I started with cigars, machine made one first then onto hand made. Had a friend whose wife bought him a pipe and tobacco for fathers day then would give him crap every time he smoked it b/c his family had a history of cancer. So yeah, why buy him the pipe in the first place? Anyway, he sold it to me for the princely some of $12 with his tobacco and accessories. It was a cheap Tinder Box basket pipe. I smoked basket pipes for awhile then graduated to hand made pipes and its been downhill ever since. Bought my first hand made at the 2nd NASPC show and first serious pipe tobacco (not aromatic goop that I had been smoking).
Later on, I got a job in the B&M that sold me that pipe at the NASPC show, went thru a high grade phase and it finally dawned on me its the tobacco I enjoy. While pipes are nice, I realized you do not have to spend a fortune on a pipe to get a good smoke. My attention shifted to stocking up tobacco and now have a little bit over a hundred pounds of the stuff in tins and bulk.
I still smoke cigars as does my wife, but the pipe is my favorite way to relax and bring sanity back.
Later on, I got a job in the B&M that sold me that pipe at the NASPC show, went thru a high grade phase and it finally dawned on me its the tobacco I enjoy. While pipes are nice, I realized you do not have to spend a fortune on a pipe to get a good smoke. My attention shifted to stocking up tobacco and now have a little bit over a hundred pounds of the stuff in tins and bulk.
I still smoke cigars as does my wife, but the pipe is my favorite way to relax and bring sanity back.