Culling Pipes, Or Not

[frozenchurchwarden]

I'm constantly wishy washy on whether or not to sell a few excess pipes. There are definitely a few designes on my shelf that I don't appreciate very much, but I also got a good deal on them, and if I think to myself "If I saw this pipe available for the price I'm willing to sell it for, would I buy it?" Usually the answer is yes, even if I'm not a huge fan of the pipe.
At least the thought of selling a pipe gets me to pull it out and polish it.

 

[skraps]

I have 2 drawers full of pipes that I don't smoke. There are even a few on the racks that don't see any action.
Problem for me is that almost every one of these have some sort of meaning to me. I have found it hard to consider parting with them. It's not sensible, but for most of us the decisions we make about pipes and tobacco seldom are. Maybe one day I will get the courage to actually say it's time for them to go.

 

[killerchameleon]

I don't plan on selling any of my pipes, ever. I will give them away, that way I don't lose any fond memories and experience with that particular pipe I've just passed it on and expanded it.

 

[saltedplug]

In 2012 I quit smoking, for two weeks. I sold everything I had and made some money, but in so doing I received maybe a third of what I'd paid. I sold most of what I had in the forums. A "friend" bought my pipe collection at the same rate. 18 months later I began to buy it all back, and in that effort I have succeeded.
My point is that the buyers make a killing off of sellers, particularly the stores. If I quit again, I plan to sell nothing.
Trading 3 or 4 pipes to buy one pipe makes no sense to me, either, though early on I did that.

 

[winton]

The olive wood pipe in this picture will probably be for sale at the next Chicago Pipe Show. It smokes well, but it is just to big for me. I think I have smoked it twice in two years. Let someone else enjoy it.

 

[saltedplug]

The way to get value from tobacco is to smoke it, and the way to get value from a pipe is to smoke it and never sell it.

 

[mso489]

What's most interesting about posts so far is that people have such distinct feelings about this. I think the non-cullers outnumber those who thin out the herd. I've gotten to the place that, while I'd like to apply some pipes toward one or two I'd like to own, I can't really identify any I'd like to give up, so in a sense I've joined the non-cullers.

 

[disinformatique]

After getting around 100 pipes in 2015 and still paying for them well into the second quarter of 2016. I have become a strong proponent of thinning the herd. I however, have the first pipe I bought, an estate gr.1 very Stanwell-esque in looks Nording and my first ever "new" pipe a Rick Black cherrywood style freehand sitter. I wont be selling these pipes, but all of the rest are fair game as my tastes change and I stock better pipes in my collection.
I have sold 2 of my personal pipes till date. No regrets. One was an estate Radford Billiard and the second was a Peterson Aran 150FT Bully I bought in 2014 and sold in 2015.
Chris :puffpipe:

 

[iamn8]

I've gotten rid of far more pipes than I currently own. I tend to form an emotional attachment to my tools... Or I don't and move on.

 

[danielplainview]

Cosmic! The horror... The horror.
I'm always a little sad to see one go when I ship them out. I'm ok with it if they're going to a friend who will take care of them.

 

[buroak]

I have a problem pitching a pipe in the dustbin, unless it is a ruined cob. (I have never actually pitched one of my cobs, but I sometimes get a ruined one in a lot of fixer uppers.) Perhaps because I almost exclusively buy estate pipes, I tend to think of pipes as things worth saving; friends more than things, really. Some fall into the whipped dog category of friends, but those are often worth saving, too. In my view, a pipe can last longer than the lifespan of one owner, so I do not really think about them wearing out.
When I part with a pipe, I will sell it or give it to a friend. I tend to sell a pipe at a fixed price or take offers to keep the price high enough that the buyer will, I hope, feel obliged to care for it. Friends I know to be pipe abusers are not gifted pipes.

 

[mawnansmiff]

When I took to buying estates to refurb a few months ago it was to serve three purposes, one to provide me with some nice pipes, two for the very pleasure of the refurb process and thirdly to sell off any 'spares' to recoup my initial outlay & cost of materials.
To date I probably have in the region of 130 pipes (several more arriving this week) and have yet to let a single pipe go! I keep telling myself to get my finger out but said digit is well and truely stuck :?
Regards,
Jay.

 

[voorhees]

I have really slowed on my purchases lately. Having other things that need attention tend to use up any available finances. I would like to cull a few, but have not decided which ones. There are several that are seldom smoked and just sit in their stands.

 

[jpmcwjr]

?In general I am bad at getting rid of unused things. But sometimes inaction is our friend. My espresso grinder broke, but the backup which I considered selling, was/is a life saver.

 

[scrooge]

Can the pipes sent to smoking pipes be in any condition? Well atleast fixable condition. Also can they go towards baccy?

 

[gloucesterman]

I still have pipes I bought from Peretti's over 50 years ago. Each of my pipes has its own set of memories attached. I just can't part with a single one.

 

[mso489]

I'm pretty loyal to my pipes. I have the first one I bought, and all of the several that go back thirty years or more. And I like the idea of not culling. But here's a situation in which I think it makes sense. You have a lot of pipes, some treasures and some beat up favorites, and those wonderful gift or prize pipes that you are just going to keep. But there are a few that don't get smoked often, and though you could keep them on the rack, or in a drawer, you could also send them off for credit toward a pipe that you know from research and experience would please you more. If you send them for store credit to an out-of-state online retailer of repute, you'll never see them in someone else's maw, as one Forums member feared. And if you trade them in on another pipe you know you'd enjoy more, I say do it. It's not always an easy choice. I've had pipes that actually got better after five or ten years, or I grew to know and use them well. But a well-thought cull, with a good goal in mind, can be good.

 

[deathmetal]

deathmetal, if you have the self-disipline to keep your pipe count low, you probably will eventually burn out various ones, but my experience is to have enough pipes that would sustain me with at least some pipes until the age of 216. Then I'll decide how to dispose of them. By then I will have tried at least ten percent of the blends I fancy.

Damned if you do, and...
I'm just trying to keep things simple, but your warning is "on point" if you don't mind me saying so.
Off to buy more pipes...