Help Making a Decision About Expensive Pipe

[cigrmaster]

Breath,, those Rad's are gorgeous, they should have been in my collection, how dare you. Seriously those Rad's are as good as they get. congrats on those beauties. Please give your wife instructions to contact me if you croak out of the blue. I will help her get top dollar. You will probably make it longer than me. Do you want to have my daughter offer you my 7 day set of Rads and all the others. I am thinking 500.00 a pop would be fair. That assumes I get another 10 years out of this abused body.

 

[Grangerous]

The engineering aspect is long established. The preferred wood also. From a strictly functional standpoint? Enjoy your Tobacco.

As for enjoying the Pipe itself?

There are countless reasonable options to choose. Not enough pipe? Spend $3000 - $10,000

Now you have a piece of artwork you will stick into your mouth, salivate on, chew on, introduce to fire, build up layers of carbon and gunk — but because it’s sooo pricey, you’ll become fearful of cleaning it.

Sign me up!

 

[JOHN72]

I fear that if you enter into doubt, you will end up buying a Chinese vase. Buy those damn pipes.

 

[ofafeather]

Here’s the thing - there will always be the next pipe waiting and your tastes may change down the road, too. The cool thing about pipes is they retain some value down the road of you decide to reconfigure your collection. I wouldn’t really look at them as an investment, though some pipes appreciate in value over time, but a hobby where not all of your expenditures go up in smoke, so to speak, puts you already ahead of the game. Buy what’s comfortable for you and enjoy.

 

[DanWil84]

I have some pipes I'm ready to purchase. They are limited edition and are quite expensive, at least relative to my budget. It's not a question of my not having the money, I just have never purchased an expensive pipe before. To those who have committed substantial amounts of money toward a pipe, what was your thought process? These are really nice pipes and once they are gone, they aren't likely to come back. Has the investment paid off for you? Or were you happier with less expensive pipes. Thanks!

Yes or No. My only thoughts. In most cases its yes if it attracts my eye. I wouldn't do it for the investment, if you have the money to pay for a special piece of wood which attracts you, buy them and smoke the heck out of it.

 

[tbradsim1]

Life is too short , buy it, but expensive doesn’t smoke better, I know I have them and it’s just fire in the hole,

 

[cosmicfolklore]

Brian on the PM Radioshow has an episode where he talks about pipes as investments. And, there really is no money in this. Some see pipes sold for $50 in the 1960's selling for a few hundred now and think, "I should have invested in these," But, the reality is that with inflation, there is still depreciation. Pipes really don't go up in price, except maybe in some really rare and unpredictable circumstances, whereas it would be just as likely to win the lottery than to guess when something like that is going to happen.

 

[HawkeyeLinus]

Expensive is a relative term, nobody can really tell you what is too expensive for you.

I've found in my limited experience (similar to what seems to be years of experience of others) that I have some great smoking pipes that cost a lot more than some others and I have some great smoking pipes that cost a lot less than some others. And who knows if someone else would even think I know what I'm talking about when I say "great smoking", haha.

Honestly, I didn't buy any of them with "performance" in mind when I bought them other than whether new or estates they were usually brands with good reputations.

All IMO. Interestingly, in hindsight with where I know I want to be with pipes and where I want to go in the future, I'm actually culling the herd and 3/5 (or maybe 4/6 - one I'm on the fence about) are limited edition pipes, only one (or two) of which I've smoked. They caught my eye as part of a series (NOT the Sherlock Holmes, those will never, ever go away) from a couple of different brands. I just have found I don't pick them up or have much interest in picking them up and they sit around and if I'm not going to use them they need to go. Lesson learned (maybe).

Do what you want!!!!!

 

[burleybreath]

Breath,, those Rad's are gorgeous, they should have been in my collection, how dare you. Seriously those Rad's are as good as they get. congrats on those beauties. Please give your wife instructions to contact me if you croak out of the blue. I will help her get top dollar. You will probably make it longer than me. Do you want to have my daughter offer you my 7 day set of Rads and all the others. I am thinking 500.00 a pop would be fair. That assumes I get another 10 years out of this abused body.

