I'd like a pipe to smoke on the weekends, probably just one night a week, me and a couple buddys are pretty old school, we like to go to the bar, have some drinks and play cards, I usually vape but I mean you only live once, I LOVE tobacco, and I think pipes are really cool, thanks
Hi, what would be a good pipe to get me started? and which tobacco?
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Hello and welcome. Grab a cob and some Captain Black to start. Don't forget to dry it out.
If you like the actual taste of tobacco (Burley) get some Carter Hall or Prince Albert.
If you like the actual taste of tobacco (Burley) get some Carter Hall or Prince Albert.
You could get a TON of different answers here, but the one near-constant will be that you should get a corn cob. The Missouri Meerschaum Morgan is a good starter pipe because the bowl isn't huge, which makes packing and smoking easier. Starter tobacco will be hugely subjective, you don't know what you like until you try it! I think Izmir Turkish is an excellently mild, tasty starter tobacco.
I wrote a ridiculously long, overthought starter outline, largely to entertain myself. Might help you, I don't know:
http://pipesmagazine.com/forums/topic/beginners-guide-to-beginning
I wrote a ridiculously long, overthought starter outline, largely to entertain myself. Might help you, I don't know:
http://pipesmagazine.com/forums/topic/beginners-guide-to-beginning
Haha the popeye pipe? That is great, I've actually always wanted one of those, is ebay a good place to look?
Without a doubt get a Missouri Meerschaum cob. I would recommend a Mark Twain. I was told the same thing a year ago when I started but i thought I was too cool to smoke a cob. Now I have 10 briars and 6 cobs and actually smoke the cobs more often. But I would stay away from aromatics. They smell great to the people around you but taste like crap.
Get a Missouri Meerschaum Country Gentleman and a Legend, Some Captain Black (White) and Carter Hall, after you decide to stick with it pick up a Mr Brog Briar and/or a Gr Grabow and try Dunhill Early morning Pipe, Royal Yacht and Frog Morton On the Town. Look at Pipes and cigar and smokingpipes.com web sites, most blends you can get 1oz samples to try.
Once you decide that pipe smoking is for you then you are ready to dive in, but do your research on pipe makers and tobacco blends and buy wisely, PAD and TAD will come quickly
Once you decide that pipe smoking is for you then you are ready to dive in, but do your research on pipe makers and tobacco blends and buy wisely, PAD and TAD will come quickly
You will get much advice hear, read, ask questions and refer to these sites for info on pipes and baccy. Go to youtube and look up "Stuff and Things", guy named Bradley does some good tobacco reviews, I don't know him personally but his reviews I have found to be spot on. Enjoy the trip
https://pipedia.org/wiki/Main_Page
http://www.pipephil.eu/logos/en/index-en.html
http://www.tobaccoreviews.com/
https://pipedia.org/wiki/Main_Page
http://www.pipephil.eu/logos/en/index-en.html
http://www.tobaccoreviews.com/
You're going to get a lot of "aromatics taste terrible, get a bunch of cobs, and suggestions for a million different tobacco blends. Not all aromatics taste awful (I enjoy many aromatics along with my non aromatics), I agree with getting at least a couple cobs, and I would suggest starting with a few different blend styles. I would get a good aromatic, like Bagpiper's Dream, and english or a balkan such as Hearth and Home's Black House or Lane's Crown Achievement. Get a straight Virginia (McClelland's Virginias are great... but don't start with Dark Star! Great but takes some practice keeping it lit.) Look up some decent Burley blends, and perhaps some virginia perique blends. Get a low dollar briar (you'll be told never to spend less than $500.00 on a briar (I'm exaggerating... slightly) but there are some great pipes under $150.00 such as some Savinelli and Peterson pipes (Some people think Peterson pipes are the devil... I've had good experiences with them).
The reason I say to get a couple low dollar pipes is this... there truly are some good smokers under 150 dollars, and in fact I've found some under 50. This hobby can get quite expensive, quite quickly, once you decide one or two briar pipes aren't enough. And that WILL happen. See how you like it first, before you start dropping high bills on costly pipes. And get your technique down before you spend money of costly pipes so you don't ruin your costly pipes. I would also (from my own experience) say not to start with one of those cheap pear wood pipes made in the Ukraine. When I first began, I went through two of them, quite quickly, cracked shanks. Might have been me, might have been the wood. It's not as durable as briar. Other than that, just make sure you get a pipe tool, some pipe cleaners, and matches. No torch lighters! They ruin your tobacco and can damage your pipe.
Read on this forum. Ask questions. Anything you need to know, you can learn here. There is a never ending supply of information and knowledge on the Pipes Magazine Forums. Many of us have different opinions and tastes, but we're mostly good people who would never knock on your door and leave a bag of poo lit on fire.... well some of us might :mrgreen:
The reason I say to get a couple low dollar pipes is this... there truly are some good smokers under 150 dollars, and in fact I've found some under 50. This hobby can get quite expensive, quite quickly, once you decide one or two briar pipes aren't enough. And that WILL happen. See how you like it first, before you start dropping high bills on costly pipes. And get your technique down before you spend money of costly pipes so you don't ruin your costly pipes. I would also (from my own experience) say not to start with one of those cheap pear wood pipes made in the Ukraine. When I first began, I went through two of them, quite quickly, cracked shanks. Might have been me, might have been the wood. It's not as durable as briar. Other than that, just make sure you get a pipe tool, some pipe cleaners, and matches. No torch lighters! They ruin your tobacco and can damage your pipe.
