Do You Still Have Your First Pipe?
- Thread starter mikethompson
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Nope, I bought a few corn cobs over the years and smoked OTC blends until I inherited some of my grandpa's pipes and started buying some nice briar of my own. Have plenty of cobs but I don't know what happened to the first few I bought, probably lost in a move or something.
No. I had a corncob that I smoked a blend called Paul Bunyon that my brother bought through Thompson cigar catalog. I smoked that thing till it bled tar, then tossed it. I took a couple years off then bought a bent apple from Viking Classics. I still it and it's my best smoker right now but I have high hopes for my Mastro Beraldi.
Yes but I never smoke it because it's a P-Lip and I now realise that I hate them. One day I will get around to having a new stem made for it.
Technically this is not my first pipe. When I was a small boy and on holiday in Turkey my cousin and I took a fancy to some small meerschaum pipes we found in a shop next to the Temple of Apollo in Didyma. There was likely a little nagging involved but we both ended up with one each and I sincerely wish I still had it. So the truthful answer is no I suppose. I did actually still have this pipe when I grew up and moved away but over the years since and during one of many moves, it has vanished, sadly.
Technically this is not my first pipe. When I was a small boy and on holiday in Turkey my cousin and I took a fancy to some small meerschaum pipes we found in a shop next to the Temple of Apollo in Didyma. There was likely a little nagging involved but we both ended up with one each and I sincerely wish I still had it. So the truthful answer is no I suppose. I did actually still have this pipe when I grew up and moved away but over the years since and during one of many moves, it has vanished, sadly.
First pipe was a cob that I destroyed years ago. First briar was a Kaywoodie prince that is one my main rope pipes. Just smoked it the other day and it is a decent smoker once you get used to smoking with the stinger.
No. However, I remember it clearly. Bought around 2000, a no-name bent apple made of what I think was cherry root (?) wood. Enjoyed it for a couple of months. Then a fellow pipe-smoker advised to "sweeten" it by pouring cognac inside the bowl. I knew nothing about pipes and there were almost no info on the internet. So I poured the bowlful and went travelling over weekend. By my return the pipe cracked in two neat halves.
I still have my second pipe though (churchwarden, "briar guarantee") and still use it occasionally.
I still have my second pipe though (churchwarden, "briar guarantee") and still use it occasionally.
Mine was a Butz Choquin which is now dedicated to Ennerdale Flake.
Chris.
Chris.
Yes, I still have it. My first real pipe I purchased in 1965 at age 14
at the most wonderful small shop on Burd Street in Nyack New York.
It was called "The Calabash"...
I was lucky that day; the older gentleman who came in only on occasion
waited on me. Seeing I was young and likely didn't have much money
(correctly so), he said "let me find you a good pipe". After checking out
a few, he pulled one off the shelf and handed it to me. I told him that
"I like this one". It's a quarter bent Charatan's second, a pot shape with
a flat bottom and the only mark - London England.
The man then scrutinized the pipe, and could not find any reason for
it to be a second. No flaws, no fills, perhaps only that it was just a bit
small for that shape. I got a great pipe for under $15.
I later learned the mysterious older man was one of the worlds foremost
tobacconists, and had worked for and consulted almost everyone
in the tobacco industry. Over the next 16 years or so, I learned a lot
from him about tobaccos every chance I got.
Sadly, the shop was closed in the early 80's. Naturally there were some
great deals on all my favorite pipes. Myself by this time being a shopkeeper
just around the corner on Main Street, purchased some of the unique
fixtures including a beautiful golden oak humidor display case with a
Corinthian style pillar holding a wooden Indian.
at the most wonderful small shop on Burd Street in Nyack New York.
It was called "The Calabash"...
I was lucky that day; the older gentleman who came in only on occasion
waited on me. Seeing I was young and likely didn't have much money
(correctly so), he said "let me find you a good pipe". After checking out
a few, he pulled one off the shelf and handed it to me. I told him that
"I like this one". It's a quarter bent Charatan's second, a pot shape with
a flat bottom and the only mark - London England.
The man then scrutinized the pipe, and could not find any reason for
it to be a second. No flaws, no fills, perhaps only that it was just a bit
small for that shape. I got a great pipe for under $15.
I later learned the mysterious older man was one of the worlds foremost
tobacconists, and had worked for and consulted almost everyone
in the tobacco industry. Over the next 16 years or so, I learned a lot
from him about tobaccos every chance I got.
Sadly, the shop was closed in the early 80's. Naturally there were some
great deals on all my favorite pipes. Myself by this time being a shopkeeper
just around the corner on Main Street, purchased some of the unique
fixtures including a beautiful golden oak humidor display case with a
Corinthian style pillar holding a wooden Indian.
nope. It was a cob that was reccomended as a cheap way to try out pipe smoking. I think the pipe cost less then three dollars at that time. I hated it, and realized later that what I didn't like about it was the wide open draw. I think I gave it to a friend the moment I bought a "real" pipe which I also lost somehow. Though I still have my third pipe the Brebbia Iceberg from way back in the long ago circa 93. Since then I have kept all my pipes except for the clays which just all met with misadventure.
My first pipe is a MM pride. Bought it on a whim around 5 years ago. It was very forgiving as I learned how to smoke it and still treats me very well.
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