Does anyone else plan out their pipe collection?

[tarheel1]

Thinking about and for the most part I have my purchases and collection of pipes planned out over the next few years. I talk with 4 different British carvers and pretty much every detail and when I get the pipes are planned. Unless iit is something that I find extraordinary or simply a deal I can't refuse, I don't vary from the list.
So does anyone plan out their collection ? I only have 5 pipes on hand and one on the way and all but the Dunhill 5102 were planned.

 

[warren]

My planning consists of only buying a pipe which catches my eye in a shop. I never plan a purchase and might buy a pipe every couple of years or so. I neither amass nor collect. I have no idea when I might come across something I like.

 

[disinformatique]

You need to plan collections? :puffpipe:

 

[ssjones]

I've maintained a "Holy Grail" list of makers & shapes I want to add. It grew to 20 pipes, and now all but three shapes have been acquired.

 

[condorlover1]

I just buy one style all made of meerschaum. I will continue to buy until I either die or run out of space!

 

[shikano53]

Since I've gone through the newbie frenzy of buying every pipe I saw, I now have a somewhat more rational idea of pipe shapes and form that I like so in that respect, I plan out what I would like to purchase or acquire. I do have a list of what I would like to collect, but I have a feeling it will take considerable time.

 

[pylorns]

I mostly planned out last year, this year I have a few additions I want to make. A comoy blue riband, a good quality calabash.

 

[zitotczito]

No, I like it, I buy it, especially if it's a Rhody.

 

[peckinpahhombre]

Impulse. That pretty much describes me.

 

[gloucesterman]

I limit myself to Rhodies and Dogs but that actual purchase is made based on impulse or opportunity. Both happen frequently.

 

[pipestud]

GREAT thread, Tarheel! !!!
Here's my story - http://pipestud.com/301/1619175.html

 

[stickframer]

Very cool story pipestud!
I have no method to the madness yet, but having a coherent collection sounds like a great idea. :lol:
There is no rhyme, nor reason for the pipes I've bought, other than I liked how they looked and happened to have some money at the time.

 

[tarheel1]

Well when I got back into pipe smoking in Dec of 2014 after a 4 year break I decided to work on a 7 day set of British Bent Bulldogs. I was going to focus on Dunhill 5108, Ashton, Ferndown, and Upshall. Unfortunately the 5108s are no longer made and I can't get an Upshall made like I want, so I had to look at other makers and discovered Chris Askwith and Ian Walker and built a relationship with them as well as Les Wood. With this I have decided to work on a 7 day set of bent bulldogs in a group 5 size as well as bent billiards in a group 5. The t will take me many years to complete these sets as funds are pretty tight and even direct from the artist, they are dnot cheap.I currently have 2 Ferndown bulldogs with one on the way, one Askwith bulldog, and one Northern Briars bulldog. For Christmas I got a Dunhi Shell 5102 and my first bent billiard for my collection.
Les Wood and I have a list of pipes we will work on over the next few years as does Chris Askwith when I can afford them. Had something lined up with Jimmy Craig and Ian Walker but they might have fallen in the cracks. Maybe being broke I will appreciate the journey and focused of a specific collection. It stops me from just buying pipes and gives my collection structure.

 

[iamn8]

I've for the most part stopped purchasing pipes, reducing my intake to a single commission. That counts as planning I suppose.

 

[disinformatique]

I will not be buying any pipes in 2016 for myself.Currently I am working towards paying for my 2015 commitments. Most of the estates I purchased will go to my website for sale.
Chris

 

[friendlyneighborhood]

I didn't at first, now I do. I'm hoping in the future to work my way around the world, but as an American, there's a whirlwind in pipe making artistry happening under my nose. I can't ignore it. My plan is to get one (or more) from all the best, talented, and/or coveted old guard carvers of the US. There aren't any specific plans laid out, foreign-born carvers making pipes in the US are okay and actually refreshing, they can inject new life into the American pipe scene. I may spend decades focusing on just American carvers, I may get bored and go outside of the US. I have owned plenty of pipes from around the world, but now that I've made a plan, I'm trying to stick with it.
This also means, for me, buying less pipes. Less commissions. More hunting, getting better connections, buying what I really want, timeless pieces, pipes I won't regret in 3 months time. I'm very guilty of this, but lesson learned. Quality over quantity.

 

[stickframer]

Right on Tarheel. Progress being made!

Quality over quantity

This is what I've got to focus on.

 

[buroak]

I do not have something so bourgeois as a pipe collection. My pipe collective, on the other hand, is directed by strict Five Year Plans and the occasional purge.

 

[voorhees]

Since I tend to stumble onto pipes(estates) without much thought, its very random. I like the thrill of the hunt and not knowing what the find may be. Its a surprise every time.

 

[sablebrush52]

It's really interesting to read how different people approach this, and reading Pipestud's story was a treat. Those Barling's don't come cheap.
My "plan" is to achieve a motley assortment of smoking implements generally known as pipes and in that vein, I've succeeded beyond my wildest dreams. That I've built within that "plan" a concentration of Barlings is more testament to the OCD tendencies within me, than to any particular design. I have about 72 of them, which is a bit surprising. I have no idea how that happened