Estate Pipe Purchase Refusal

[jvnshr]

Dear friends, I have something that I would like to share with you. I used to collect Zippos (I collect them very rarely now) and I was always buying NOS (new old stock), I have never purchased a used one. I could just buy a used vintage Zippo, clean and polish it and make it like a new one. Well, I just couldn't do that. Now same thing applies to the pipes I am buying. I haven't invested that much in pipes, however all the pipes I bought are new pipes. Sometimes I check ebay or other online retailers and I see really good estates there, however I don't feel like buying it. I guess it is something psychological. When I look at an estate pipe, I imagine someone smoking it, his lips on the stem, disgusting things like that which prevents me from buying it. I just don't want to own and use something that has been owned and used by someone else.
Please don't get me wrong. I am not going to blame people for buying estates. I even know that, if I buy an estate, I will clean it like hell and make it like a new one and then smoke it. I just hesitate. I am not going to ask if I am weird or so. I just wonder if there are other people around like me. By the way, some forum member said that "you will buy a pipe for $100 then smoke it and make it a used one which will cost $10, or you can just buy an estate for $10 and smoke it". Seems legit.

 

[iamn8]

Were it not for the estate marked, aka USED PIPES, I'd have a MUCH different selection of pipes. The way I see it, pipes are tools for smoke delivery. If I dine at someone's home, I eat using their eating tools, aka silverware and it doesn't bother me. I feel it's important to note that while attending college, I licked a dirty ashtray for cash, so my opinions might carry little weight, other than to say that your fear is a tad irrational, but so are most. Estate pipes are a brilliant way to obtain pipes which would otherwise be beyond your reach.

 

[stanlaurel]

I agree with Nate.

your fear is a tad irrational

I think that you should re-think your fear. Do you carry germicidal gel with you everywhere? Do you touch doorknobs and car-doors? We once had a family friend who refused to buy "used houses".
I have many estates. They are some of my best smokers.

 

[gogosamgo]

Jvnshr, you are not alone. What you described is exactly how I feel about estate pipes as well. I don't Think differently of anyone who purchases them, but it's just not for me. I've only purchased one estate so far, and it was an antique pipe I purchased purely for display purposes.

 

[iamn8]

Were I a man of vast wealth and resources, I'd buy only brand new pipes. Alas, I am not. As I see it, I had two choices. One, suck it up. I've swapt spit with many women I hardly knew and whose mouth had likely been places I'd rather not give thought to. Two, suck it up and buy seriously wicked pieces of briar normally beyond my reach. For me this was a no brainer, but to each their own

 

[fitzy]

I wonder if my wife thinks about my ex's lips on my stem. Sorry couldn't help myself.
I'm sort of in the same boat but I prefer to buy my estates from some of the places that refurbish and clean them up for you before you buy.
I have bought a few really clean barely smoked estates on eBay and made sure I cleaned them thoroughly.
I know some estate sellers put their pipes in ozone contraptions for a while to clear out any ghosts.
I would happily buy estates from Steve the pipe stud to name just one estate guy.

 

[newbroom]

Any new, or unsmoked pipes that I own were obtained in estate sale auctions and arrived as surprises.

One buy resulted in 9 unsmoked new 'old stock' Medico briars. I expect to make an attempt to turn those into something approaching artisan quality by selling them off.

Something to do and it doesn't break the bank.

 

[jvnshr]

Were it not for the estate marked, aka USED PIPES, I'd have a MUCH different selection of pipes. The way I see it, pipes are tools for smoke delivery. If I dine at someone's home, I eat using their eating tools, aka silverware and it doesn't bother me. I feel it's important to note that while attending college, I licked a dirty ashtray for cash, so my opinions might carry little weight, other than to say that your fear is a tad irrational, but so are most. Estate pipes are a brilliant way to obtain pipes which would otherwise be beyond your reach.

Nate, the problem is whenever I eat somewhere else than my own house I always check the silverware, glasses, etc. If they are clean I just wipe them with table napkin and use them, if they have even a small dot on them I will ask for another clean one. "licked a dirty ashtray for cash" wow, how much did you get paid for that? I totally understand that it is irrational, however my guess is it being psychological.

 

[jvnshr]

I think that you should re-think your fear. Do you carry germicidal gel with you everywhere? Do you touch doorknobs and car-doors?

Stan, I am not that type of guy, I can touch wherever you ask unless it bites or poisons me My fear (?) is mostly related with the things that I drink, eat or smoke.

Jvnshr, you are not alone. What you described is exactly how I feel about estate pipes as well. I don't Think differently of anyone who purchases them, but it's just not for me. I've only purchased one estate so far, and it was an antique pipe I purchased purely for display purposes.

Wow, at last I found someone

 

[tbradsim1]

After eating Grubs and Monkey in the Jungle, to me a clean Estate pipe is Heaven, Oh don't dine in any Resturant until they can assure you that they have purchased new China and Cuturly for you. JV not talking down to you, just Splaining Myself.

