How Did You Get Started?

[cwarmouth]

Please forgive me if this has been done a hundred times. I'm just a curios and enthusiastic newbie to the forum.
Curious and anxious to hear your stories. How and why did you get started with the pipe? What type of tobacco did you start with?
When I was a little kid I had an uncle (Uncle Shorty) who was a short, bald, jolly guy who was always happy, had a plump wife, a great sense of humor, and a pipe in his mouth, always. His little house in Northern Michigan smelled wonderfully of pipe smoke so I aways associated that smell with a good sentiment of that guy.
Fast forward 35 years: Some friends invited my wife and I over for dinner between Christmas and New Years. After a nice meal, a couple hours of playing Carcassonne, and good conversation, my friend showed me a churchwarden that his wife got him for Christmas and asked if I wanted to go outside and light up. Yes! He packed a bent billiard for me and we went outside into the freezing cold and shivered through a bowl of something or other. I had to relight at least 6 times but I was instantly hooked. He sent that pipe home with me. A few days later I stopped at a Wallgreen's and bought a white pouch of Captain Black. Now, I know how I am about hobbies. I am obsessive about everything I do. When I started playing guitar, playing was not enough. I had to start building them. When I started bow hunting, hunting was not enough. I had to give up the compound bow and start hunting traditional. Then I had to make my own wooden bows and wooden arrows. I've been fly fishing all my life, but fishing isn't enough. I have to tie flies, build my own boats, build my own rods. I'm crazy. But I SWORE that I would NOT be that way about pipe smoking. One pipe was plenty. I would smoke it 3 or 4 times per year. I wasn't going to get into all these other tobaccos. I would stay content with Captain Black forever.
Yeah. Right.
Edited by jvnshr: Title capitalization.

 

[Chasing Embers]

No elaborate story here. In '91, I was 17, and just had to be different. My friends were cigarette smokers, and I gravitated toward pipes. Twenty-six years later, still going.

 

[jaytex1969]

Aye, I can swear to that!
The Cap'n, he's different. He sits on his PARROT's shoulder....
Welcome "Warmouth"! :lol:

 

[cwarmouth]

No elaborate story here. In '91, I was 17, and just had to be different. My friends were cigarette smokers, and I gravitated toward pipes. Twenty-six years later, still going.

Did you start with aromatics or something else?

Welcome "Warmouth"! :lol:

Thanks. You can call me Carl.

 

[jaytex1969]

Oh, yeah... I should answer your question, too...
Ciggies for 33 years, vaping for 2.5, then into pipes 4 months ago.
Started with an English (John Cotton's #1) and a VaPer (Viprati).

 

[leacha]

I had an uncle who smoked and always fascinated. In '89 or '90 I was in a Tinderbox (the owner was a pipe smoker) and figured why not

 

[wyfbane]

I was in Afghanistan and kept writing home about the damnable insects. Next thing you know mom sends me a Grabow, cherry tobacco, and a bottle of wine to ease my discomfort.

 

[Chasing Embers]

Did you start with aromatics or something else?

Carter Hall, Prince Albert, and Captain Black were the beginnings.

You can call me Carl.

And I'm Duane

 

[bosmer]

I smoked cigarettes for 10+ years starting in high school, some time in my late 20's I decided to quit. This lasted a few years until I picked up Vaping and then vaped for a few years as well. At some point during a LOTR marathon with my wife, I decided I wanted to give pipe smoking a try. I went down to my local B&M picked up a cheap basket pipe and a house blend ( a tweaked up version of 1-Q) and the rest is history. Pipe smoking has provided more enjoyment than all my previous smoking or vaping experience and the wife likes it too. My only problem now has been the obsession with a well stocked cellar and good selection of pipes, my bank account has taken some damage as of late but, maybe things will chill out soon and I can go back to saving my money instead of spending it on pipes and tobacco

 

[txpiper07]

After destroying my shoulder trying to resurrect a hobby from my youth, I realized I needed something a little more relaxing to do. I had always been interested in pipes, both from my constant use of worse forms of tobacco and in the ritual, precision, and routine of preparing, smoking, and maintaining the pipes themselves. My grandfather smoked a pipe and my dad smoked cigars, so the smells of rich burning tobacco reminds me of both of them.

I started off with a basket brylon pipe, and once I got past the tongue bite from poor technique and cheap aromatics I was hooked. Currently I’m researching restoring estate pipes and looking forward to trying my hand at the ones mikethompson is generously sending my way. Thankfully my wife is the most patient woman around and supports my new obsession!

 

[cwarmouth]

Great stories! Keep 'em coming.

 

[vokaa]

My father was a cigar smoker, but cigars never cut it for me. Going back to my love for LoTR, I always wanted to try a pipe. So, once I turned 18, I went to the cigar shop and bought a pipe to try it out. The guys there gave me a mild aromatic to try and I fell in love instantly. Now, I'm working on getting some blueprints to build my own pipe and will start restoring them quite soon!

 

[nevadablue]

My grandpa smoked a pipe. I always enjoyed the aroma. My dad smoked a pipe when I was little, but stopped shortly. In '07 I took a construction job and ended up in Nicaragua for most of '08. I was 60 years old, working on the last 'working for others' job. One of our senior engineers smoked a pipe. I decided I needed one too, and that led to a dozen or so and all but one were ebay estate pipes I cleaned up.

