A visit with my pipe smoking uncle.

[bogie]

I just took a took a big bag of baccy to my uncle. While there I shared some of my Autumn Evening with him. He has been a pipe smoker his whole life. I noticed that he only has four or five pipes. I also noticed that his regimen for his pipes is totally old school.
I offered him some of my baccy and he just dumped out what ever was in his pipe, loaded it with new baccy and lit right back up. He keeps his pipes in a large plastic jar with a lid. A lighter or two thrown here and there with some pipe cleaners and a yellow bottle of Yellow bole pipe sweetener. Hes had his pipes for years he said and they seemed perfectly fine. Not foul smelling at all and still look good.
I have only been smoking a pipe for about a year and a half. I already have a ritual I sort of do with all my pipes. Ive learned all I know about pipe smoking from this very forum and tons of videos. So i started thinking about how all those old timers have a nice ole pipe ready on a whim without the particulars that we seem to go through to keep them all in good shape. I guess for me the way i light or the sitting at a table and cleaning a pipe is just part of what i like about the whole pipe smoking experience. But for them old timers i guess it was just a tool for the tobacco. Im sure my uncle thoroughly enjoys his pipes even more than i do without any of the Hoo Haa that I do with my pipes.
All in all i enjoy everything about the pipe, and very much enjoyed my uncles company with a bowl of good tobacco.

 

[mp31guitar]

Glad you had a nice time. How did he like the new baccy?

 

[tobakenist]

Thats how old timers used to be in England to, my grandfather only had two pipes at any one time, hardy ever cleaned them, just ran a pipe cleaner through when thet got blocked and binned them when he thought they were worn out and then started on a new one, he only ever smoked Petersons and used to chew the hell out of his P-Lips and used to have a draw full of replacement stems that all had hand cut on them, he used to get these from Petersons shop in london and I still have a few of these in my spares case, wish I had a few of the pipes that he binned, he only smoked high grades and had been smoking Petersons from the early 1900's, I only have one of his pipes in my collection, it's one of his last ones from the 1950's and has hardly been smoked, I don't want to wear it out like he would have done, or maybe I should.

 

[matchstickman]

I offered him some of my baccy and he just dumped out what ever was in his pipe, loaded it with new baccy and lit right back up.

Now that is cool.

 

[bogie]

mp31guitar...he loved it lol. I think when next time ill get two and give him one. I wish i could have gotten one of my grandfathers pipes tobakenist I bet your grandpa would want you to smoke it. so smoke it up lol

 

[tobakenist]

Might just do that, no male airs to hand it down to, one daughter and two granddaughters and none of them smoke a pipe, must have brought then up wrong.

 

[billm67]

Thank you for this thread. Reading about it has reminded me of my Grandfather. He only smoke Dr. Grabow's and we would get him a new pipe and a can of Borkum Riff for Christams every year. He would clean it every now and again...but over the course of the year he would just plain wear it out. The Dr. Grabow's must have been different back then...because the ones I have aren't good smokers at all.

 

[buckeye]

nice,thanks for sharing.

 

[admin]

What Buckeye said.