 

[demetrakopoulos]

The way I see it, pipes are tools for smoke delivery. If I dine at someone's home, I eat using their eating tools, aka silverware and it doesn't bother me.

That's actually a brilliant way of looking at it.
I also think estate pipes are the way to go. A good tobacco shop will clean the hell out of the pipe before putting it on display for purchase.
Also, I use stem bites on my pipes anyway, so my mouth isn't exactly touching the stem.

 

[oldreddog]

Fitzy, very drool :rofl:
OP, If its an issue that deep seated, you might be better just to buy new. I'd love to get my hands on a pre republic Peterson,for me the history would outweigh any other concerns.

 

[jvnshr]

Oh don't dine in any Resturant until they can assure you that they have purchased new China and Cuturly for you. JV not talking down to you, just Splaining Myself.

It is not that I want to be like that, the problem is I am like that and I cannot change it. I am talking about the estate pipes, not restaurants. Regarding the restaurant thing, I try to go to clean and nice places

 

[meatballj]

I think oldreddog makes a good point about certain historical pipes; there are some pipes that we just could not get if not for the estate market. They are no longer in production and for me, to touch, smoke and experience that briar and piece of history would out-weigh the idea of its prior use by a total stranger.
Though I will admit, I have a couple of estates found in local antique shops and even with a thorough cleaning and salt/alcohol treatment I have yet to smoke them. Whether that be because of always grabbing my old faithful standbys or some similar psychological bent as the OP, I'm not sure.
I have smoked estates that have been refurbished by the likes of SmokingPipes though. Guess I trust their cleaning methods more than my own.

 

[ssjones]

Being in the restaurant business, I know clean is a far different condition than sanitary and they are mutually exclusive.
Plenty of folks have an aversion to used pipes, I get that.
But, even on a new pipe, it was buffed with caustic buffing compounds, etc. I always clean a new stem with alcohol, just to be safe (I'm germophobic...)
Most estates need oxidation removed via sanding/buffing, interior reamed/soaked in alcohol, etc. So, I'm comfortable that an estate that I've cleaned is most likely more sanitary than a new pipe. So, most of my pipe purchases are estates.

 

[jvnshr]

OP, If its an issue that deep seated, you might be better just to buy new. I'd love to get my hands on a pre republic Peterson,for me the history would outweigh any other concerns.

I think oldreddog makes a good point about certain historical pipes; there are some pipes that we just could not get if not for the estate market. They are no longer in production and for me, to touch, smoke and experience that briar and piece of history would out-weigh the idea of its prior use by a total stranger.

I agree with you guys. I am afraid I will have to earn more and more to buy an unsmoked pre republic (if there are any left) if I have to buy one or I have to get used to estate pipes. Do you know how many WW2 Zippo deals I missed just because of that used thing fear? You cannot even imagine.

Being in the restaurant business, I know clean is a far different condition than sanitary and they are mutually exclusive.
Plenty of folks have an aversion to used pipes, I get that.
But, even on a new pipe, it was buffed with caustic buffing compounds, etc. I always clean a new stem with alcohol, just to be safe (I'm germophobic...)
Most estates need oxidation removed via sanding/buffing, interior reamed/soaked in alcohol, etc. So, I'm comfortable that an estate that I've cleaned is most likely more sanitary than a new pipe. So, most of my pipe purchases are estates.

I beg your pardon SS, English is not my native language. "Sanitary" fits better my condition I guess. I totally agree with you on new pipe thing, I clean them as much as I can before smoking for the very first time. I think I should learn more about those cleaning/restoring methods, then I can buy an estate easily. If I can't, I will ask you a favor

 

[aldecaker]

I have come clean (see what I did there? ) on this forum before, and I will do it again: I find the thought of smoking a used pipe repulsive. I am not a germophobe, although my past career in restaurant work has left me with a higher than average respect for proper sanitation. I will gladly eat in a restaurant knowing the last people to have used my flatware could well have been a junkie and a hooker out on the town. Does it bother me? Not a bit. Perhaps the mental block is that, as a clencher, a pipe sits in my jib for a really long time, all intimate-like. Who knows? Is it weird? Yeah, probably. But hey, every one has their little idiosyncracies, and think of all the estate gems I'm leaving on the market for everyone else!

 

[pappymac]

Over half of my pipe collection is used or estate pipes. All of them have been thoroughly cleaned and sterilized before I smoke them. The key to me is cleaning and sterilizing two or three times or else having it done by a professional.

 

[stanlaurel]

@aldecaker -- What if the final quality check at the pipe factory is for a lipped guy to give it the "clench-test"?

 

[davet]

women I hardly knew and whose mouth had likely been places I'd rather not give thought to

Nate has summed it up perfectly. Think about it for a minute. Second thought don't,or you may have an aversion to your better half as well as estate pipes. :mrgreen: