How Did You Get Started Smoking A Pipe???

[shawn622]

I thought this would make a nice long thread. I'll start it. I dipped Copenhagen for 24 years. I got a divorce in 05 and hit the dating scene with a vengeance. Since no woman really wants to kiss a man with dip in his mouth, or date a guy that carries an empty Coke bottle full of spit, I picked up cigarettes.
I hated cigarettes, and never was a big smoker. I never smoked a whole pack in a day. Usually I only smoked about 5-7 a day. Well I met my kids mom and we had 2 sons within a year and a week of each other and I swore I would never let my sons see me smoke a cigarette, so I only smoked when they were in bed. This was an issue because I would really want some vitamin N sometimes. Especially during stressful situations.
Well, in June I was looking into a RYO setup and came across this tobacco called Sparrow #24 I believe, but on the package it said "With just the right amount of Cavendish.". So I Googled Cavendish and found out it was an actual pipe tobacco. So I kept reading about different pipe tobacco till I came across MacBaron Dark Twist Roll Cake. Once I saw a picture of one of the slices, I immediately ordered some. Then I bought a cheap basket pipe and proceeded to tear my mouth up. lol I eventually came here where I got all the good advice, and encouragement to not give up. Now I no longer NEED nicotine. I no longer inhale. It is a hobby rather than a habit, and I really enjoy it.
That is my story, What is yours?

 

[judcole]

I swear, there is a machine out there that just cranks out a new version of the old standby threads every few weeks! :rofl:
I started in college because, in those ancient days, smoking a pipe was part of being a "college man" - at least in my eyes. ::

 

[shawn622]

I kind of figured it was a repeat topic since it lacks even a hint of originality, but in my three months, I had not seen it and was curious. We have a bunch of new members, myself included, so I really could not go wrong posting it. I mean everyone has to have an answer for this thread. Plus I can't sleep and wanted to kill some time. lol Thanks Jud, I also figured your answer world be prevalent among the older members.

 

[markw4mms]

I started out of curiosity, and the desire for something with more flavor than a cigarette.

 

[chopz]

i've been a hardcore cig addict for decades. back when i was 18 i worked at an electrical supply house where the foreman smoked a pipe. he had 2 little ones he kept n his breast pocket all the time. back then you could smoke in the workplace. anyway, there was a drug store next door. my friend jimmy's sister worked there. she was really cute. i bought a grabow there and frequented the place for various flavors of amphora, half and half, etc. the cigs won out in the long run as they did several times later, every time i tried to go full time pipe.
how's that for a different answer?

 

[fshu2]

before coming to college i had said i would never smoke. one night my freshman year me and the EX got into a big fight so i went out with some friends and they handed me a cheap white al cigar Grape flavored. i found i liked the smoking but i do not really the horrible taste in from the cheapness. i decided that maybe a pipe would be better besides it looked better. ever since then i have not put it down. started in 09.

 

[guitarguy86]

The smell of a pipe going by, walking past pipe shops as a kid, and it always had more appeal to me than a cigarette.

 

[cynyr]

I always used to say that cigarettes killed all the men in my family, and I'm smoking for revenge!
But I managed to put them down after twenty years. I had smoked a pipe very occasionally, but never knew how. A stressful new job almost put me back on the nails - luckily I picked up the pipe instead. I am more relaxed now than ever before. That's what it's all about for me, being forced to take time, focus, get a grip.
And camaraderie is a bonus. Can anyone imagine a forum of cigarette smokers??

 

[shawn622]

Hahahahahaa.... That is hilarious Cynyr. No, Cigarette smoking is not something people are passionate about I don't think. I think it is something that looks cool when you are a kid so you try it and then you chase your tail your whole life. There is a definite difference in the two. Great post!!!!

 

[nehemias88]

I started my freshman year in college because I was really curious about the fuss all over tobacco. I never smoked anything that's inhaled because I have asthma. But I did some research and found out that cigars and pipes are not meant to be inhaled. Only savored in the mouth. This was definitely interesting to me. How is it possible to feel all these flavors from only the smoke of tobacco? I never understood that until I smoked my first bowl. And man, am I glad that I bought that nording pipe as my first instead of a cheaper briar one. I definitely took my chances, but I had no doubt that I would dislike it. No one in my immediate family has smoked anything before and I don't have any close friends to show me the way with a pipe, so this is mainly why I'm here.