Heh. I ain't no 50-year-old whippersnapper either. Wanna race to the finish line? Alas, the pipes are not mine, and represent some of the "ones that got away." Frankly, I've never seen a pipe presentation as beautiful as these rhodesians (not my favorite shape), and I've retained those photos for years. Thought they might lend some substance to the discussion.

 

[Laurent]

What’s the saying Brian says, “ I’m a master of my own opinion”? Something like that. I just bought a Ser Jacopo pipe, 2012. Number one reason I bought it, loved the shape and design. Second reason, unsmoked, which blows my mind this pipe has sat for 10 years untouched. Sure, I looked up some of thoughts on the pipes, here in the forum, for reliability. I purchased the pipe because I thought it looked awesome and for the price range of pipes I own, they’re all smokable. So I say buy them, light them up, and smoke them until the tobacco falls out the other side.

 

[sablebrush52]

I have some pipes I'm ready to purchase. They are limited edition and are quite expensive, at least relative to my budget. It's not a question of my not having the money, I just have never purchased an expensive pipe before. To those who have committed substantial amounts of money toward a pipe, what was your thought process? These are really nice pipes and once they are gone, they aren't likely to come back. Has the investment paid off for you? Or were you happier with less expensive pipes. Thanks!

Honestly, from a purely functional standpoint, all of the pipes I've smoked, expensive, affordable, museum piece, drugstore pipe, etc, etc, have basically smoked about the same. A $10,000 pipe isn't going to function 100 times better than a $100 pipe.

What benefit are you looking for from an "expensive" pipe? Define "expensive". That's a vague term

There are differences, not all of them cosmetic, that I appreciate, for which I am willing to pay. Smoother airway, excellent fit and finish, comfortable and well designed stem, bit, and button, etc.

 

[Morrison Jeremiah]

Can't see any need to have a reason for buying an expensive pipe, other than simply liking it.

 

[mso489]

The only thing that bothers me about the original post is that it involves "some pipes," so presumably the purchase will involve several at a time. Why? On occasion, I've done that, but the best way to buy pipes is one at a time. This gives you focus, encourages you to make comparisons, and let's you set priorities toward a single purchase. Since these pipes are clearly a splurge to you in the first place, why buy a group at once? It's like a rich guy buying three yachts at once. Why would he do that? Maybe it's my inner Scot talking.

 

[JOHN72]

You have to be very clear about this. What do you need, what are you looking for, and what is going to be the final level of enjoyment, quality, aesthetics, both, smoking pipes from manufacturers, reputable mythical brands. Although I wouldn't spend more than $800/1000 or so on a pipe. If you are really in love with authentic collector's items. These toys have a sweet tooth, if you really like pipes and smoking in them.

 

[warren]

I've never considered buying a pipe to be an "investment". I've spent a few hundred on up for a pipe or two. I have no idea what you consider to be expensive so, I'll just leave it at that.

 

[jpmcwjr]

I've never considered buying a pipe to be an "investment". I've spent a few hundred on up for a pipe or two. I have no idea what you consider to be expensive so, I'll just leave it at that.

They are an "investment" in the same way that someone says he's going to
"invest" in a great steak dinner, or a new suit.

I've put out the challenge to everyone to show where someone has made a living investing in pipes. There are none.

 

[Sweet Home Alabama]

My first expensive pipe was a Peterson Derry Rustic for $96. Others may laugh or scoff.

 

[TheIronMonkey]

Many years ago, rare book dealer, Glenn Horowitz, gave me these sage words:

"Collect what you enjoy."

This way, it doesn't matter if something goes up in value or decreases; it still has meaning to you.

 

[JOHN72]

Shoes, coats you wear once every 20 years, suits, watches,a 5th generation lawnmower, with leather seats and carbon rims . If you really like it, go for it. It's your money and your life.

 

[JOHN72]

They are an "investment" in the same way that someone says he's going to
"invest" in a great steak dinner, or a new suit.

I've put out the challenge to everyone to show where someone has made a living investing in pipes. There are none.

Same..............