Widge, there is nothing wrong with the majority of British OTC blends such as Condor, Mellow Virginia and (granted the new version of) Three Nuns, it's just a matter of selecting the wheat from the chaff...Clan being a typical example of chaff.
By the way, we are close neighbours, me being based next door in Sunny Cornwall ::
Regards,
Jay.

 

[geejaycutty]

Well, I wish you all that you might need in the war with quiting ciggies. For me the struggle began 15 years ago. Sinc half a year I only smoke pipes. The last step to be taken was my question: Why do you smoke ciggies?? I couldn't answer that question so I take a pipe and I will do that over and over again. Quitting ciggies will be a lifetime struggle. All IMHO.

 

[seagullplayer]

For me I don't need a study to tell me that between cigarettes and pipe, pipe is the lesser evil.
You might think it would be the cheaper option too. I think that can be so, but a guy would have to stay away from places like this. Folks around here will have ya talked into spending more on pipes than you ever dreamed a sane man would.
Welcome aboard.

 

[PaulTheScandinavian]

All right, My own story in regerds with cigarette smoking has very similar to Mr, Jay described,of course I shall confess I did not manage to quit fags completly, it seem be a lifetime battle as just one member described here,nevertheless I smoke 'em very much in lesser quantity than it was beforedays,nevertheless when drinking beer at bar /Pub or at home somehow I still seem do prefer smoking cigarettes,but that habit too will come to end someday in the near future(you know,prices are in constant rise and the quality of descent cigarettes are eventually dropping in the whole Eu region)Only one thing I'm concerned about this so called pipe hobby cost me a pretty descent amount of money so far,and me and only is who to blame- during this very year I went through all my old pipes replacing em with brand new ones,the lates being ordered from Mr Simon the owner of Mysmokingshop England,I'd like to suggest you to have a look see at his Chacom pipe collection,they pretty affordable priced, costing there less than in any other tobacco shop in England(I bet You,I just recently made an online reserch on this subject)So far you're in right direction,yet forget those vapers, in my humble opinion they look childish in adults hands,aren't they. Welcome to community, and Greets, Paul

 

[widge]

Thanks all...
Yup......much as I 'bought into' the whole vaping scene...it didn't ultimately enable to drop the ciggies, whereas, since I first fired up my old Falcon Alco I haven't had a single one (that's over 3 weeks now and a world record for me!) Admittedly, I'm also trying to face down a bit of health-scare too-but already feel a little better? (I think??). Certainly the wood-shed and car no longer reek of nasty fag-smoke, and nither does my wif.. I've been trying to smoke my pipe for indulgent enjoyment only, and not the habitual reach for yet another cig every 1/2 hour. This means waiting until the sun is over the yard-arm before filling a (very small) cobbit-dwarf-bowl of Gawith and Hoggarths American 'Delite' and pouring myself a finger or two of Brandy....(I'm sorry to break the Tradition Of the Old West-but I can't bear the taste of Scotch/Bourbon! Mea Culpa.) Eerm-then I usually do it again!
My friends on 'Planet Of the Vapes' are wondering where I've gone. Did I ought to tell them?
Paulie....hell hath no fury like a paypal account and the world of vape mods, tubes, tanks, liquids, batteries and all manner of chunky brass. copper and steel-but although I bought shedloads of the stuff, part of my enjoyment /gratification was getting the most out of 'cheap' and not TOO cheesy kit. I can see this all going the same way! ..I am having a lot of fun with cheap and cheesy cobs and my Falcon.

But I can quite see that the sky is the limit in the world of bespoke Briar!
All things in moderation. I am now really starting to SAVOUR those delayed gratification moments with my Cob. I have no idea about tobacco types/blends or what might take my fancy, although I'm glad (thanks to 'my-smoking-shop.co.uk) to have found something palatable to start with. Oldreddog (bless his cotton overalls) has vouchsafed to edicate me a little with this however.
Nice to be here.
All Best
Widge

 

[PaulTheScandinavian]

Dear Mr Widge, You're correct, Yet I also might need a new one Corn cob, I had one originalMissouri meerschaum which I bought directlty at their factory shop,thanks to a wide range of various models and reasonable shipping prices which was important factor too. And I really did like that my corn pipe,until something work happened,due to my misuse, obviously was smoking too hot or something like ,

Enjoy Your new 'hobby as they use to call it in our days, I find this pipe thing'being a pretty rewarding progress,,