Read on this forum. Ask questions. Anything you need to know, you can learn here. There is a never ending supply of information and knowledge on the Pipes Magazine Forums. Many of us have different opinions and tastes, but we're mostly good people who would never knock on your door and leave a bag of poo lit on fire.... well some of us might :mrgreen:
Good answer Anthony. You make some very good points. And I am sure all aromatics are not bad. But a lot of them are. And since no one really wants to start out with a cob you gave good advice on briars and trying different blends.
I can't offer much advise on this as I'm new to pipes myself, but I CAN say, this is a great place to start. I wish I had found this forum 3-4 months ago when I was first trying to pick up a pipe. Lots of great ppl and good knowledge here. Keep in mind as you start your journey that it can get real expensive very fast. There's nothing wrong with starting small, a cob or two and a couple OTC tobaccos and I'm betting you will quickly see what all the hype is about and how enjoyable the whole learning process can be.
Some excellent advice here. I will throw in on the Missouri Meerschaum corn cob pipes. If you go on their site, you can even pick up a bag of ten "seconds" for about $3.50 each.
As for briar, hold off a bit and take the time to see what kind of tobacco tickles your fancy. Some of your pipe selection decisions may be influenced by the kind of tobacco that you like to smoke. I took a fancy to certain (now extinct) Danish pipe company's products and, thanks to eBay, now have a couple dozen of them. All bought for $35 or under. They are all smaller in size, perfect for flakes and strong dark blends.
Good advice has already been offered on tobacco selection, but let me give you slightly different take. I'd skip the OTC's (Over The Counter, a term coined when most drug stores and convenience stores sold mass-marked pipe tobacco) and go right to some real, high grade stuff. A good straight Virginia like Sutliff Virginia Slices (made by Orlik); a light English like John Cotton's No.1 and a mild aromatic like 4Noggins Bald Headed Teacher. Also add in a good burley like Uhle's Perfection Plug or 00. If you want to make a bold move right out of the gate on the Burley/Dark Fired route, try War Horse Ready Cut
This should give you a good decision tree on where your tastes might lead you. Try these and post back to us with a comment akin to "I liked the Virginia Slices, but I want to go richer and bolder" and there will be no shortage of folks here pointing you towards their favorite McClellands broken flakes or Hearth and Home blends.
And then, of course, there's Perique.
As for briar, hold off a bit and take the time to see what kind of tobacco tickles your fancy. Some of your pipe selection decisions may be influenced by the kind of tobacco that you like to smoke. I took a fancy to certain (now extinct) Danish pipe company's products and, thanks to eBay, now have a couple dozen of them. All bought for $35 or under. They are all smaller in size, perfect for flakes and strong dark blends.
Good advice has already been offered on tobacco selection, but let me give you slightly different take. I'd skip the OTC's (Over The Counter, a term coined when most drug stores and convenience stores sold mass-marked pipe tobacco) and go right to some real, high grade stuff. A good straight Virginia like Sutliff Virginia Slices (made by Orlik); a light English like John Cotton's No.1 and a mild aromatic like 4Noggins Bald Headed Teacher. Also add in a good burley like Uhle's Perfection Plug or 00. If you want to make a bold move right out of the gate on the Burley/Dark Fired route, try War Horse Ready Cut
This should give you a good decision tree on where your tastes might lead you. Try these and post back to us with a comment akin to "I liked the Virginia Slices, but I want to go richer and bolder" and there will be no shortage of folks here pointing you towards their favorite McClellands broken flakes or Hearth and Home blends.
And then, of course, there's Perique.
I just kinda skimmed through the other post so I don't know if it was mentioned already, but a great way to find what you like and dislike would be to order a bunch of bulk tobaccos from one of the site sponsers. When I worked at the hospital, there was an ER doctor that did "shotgun" diagnosing. He would order almost every test in the book regardless if you were dying or had a headache. In the lab, we didnt like him too much, and knew whenever he was in the ER just by looking at the sheer volume of what was being ordered. While we frowned upon his technique, it did provide him and the patients general practitioner with lots of information, and occasionally he found the "Mr. X" had such and such disease/problem before it became a major problem. The reason for my little tangent is: many small samples of bulk blends will give you a vast understanding of what you might prefer as a pipe smoker. Having a good delivery tool is importsnt and corn cobs should do the trick(dont worry PAD comes naturally over time), but imho, smoking a tobacco that suits your tastes is ultimately the key factor to enjoying the hobby. Buying 8oz of one tobacco might not be the way to start out.
Lots of information of this forum though, so take your time and enjoy the hobby!
Lots of information of this forum though, so take your time and enjoy the hobby!
As suggested earlier in the thread, buy some MM cobs first. Buy tobacco in small quantities for a year or two, a pouch or an ounce at a time, since your tastes will change and you won't like everything you try. Save what you don't like in jars to try again later. For a first briar, I'd buy a new pipe to increase your chances of it being trouble free, probably a Stanwell (PC has low prices), Savenelli, or Nording, or another well-known trusted brand. For a first briar pipe, at today's prices, I'd spend about $50 to $70. Some will recommend spending as much as you can afford, but I don't think it's necessary. I'd save pricier pipes for when you have learned a lot more about them. Welcome aboard.
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