 

[daytonsean]

An old bandmate of mine tossed me a nice Barling and let me give it a shot. I had always smoked, just never a pipe. Decided I liked it more. And when you're driving from coast to coast, there is nothing like sailing down the highway watching the sun come up, having a nice smoke.

 

[dpkrause]

This is going to sound bad, but I started last year due to meeting some friends that smoked a pipe. They pressured me into it like it was crack. I am glad they did because I love this hobby. Not sure what I like more: the actual smoking, the ritual of preparing, smoking, and preserving a pipe, or the joy of collecting little works of art.

 

[jsiddle]

I started about two weeks ago!
Timing was completely random but the reason was not...
I remember my grandfather getting up in the early morning or later in the evening and sitting at the dining
room table and having a bowl. Not sure what he was smoking, but damn it smelled good. And this is a man
whom I have a great respect for. So a couple weeks ago, I said... "Lets give it a try" and I am very
glad I did...
EDIT: Before this I had never smoked anything in my life, never done anything with tobacco or any drug...
Except liquor... ya liquor is good

 

[bentmike]

My Dad and Uncle smoked pipes so I was around pipes from a young age. I'm sure I snuck a few puffs when I was kid and smoked nails for a few years in high school and in the military. I bought my first pipe in the early 1990's while in the Air Force at a brick and mortar shop. It was a no name Italy but smoked great and I learned with it. I got interested in pipe making and after I made a pipe I was happy with I smoked it for years. Once the internet came along I really got into the hobby the last few years and have enjoyed growing a small collection. Still just an occasional smoker with sometimes weeks between the times I light up.

 

[juvat270]

I remember seeing my grandfather smoking a pipe and of course people in movies and just thought it looked so cool. Smelled good too! I also remember going into the Tinderbox at the local mall when I was kid and watching the counter guy puff away while I opened up the glass jars to smell all those wonderful tobaccos.
Unfortunately cigarettes ended up being my introduction to tobacco use back in 1989 when I was 13. Through the years, I actually liked smoking cigarettes but I always had pipes in the back of my mind. However, my point of view at the time was that a teenage/20 something year old kid would look silly smoking a pipe so I never bothered. I also think part of that attitude came from the fact that this was in the mid-90s and you just didn't see people smoking pipes anymore. Even the Tinderbox at the mall went out of business. It just didn't seem "en vogue" anymore.
Finally, around 2000 and while I was home on leave, I thought to hell with it and bought a Dr. Grabow from a local Walgreens and pouch of Captain Black. It was odd at first, I didn't inhale as I knew you weren't supposed to, but it felt weird not doing it. For the first couple of years it was nothing more than a novelty to me, something I only did on occasion. Each passing year though the pipe was getting used more and more. Finally in 2007 I quit cigarettes and became a full time pipe smoker. ::

 

[judcole]

Looking through this thread, I have found some interesting responses. I also found a couple that were extremely hard to read due to lack of capitalization and punctuation. Let me gently point new members towards the forum rules,which include this:

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[sinister]

For me, it started somewhat as a joke. Never a cig smoker, but I do like the occasional cigar or clove. My neighbor is a smoker and we were comparing our injuries over the years (back problems, shoulder issues, etc) and joked around how we need to buy some pipes and sit on the porch and shake our fists at the kids in the neighborhood since we are getting "old". No offense to the older gentlemen on here....
I went out and bought some cheapie pipes and some tobacco. Some tongue bite and burned mouth or 2 later, came to realize that I actually enjoyed it more than a cigar. Started looking into it more which brought me here and just started reading up on the hobby and bought a few more pipes with some better quality tobacco.

 

[captainprophesy]

A roommate that I had back in '92 was a pipe smoker... I was smoking cigs at the time... long story short, he had an extra corn cob and had me try a bowl... 20 years later and here I am :puffpipe:

 

[pipeinhand]

Peer pressure, 3 of us started in our junior year of HS and I have been at it since. That was 1971.

 

[shawn622]

Wow Pipe in hand. You have been smoking a pipe since the year I was born. No wonder your blends are so good. You have done a lot of research ::