Can Pipe Smoking Be a Cheap Habit?

[patiobum]

Do a lil math on the blend you smoke :
1 pound = 453 grams

1 ounce = 28.3 grams

3 grams = 1 bowl

1 pound = 151 bowls

1 ounce = 28.3 bowls
One pound = 453.6 grams. Using an average of 3 grams/bowl, the pound translates into 151.2 bowls. At 4-6 bowls/ day, it takes me 37.9 - 25.3 days.

 

[mrmachado]

My pipe (a good Savinelli in my opinion and in the opinion of others) costed the equivalent of US$75 and I hope it will last a long time.
So I have no reason to buy a corncob unless I would like to acquire a corncob for it being a corncob.
As for tobacco, a Seven Seas Gold Blend 40g pack costs US$10 here. I find it cheap.

 

[bassbug]

1 ounce = 28.3 grams

3 grams = 1 bowl

That would make roughly 9 bowls per ounce or 150 bowls per pound

 

[bluto]

Keeping all things equal and if I stopped purchasing , My all up , out of pocket , is coming in around 20 to 30 bucks a year .
That’s cheap , defined .

 

[bluto]

If you want to get more analytical and thorough
Try to factor in appreciation cost of a well stocked tobacco vault and the value of your pipe collection
.. a rough back of the envelop , I think , is coming in at break even or better if you someday liquidate the asset

 

[geejay61]

Well, if the main reason for smoking a pipe must be cheap.....why would you???

 

[warren]

geejay61: Nicotine.

 

[mso489]

Between cigarettes, cigars, and pipes, pipes are the most thrifty way to go, puff for puff. There are excellent inexpensive pipes beginning with MM cobs, and selective bag or bulk tobacco is perhaps as good as any. If you smoke moderately -- which I'd define as a bowl or two a day -- and limit the number of pipes you own and the amount of tobacco you store, pipe smoking can be a truly thrifty habit. I disagree that keeping the expenditure low diminishes one's experience.

 

[bluto]

Tobacco as another form or currency , it is possible
think of it as just another store of value , like real property , precious metals , art , wine etc ..

 

[mrmachado]

@geejay61 It must be cheap because I have basically no money to spend.
But I also shifted to pipes due to many other reasons.
The ritual, the beauty, the aroma, the flavours etc. All of this costing less than cigars and cigarettes.
What more can I want?

 

[Briar Baron]

For all the opinions given above, pipe smoking comes out on top for so many reasons! (including cost)

 

[saltedplug]

In 16 years of smoking I estimate I spent at least $50,000.00 on pipes, pipe tobacco, racks, tampers, cleaners, cigars, humidors, humidifiers. Not a lot but not a little. Reasonable expenditures, I thought, at the time. Glad I smoked but wish I would have saved more, too.

 

[mrmachado]

@saltedplug Damn, I could afford this I would be a happier man for sure.
Not sure if I would have a pipe collection or stuff like that, because my idea is to have a couple of favourite estimation pipes and no more, but I'd spend a lot on expensive tobacco and a lot on Montecristos.
Not to mention the scotches.

 

[pappymac]

@saltedplug - That's roughly $3,125 a year. I probably average about $350 a year on pipe smoking and most of that is pipe tobacco and estate pipes. I haven't bought a new pipe from a retailer for myself in about three years.
Edit: I did go wild about 5 years ago and spent around $500 on tobacco to build up my cellar. Now I buy maybe a tin or two a month to replace what I smoked from my cellar. This doesn't include tobacco and pipes I've been given for Father's Day, Birthday, Christmas or our anniversaries. My wife decided its easier to just buy me pipe stuff than try and figure out anything else to give me.

 

[haparnold]

I would say smoking averages out to about $300 a year for me at most, though since hanging around this bunch of enablers wonderful people, I've definitely increased my tobacco expenditures. Mostly due to tobaccopocalypse fears.

 

[seanv]

When I was getting my cellar going and building a rotation of pipes I spent way too much, my wife loves to remind me of that. Now I have a decent cellar that will last me a few years and enough pipes to keep me going. I have learned to love cobs for various reasons and smoke them with more regularity now than ever. I reserve my briar for when I have time to sit back and really enjoy myself.

Tins of tobacco here run you $38-$50 and even pouches of Borkum Riff are nearly $40. My purchasing has been done mostly online which has saved me some money even with taxes and currency exchange. I feel almost guilty ordering online when the local B&M has always been so good to me, I make sure to buy a tin at least once a month and buy all my accessories from them. I have also bought most of my pipes locally as well.

I guess the long and short of it is that yes, pipe smoking can be done economically, but cheap is defined personally.

 

[curl]

I thinking pipe smoking can be cheap, but it costs money to figure out what you like.

I have too many briars and I only use them out of guilt for buying them or because maybe i can impress some of the people at the table.

And I have lots of blends that won’t see the light of day for a long time.

It took a while to figure out my favorite pipe is the MM Rob Roy and the blends I enjoy are a small fraction of all that I own.

 

[saltedplug]

pappymac: My wife decided its easier to just buy me pipe stuff than try and figure out anything else to give me.

I've got to say that such marital accommodation around your pipe smoking is a sign of the maturity of the relationship. Not all couples go so far. 8)
As regards the $50,000.00, I think it's accurate. I smoked in two phases: 2001-2012. I quit because I thought I should given symptoms only a quarter of what they were last April. In the meantime I went to cigars in 2010 and sold about $3000.00 of my pipe tobacco cellar for an initial inventory, which for me meant three humidors reasonably stocked. As an amateur one often must sell for less than they paid, while a professional knows how to be paid retail. After the initial amateur sale I periodically sold other parts for more cigar cash. By the time I "quit" I still had enough for a big pipe (70)/tobacco/cigar/humidor sale.
I've found quitting easy and staying quit hard, and thus a month later started bumming cigarettes, which led to buying them and a return to the pipe in the fall of 2012. From a few cobs and tins I bought back much of what I'd sold. Buy retail/sell wholesale X 2, given my recent sales. How to spend $50,000.00, at least.

 

[cstanford]

My whole life is done on the cheap, not necessarily by choice, but there it is anyway. Yes, you can enjoy tobacco smoked in pipes pretty darned inexpensively.

 

[mrmachado]

My whole life is done on the cheap, not necessarily by choice, but there it is anyway. Yes, you can enjoy tobacco smoked in pipes pretty darned inexpensively.

And so is life for some of us. But it can be very enjoyable still.