Hi, what would be a good pipe to get me started? and which tobacco?

[shutterbugg]

As to tobacco, my advice from personal history is stay away from OTC/drugstore/codger blends and any aros marked as "mild" (which is most of them). They will taste like chemical waste, and bite/burn your tongue, not to mention tainting the pipe with their noxious stank. If I'd started out with those blends I would never have continued to smoke a pipe. If you want something that tastes good but doesn't curl your buddies' nose hair, at least try Amphora (brown or red) if not something of higher quality.
And speaking of your buddies, you said you go to the bar to smoke, so unless you live in Bugtussle TN and your buddies are Jed and Jethro Clampett, I'd pick up a nice estate briar rather than a corncob. Cobs smoke great, I have a couple, but I wouldn't be caught out in public smoking one.

 

[pipesmokingtom]

And speaking of your buddies, you said you go to the bar to smoke, so unless you live in Bugtussle TN and your buddies are Jed and Jethro Clampett, I'd pick up a nice estate briar rather than a corncob. Cobs smoke great, I have a couple, but I wouldn't be caught out in public smoking one.

Or, who cares what anyone in "public" thinks about a cob. I smoke cobs all over town, at the B&M, wherever. Never got a cross look, nor would I care if I did.
As far as the recommendation against "OTC's", I'd agree on most, but not all. If you started smoking Carter Hall in a corn cob - a total investment of maybe $10 if you already have a lighter, you may get enough out of it to keep you around as a pipe smoker. It's an unfussy, easy going blend, which is valuable as a beginner.

 

[pipesmokingtom]

I actually RETRACT what I just said about corn cobs. It has been pointed out to me before in public. "Is that a corn cob pipe?? I didn't know anyone ACTUALLY smoked those - thought they were just in the Frosty the Snowman song and Popeye!". Conversation started, friends made, laughs had by all. Good times.

 

[tschiraldi]

Cobs are great, but if you want something a bit nicer, get a Peterson pipe from Smokingpipes.com or P&C. Not expensive, looks and smokes great, many shapes / sizes, and will last you a lifetime. Tobacco depends on you. I would recommend starting with a Virginia blend. There are soooo many to choose from, but I will recommend Wessex Gold Virginia Flake. Fantastic taste and readily available.

 

[katarn07]

Frog Morton is tasty and very forgiving while you learn to pack your pipe and the proper cadence. Aromatics? Not so much. It gets my vote.

 

[nayngnottz94]

Also, i should have stated i am in the Uk, and am not sure which store to get my pipe tobacco from, theres a few on the internet but like you guys already mentioned, i dont want the chemical tasting stuff, i really enjoy tobacco flavours, i want a strong tobacco, , could somebody possibly provide me with a link to a uk store? "As to tobacco, my advice from personal history is stay away from OTC/drugstore/codger blends and any aros marked as "mild" (which is most of them" i will remember this and take note...

 

[pipesmokingtom]

Where in the UK can you smoke in bars?

 

[nayngnottz94]

One near me completely allows it, which i am very happy for, its called Last Chance Saloon

 

[iamn8]

I'd recommend a pipe by Bo Nordh and a tobacco of an early 80's vintage of balkan sobranie 759. You'd be insane to accept anything less

 

[andrew]

I don't understand the captain black white suggestions, it has a weird chemical taste, will never dry out, and burns the crap out of my mouth from all the PG in it. If you want a good OTC get amphora full aroma. If you're in the UK you can get Erinmore flake, G&H, Samual Gawaith, Condor, all great quality OTC's there. Take the condor plunge if you want something strong.

 

[pipesmokingtom]

Yeah - UK OTC's should get you where you want to go.

 

[nayngnottz94]

cheers for the help, do you guys just take your pipes with you where ever you go and enjoy them? I don't intend to inhale the pipe smoke I just want to chug on it all day, does it deliver a nicotine hit?

 

[pipesmokingtom]

Yep and yep.
I never have less than 2 on me at a time and at least a pouch of tobacco, usually more.
Stick it in the shirt pocket if I'm stopping in the store...
Yes on nicotine hit, but it's much different than a cigarette. Not right to the head, but more of a slow, calming delivery, I find. Some tobaccos you get nothing at all, some lull you right to sleep, sometimes literally.

 

[andrew]

cheers for the help, do you guys just take your pipes with you where ever you go and enjoy them? I don't intend to inhale the pipe smoke I just want to chug on it all day, does it deliver a nicotine hit?

Personally I just smoke in the evenings usually in my living room, and I'll smoke a bowl in the morning too if it's my day off. It's just not a habit forming thing for me, I can go a few days without a bowl with no problem. I do inhale my pipe but not every puff, very sporadically I'll inhale about the last 1/4 of a puff then blow it out my nostrils.. If you want to puff on a pipe all day then you'll need to carry it with you. Corncobs are good in this respect as you can smoke them all day and there's no bad effects. If you smoke a briar all day it doesn't do so good. There is a nicotine hit but yes it's much different then cigs, cigs is more of a buzzing effect, pipes can buckle your knees depending on what you're smoking if you aren't used to it. Not nearly as much as a cigar though. If you're after really strong tobacco that you just want to have a few puffs at a time try some G&H ropes or twists, and you can chew them also.

 

[randelli]

I say grab a Dunhill ODA and some 1792 flake. If you are gonna be a bear... be a grizzly!
JK - the cob and Carter Hall is a good start.

 

[tschiraldi]

Dark Strong Kentucky, maybe?

 

[woodsroad]

Man, I like how this thread has gone.

 

[mawnansmiff]

"Cobs smoke great, I have a couple, but I wouldn't be caught out in public smoking one."
Ye gods Shutterbug, I thought cob pipes were an American institution!
Regards,
Jay.

 

[shutterbugg]

Ye gods Shutterbug, I thought cob pipes were an American institution!

They have probably been smoked by Americans while committed to institutions, if that's what you mean. But seriously, in the 20th century, figures like Popeye, Tugboat Annie, Pa Kettle, and Mammy Yokum effectively created a pervasive association between corncob pipes and a caricature of uneducated rubes.