I am a newbie to pipe smoking. Smoked cigarettes and quit that 15 years ago. I smoke an occasional cigar.
My brother who is many years older than I is an ardent pipe smoker and I have always been fascinated.
I decided to try it out a few weeks ago and I have to say it is pretty nice.
I had a hard time finding a tobacco shop that had any pipes or tobacco. I found a shop with someone with a passing knowledge and he sold me what I guess would be called a basket pipe. It's a bent. It is Italian made I believe the maker was Bentonelli (?). He pointed me to Capt Black and sent me on my way.
I went home and read up a bit and figured out how to pack a bowl and smoke.
I am still looking for a shop that has some sort of selection. I don't really like the Capt Black and found a tin of Sutliff Blend no. 5. I knew the smell of Latakia before I knew what it was. My brother smoked a Balkan Sobranie. I didn't get a great reaction from my wife (says it stinks) but it smoked pretty nice
I also found a tin of Nat Sherman no.314. I like that blend quite a bit. It's kind of a wet smoke, but seems to be drying up as I smoke through the tin.
Along the way I bought another basket pipe after reading that I should be rotating pipes. This time I bought a sticker.
Last week I got all crazy and bought an Estate pipe. I went for half the price of a new basket pipe and got an Ayres standard. It isn't a name I can find anything about but it allowed me to learn what it takes to refurbish an estate pipe. I took my time and did a lot of reading. It came out pretty durned nice. Sanitized, salt and alcohol treated, and the polished up. It was a fun process. When I finally got to smoke it I found that the pipe got hotter than my cheapies but the smoke was cooler if that makes sense.
I hope I didn't bore anyone with my newbie pipe adventures. I will continue to read up and grow and smoke my collection of pipes and tobacco.
Thanks for reading
Jim
My brother who is many years older than I is an ardent pipe smoker and I have always been fascinated.
I decided to try it out a few weeks ago and I have to say it is pretty nice.
I had a hard time finding a tobacco shop that had any pipes or tobacco. I found a shop with someone with a passing knowledge and he sold me what I guess would be called a basket pipe. It's a bent. It is Italian made I believe the maker was Bentonelli (?). He pointed me to Capt Black and sent me on my way.
I went home and read up a bit and figured out how to pack a bowl and smoke.
I am still looking for a shop that has some sort of selection. I don't really like the Capt Black and found a tin of Sutliff Blend no. 5. I knew the smell of Latakia before I knew what it was. My brother smoked a Balkan Sobranie. I didn't get a great reaction from my wife (says it stinks) but it smoked pretty nice
I also found a tin of Nat Sherman no.314. I like that blend quite a bit. It's kind of a wet smoke, but seems to be drying up as I smoke through the tin.
Along the way I bought another basket pipe after reading that I should be rotating pipes. This time I bought a sticker.
Last week I got all crazy and bought an Estate pipe. I went for half the price of a new basket pipe and got an Ayres standard. It isn't a name I can find anything about but it allowed me to learn what it takes to refurbish an estate pipe. I took my time and did a lot of reading. It came out pretty durned nice. Sanitized, salt and alcohol treated, and the polished up. It was a fun process. When I finally got to smoke it I found that the pipe got hotter than my cheapies but the smoke was cooler if that makes sense.
I hope I didn't bore anyone with my newbie pipe adventures. I will continue to read up and grow and smoke my collection of pipes and tobacco.
Thanks for reading
Jim
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