Ever Noticed How Vague A Pipe Census Is?

[mso489]

I admire people who can reach a rotation of a dozen to twenty pipes and consider it enough. At the same time, I really enjoy the options of having too many pipes, a wide selection when i go to pack one. I do like to keep the number constant, and cull to do that.

 

[Hillcrest]

And theft.

I was just commenting on the irony of insuring pipes against fire . I get it though. Mine aren't worth insuring as they're probably below the deductible.

 

[Papamique]

you really think someone would steal a pipe collection.

Depends on its worth. If it’s worth $100 maybe. $30,000 definitely.

 

[mso489]

If you are just starting out with pipes but feel you will likely continue smoking a pipe at least casually, one way you could proceed is to set a limit on the number of pipes you feel would be "enough," and then develop a schedule for buying them -- one a year, one every three years, or whatever, also planning on how much you would want to save and spend on this optional non-necessity.

That way, as you learn more about pipes, you won't just learn by trial and error, but through learning and planning. This isn't what I did, nor am I necessarily recommending it, but if I were starting out, but knew what i know now, this would be one option.

 

[luigi]

It's hard to beat the pad, specially when you believe you need more pipes.
My limit was 10 which quickly raised to 12. After a while I didn't care any more and got 6 more.
I have 18 briars now and 1 meerschaum. I also stopped buying tobacco and hope that's it, I don't need more. Please no more.

 

[OverMountain]

Is this census the real one, or the one my wife knows about? Asking for a friend

 

[Alejo R.]

Depends on its worth. If it’s worth $100 maybe. $30,000 definitely.

If you tell 100 thieves that those pieces of wood and plastic are worth 30 grand. 98 will take you for crazy.

 

[Papamique]

If you tell 100 thieves that those pieces of wood and plastic are worth 30 grand. 98 will take you for crazy.

You go right ahead sir but I know all too well that, that isn’t the case. For instance, my friends house was broken into in 2021 and you know what the thieves stole? Legos and comic books. They left his gun collection untouched. The thieves obviously knew what they were doing. Why? The Gun collection was insured at $13,000 and attracts attention from cops more than a lego and comic book collection. One comic book that was missing the cover was worth thousands alone (1st edition of the Incredible Hulk ) and the lego collection was worth over $10,000. Very hard to track and honestly the police probably think as you do. Just a bunch of plastic and kids toys. If he ever finds the thieves they may wish they took his guns too. I’m ok with being paranoid my friend.

 

[mso489]

Thieves by definition start out with a dysfunctional mindset and are prone to steal almost anything they feel they can transport quickly away from the scene. Sometimes this is the usual firearms and jewelry, but it really could be anything. The fact that pipes are often displayed on racks and are somewhat well maintained, plus small and portable, might be enticing, even when most people who are not themselves pipe smokers wouldn't have any idea how to "fence" these, or how trackable they might be.

The adrenalin is going, and the thrill of opportunism is in the air, so anything goes, literally. Also, some of these people are substance abusers, so their thought processes aren't well organized. They're in the see-do mode.

 

[K.E. Powell]

You go right ahead sir but I know all too well that, that isn’t the case. For instance, my friends house was broken into in 2021 and you know what the thieves stole? Legos and comic books. They left his gun collection untouched. The thieves obviously knew what they were doing. Why? The Gun collection was insured at $13,000 and attracts attention from cops more than a lego and comic book collection. One comic book that was missing the cover was worth thousands alone (1st edition of the Incredible Hulk ) and the lego collection was worth over $10,000. Very hard to track and honestly the police probably think as you do. Just a bunch of plastic and kids toys. If he ever finds the thieves they may wish they took his guns too. I’m ok with being paranoid my friend.

When it comes to thievery, there are largely two groups: the impulsive and the professional.

The former will simply look for the easiest mark that produces the easiest payout, usually to fund an addiction, out of desperation, etc. The professional scopes out potential targets and knows how to fence stolen wares effectively. The latter is much less common than the former, but they are around, as your story attests. Could a thief target a person over pipes? Sure. It's not likely, but it is possible. Usually, a thief is going to want something not easily traced and lightweight, such as jewelry. Pipes may fit that, but that is a very specialized field and would likely be more effort than they are worth to fence. But again, not impossible.

I'm willing to risk talking about my pipe collection because, well, I don't think I really have to worry about it, and my pipes aren't collector's items or whatever. But I can understand the hesitancy for sure.

 

[SBC]

Several reasons that numbers are vague (in my case, "20-something") are,

(a) Do I count the handful of old drug store pipes that I keep in a separate box as "loaners" for the occasional friend who comes over and is curious to try a pipe? I never smoke these myself.

(b) Do I count the cheap fruit wood Tyrolian thing which somebody brought back from overseas for me, which pretty much just sits there decoratively, except for the two times a year my kids beg me to actually smoke it?

(c) Do I count the couple of cobs lying beside the rack of briars?

(d) Do I count the several stemless or cracked stummels I've wound up with, which lie around in a separate box?

These are some of the reasons my census is vague. I almost always refer only to those briars (and one meer) which are in my personal, regular rotation. In which case my answer is mid-twenties (... which is still vague! You're right!)

 

[mso489]

I too have some lurkers that I probably wouldn't count. A scrap wood pipe lined with tin can metal that was brought back from Haiti by a family member, a miniature pipe with a metal screen in the bottom that was probably not intended for tobacco, and so on. In my case, I unquestionably count my MM cobs, although I consider them less numerically significant because of their low cost. I give myself a pass on those, though I count them in my census. So my count may be in the high seventies or low eighties with cobs subtracted. Because of culling, I don't have any pipes I don't smoke. No boxes of old yard sales pipes or pipes of yore I don't smoke. A serious number of pipes are gifts or prizes, a dozen or more I'd say, so that gets me off the hook, to a degree, for spending too freely. If I'd bought only a dozen pipes, plus cobs, plus gifts and prizes, I'd have a generous and various rotation.