How Do You Keep Track...

[carolinachurchwarden]

Of all the pipes you own and all the blends you've tried? I mean...I will use the illustrious fishnbanjo as an example. The man, the myth, the legend, has more pipes than anyone could count, yet knows who made each and every one of them, when they bought it, what it's made of and all sorts of other details special to each pipe. Now, counting my cobs, I have like 15. I know when I bought them all and with a couple, special memories are attached to their purchase. I don't imagine that if I had as many as banjo that I could ever in a million years remember all that info about each one. He does impress me greatly.
I have this same problem already with tobaccos I have and what I have smoked. I know out of what I have, what I like, but how do you recall it one day down the road? A lot of tobaccos taste very similar, but a few stand out in my mind. I already have a few that I can't remember for sure how I liked them or how they tasted and if I even want it again or not. How do you keep track?
I'm considering buying myself a journal to use as my tobacco journal. Sort of a journey, if you will. A journey through discovery of blends I love, blends I don't, blends I want to buy more of, and those that aren't worth the baggie they're stored in. I want to keep track of the pipes that I pass by and may want someday, as well as what blends or types of blends work best with each pipe. I want to keep track of all the details of every blend out there that I want to smoke.
I think that without some way to keep track, I'll lose it all and be back at square one. So how do you keep track?

 

[bluto]

I use all the power of my brain

 

[techie]

I keep a detailed spreadsheet of all the blends I have in stock, the ones out-of-stock, the Producer, blend name, origin, family, components, and a few other headings, plus a rating from 1-4, with some aroma/tasting notes. Just part of the fun for me. I also keep a spreadsheet of all the whiskies I've tried and have in stock, which is quite large now.

 

[carolinachurchwarden]

Ha, well, yours is better than mine, then, I'll give you that!
I've considered using a spreadsheet, but I work at a computer on a daily basis and it's the last thing I feel like looking at when I get home, but it's a good idea.

 

[techie]

Well, I keep detailed spreadsheets for my work too, so it was sort of a natural thing for me.

 

[bluto]

Oh , im not doing myself any favours , i brew beer , blend tobacco , make nice meals ... but there are no notes of ingredients or proportions unless I follow a recipe I can find later.
Stuff turns out pretty good , but I can’t reproduce it.

 

[madox07]

I use a Ledger.. the old fashioned way :puffpipe:

 

[Chasing Embers]

I don't. I found 24 ounces of 11 year old Penzance in the back of my closet a few months back that I had forgotten about. It's just tobacco.
http://pipesmagazine.com/forums/topic/found-in-the-back-of-my-closet

 

[jpmcwjr]

I just don't keep track except to occasionally note how much Margate I have, or some bulk blends.

 

[pianopuffer]

Evernote. I can create custom spreadsheets/tables to use as a tobacco journal and another for pipes. Syncs across all my devices so if I'm out and about I can update info as needed. Free, cloud-based solution. Don't have to worry about losing a paper journal.

 

[eaglewriter1]

Well Tobacco is easy for me as I just sort them by "Buy again" and "Dont buy again" in my head and I mostly recognize a tin I had before. Pipes on the other Hand is a little more tricky^^. I know wich ones were my first as in, first estate, first peterson, first pipe at large etc but after that it gets kinda fuzzy.^^ Migth pick up the spreadsheet idea.

 

[bluto]

My phone has a note to self function , I suspect pretty soon we will be recording these things with Alexa , Siri or hey google .

 

[cosmicfolklore]

When I first got this far into pipes that I was joining this forum, I made spreadsheets, printed out forms... then just never used any of that. I can stand in front of hundreds of tins at The Briary and tell you what is in each blend, whether I liked it, and what I was doing while smoking it. I cannot remember what I did last night, nor even what I just had for lunch, but I can remember so much more about pipesmoking. I have never needed notes. The first thing I do when smoking is relate it to something that I have smoked before. Then I detect what leaf is in the blend, then taste for what the casing may be made of. I don't seem to forget this... for some reason.

 

[carolinachurchwarden]

I'm the same way when it comes to history. I can remember what happened in specific moments throughout history and I can pretty much re-state it moment by moment. I'm a sponge for history, but I can read about that in down time at work, I can't look over my tobaccos and pipes the same way. I have some time at home in the evenings, but not much. Mostly I'm helping the wife or mulling about doing things I need to do at home. If I had more time to be able to go through all of them and do that, then I might be able to remember them all myself, but I'm thinking I'm going to need to write this stuff down, and make a handsome little project out of it while I'm at it.
Thinking of buying a leather journal kit from my local craft store and tooling the leather myself, then putting it together and creating my record of the blends I've had and pipes I want, and pretty much everything pipe smoking.

 

[craiginthecorn]

I would think the best method for tracking would vary, depending upon how many tobaccos you have or have had and your capacity to remember. I don’t have any difficulty remembering which tobaccos I’ve tried, and it’s many, many dozens..
When my tobacco cellar of tins moved past a full packing crate, I started using a Google Sheets spreadsheet. Later, I discovered a generic Android-only database app called Memento. I used a template database shared by another user then modified it to meet my requirements. It has its faults, of course, but I really like that I can sync with Google Drive and open up the database as a spreadsheet with Google Sheets. It’s also great protection against obsolescence. That Google Sheets facility allowed me to import the majority of my old spreadsheet-based data without starting from scratch. Finally, Memento also has templates for pipe databases, but I don’t really feel it’s worth the effort for me.
The online tobacco cellars are not convenient for me to use on my phone, but I think tobaccocellar.com is the best of that bunch. Check out peckinpahhombre’s cellar HERE.

 

[mikethompson]

There is a tool that may be helpful to some at tobaccocellar.com that keeps track of what you have on hand. As for remembering what I have tried, I haven't tried so many that I don't remember them.

 

[piper64]

I've kept a journal from day one . Love going back through it as it's a record of my pipe journey.

 

[pepesdad1]

" I know out of what I have, what I like, but how do you recall it one day down the road?" Hell, I can't even remember what I put in the pipe...let alone when, how and what it costs....no power of the brain. But, I'm old so that is my excuse.

 

[mothernaturewilleatusallforbreakfast]

I only have a few pipes that I use to smoke a few blends. There's not much to keep track of. If I know I've been smoking a blend more regularly, then I place an order and throw it in the closet when it arrives. I have no idea how much tobacco I have, but it doesn't matter to me. I know I have enough because the closets and drawers in my house say I do.

 

[peckinpahhombre]

I don't keep track of my pipes at all. I do keep track of my cellar on tobaccocellar.com, but even there, I have a couple of drawers of tobacco bought in the last 2 years or so that I haven't yet gotten around to adding to the inventory. All the new stuff gets shoved in those drawers and then when I have time I will update my tobaccocellar page.