I put the pipes on my dresser when I got home in late '08 and essentially forgot about them. In May of this year, a friend on another hobby forum got a pipe. The rest is history. I got out my collection of pipes and added to it. Out of control now. :roll:

 

[olkofri]

I always felt drawn to pipes. When I was a wee one, there was a candy store where they sold other curiosities, like small die cast cars (not really toys, more like collectibles) and, yeah, pipes. I was fascinated by them pipes and would give them a wistful glance when my parents were buying me candy there. I loved to play I was a pipe smoker. I would, when it was time to brush my teeth, put the brush in my mouth, clenching the handle, and pretend I was smoking a pipe. Fun times.
Nobody I knew smoked a pipe, however. My dad is strongly anti-smoking, although he used to smoke cigarettes in his youth. Only once did I see him smoking: people gave him a number of cigars (maybe because they had had a boy or so was the custom, or for something else), so we had several in the house, and one day he decided to smoke one. I was probably ~6-8 years old, can't remember exactly, and he let me have a puff. I puffed too hard and didn't like the heat. That was it for both of us. No more smoking in the house and he became a staunch anti-smoker afterwards. He doesn't know I smoke a pipe and I might not tell him for a long, long time.
Lately, probably last year or even this one, I became more and more interested in cigars and pipes. I was gonna start with cigars, but it happened the other way around. I was thinking of waiting till I moved out of this non-smoking building to get a pipe, but I ended up getting one a couple of months ago.
Besides that, I also decided to get into pipes as my own personal fist-shake at the current milieu: full of self-righteous, hypocritical jerks in high and low places who are on a mission to rule the lives of everyone.

 

[newbroom]

Discovered pipe smoking as an alternative to cigs much later than I wish I had.
Carl, welcome to the forums.

I am certain we can look forward to your own hand made pipes soon!

Until then, please give us a look at some of your other work?

Guitars, boats, bows and arrows, and anything else you've put your hand to.

Mike

 

[jndyer]

I have always had a fascination with pipe smoking due in part to my love of LOTRs books. Once in my twenties a friend of mine bought me a corncob pipe as a gag gift. I promptly went down to my local tobacconist and purchased some tobacco, probably lane 1-Q and tried a bowl; however, this was only a short foray.
Fast forward many years later, I was headed up to go camping with my wife's family and on a whim I decided to stop in at a tobacconist shop and see about getting a pipe. Twenty minuets later I walked out with a brylon pipe and some Lane 1Q. On the drive up I smoked a bowl, well actually I burned my mouth; however, I also found a bit of enjoyment. Later that night I decided to "tell" my wife by pulling out the pipe and smoking in front of her. She was not pleased to say the least, but after talking to her (a much better way to handle the situation) we decided that maybe a bit of pipe smoking would not be too bad. Now almost ten years later here I am enjoying my pipe and my wife not only tolerates my smoking but has come to support me.

 

[hunterwold1]

I was at a church bazaar and found a black leather pouch with an estate Vauen briar pipe inside it that had been well cared for. I purchased it for twenty-five cents. I was 57 years old and had never even tried a cigarette in my life. There was something that drew me to it. A friend who is a long-time pipe smoker helped me get started. I smoked Shenandoah blend from Georgetown Tobacco in my beautiful estate Vauen and found that I liked it. Still smoking pipes and cigars. I feel I still have so much to learn. Just smoked a bowl of Nat Sherman blend from the store in NYC in my Stanwell Sixten Ivarsson Royal Guard pipe.

 

[aquadoc]

Back seat of a Chevy while dad was on leave.

 

[metalheadycigarguy]

No one in my immediate family smoked, so I have no connection to pipes or cigars in that regard; however, my Great Uncle who would visit us ever couple years smoked Dutch Master cigars. Whenever I smell the aroma of a Dutch Masters cigar it makes me think of him. Though that's not what got me into smoking cigars or eventually pipes. I've enjoyed the aroma of cigars/pipe tobacco since I was a kid, and always thought to myself that someday I would be a pipe smoker. When I was a kid we would go to the mall and back then they had a tobacco shop inside (not Tinderbox), and I always loved the aroma that came from the shop. The shop had die-cast models and collectible knives ect., so it was like a guys ultimate hobby shop, or so I thought as a kid. Anyway whenever we would go shopping, I would always go into the shop and browse the models and collectable knives, but really I wanted to get a glimpse of the pipes, tobacco and cigars and smell the shops sweet aromas. When I was in my 20's I would smoke cigars at parties with friends or at our poker nights. Eventually I grew tired of the cheap gas station cigars and decided to get into real cigars. After smoking cigars for a while I decided to buy a pipe and give it a try since it was something I had thought about since I was a kid going back to those days visiting the smoke shop in the mall. I picked up a basket pipe and some Lane RLP-6. After a few months with the basket pipe I got a nice Savinelli, and my collection of pipes and tobacco's grew from there.

 

[anthonyrosenthal74]

I was just minding my business one day, walking down the street, whistling the theme music to the Knight Rider and Airwolf tv shows, when POOF! I great big portal to another world opened up in front of me and Shhhlllloooop! Sucked me right in to a land of magic and wonder, where dragons still rule the skies, and elves sing songs while dancing around trees and throwing flower petals into the air.... Anyway, while roaming this new wonderful land, I happened upon a tavern/tobacconist called The Busty Pirate. I've mentioned this place before, so you'll all recall the wizard with an uncanny resemblance to Duane (Chasingembers) that frequents the place. Well the wizard was there, having a beer (hey, that rhymes!) and enjoying a lovely volcano shaped pipe he said was made by a guy named Revaew Ecurb. Obviously I was interested, so he handed me a pipe (from some green island somewhere) and called the gnome who owns the place over with some tobacco. So I loaded up this tobacco, called The White Schooner, lit up the pipe, and I've been hooked ever since. True story! Honest! ::