How do you start a pipe collection & tobacco stash on a budget?

[jcsoldit]

Hey guys... we have a new member (frankryan) and he left the following post under the Welcome new members tread, which gave me the idea for this tread... I hope you enjoy!
"My name is Frank. I live in New Jersey. I first smoked a pipe in college in the early eighties. But being inexperienced and having no internet and sites like this at the time, I had a lot of problems with bowl bite and such.

I just recently bought a Doc Grabow Grand Duke at the drug store and a pouch of Captain Black (White Pouch) the experience has been much better but I'm definitely looking to start building a collection. However, I have a very limited budget. Any suggestions regarding pipes, tobacco, accessories would be much appreciated. I look forward to reading and experiencing much more about pipes and such."

 

[chuckw]

Each night, put your all change in a "cookie jar." Maybe even a dollar bill once in awhile.

 

[jonesing]

One thing Id' say is look at the Stokkebye blends. If I had to I could be happy to smoke nothing but their luxury line. Navy Flake, Bullseye Flake, English Luxury and it's just about the cheapest stuff you can buy at around $25 a LB.
And just keep your eyes peeled for deals on pipes. 3 of my best smokers came from ebay for less than 10 bucks a piece with shipping. An old Edward's billiard, a no name "London Lane" billiard and a little Orlik straight Dublin.
Don't listen to the bull shite. You don't need a herd of Dunhill pipes and vintage tins of Pre-Murray's 965 and EMP to fully enjoy the hobby. I have no quarrel whatsoever with those that enjoy collecting high end pipes and smoking high dollar blends. I smoke some myself. But the quarrel does start when it's postured as "the only proper way" to fully enjoy smoking a pipe.
Pipe smoking has humble roots and is still a past time for the common man.

 

[surfmac211]

This is kinda a gamble but I have purchased 3 pipes in the last couple months from thompsoncigar.com. They about once a month have a assorted pipe mix for 29.95. Now its a random pipe but I have gotten 1 Peterson Shannon, 1 Savinelli, and 1 Ascot pipe that was kinda crappy. But heck not to shabby of a luck draw. Now I do know some people that got worked I must have just gotten lucky.

 

[pstlpkr]

Best thing to do is buy yourself a decent starter pipe.

Dr. Graybow, for example or if you have a decent B&M near you go get yourself a low end Ardor, and a variety of different tobaccos.

Then assume the position in your easy chair and smoke.... slowly.

 

[rjs338]

As for my self. I started slowly. I was originally a devout cigar smoker but found it hard to justify the price of better cigars. My 1st pipe, which is still my favorite, was a Wessex-611, Burley, 1/4 bend. I purchased it @ a Tobacco Road Outlet in my area where I buy most of my tobacco. I buy my tobacco 2 oz. at a time & store them in the zip-lock type bags in a flip-top rubber ringed mason jar. This way my tobacco stays fresh for as long as I want to store it without going bad & I can afford to buy/try new blends without too much expense. I used to like my cigars on the med.-full bodied side so I was surprised to learn how much I've enjoyed fruit infused pipe tobacco blends like Black Rasberry & Peach Melba. Go into it with an open mind & pallet & you might be surprised to see how your taste develops.

 

[igloo]

I too am a fan of the 2 ounce bag , if you like it get more and store it in a mason jar . Save up for a pipe that catches your eye and somehow the baccy will taste better . I once gave up fast food for a month and collected cans at work and my coworkers helped . Ended up with a nice freehand .

 

[cortezattic]

Stay single.

(If you're married, help her find a good job.)

 

[admin]

LOL Cortez!

 

[jcsoldit]

I'm a big fan of estate (used) pipes. If you're careful and little luck you can purchase some very nice pipes at a fraction of their new cost, and you can’t beat the price of bulk tobacco.

 

[sapo59]

I have got great deals on alot of Dr. Grawbow estate pipes on Ebay. I also have a big collection of mm cobs. I pride myself on my budget pipe collection. Whith that said, watch Ebay and see what you can find, and most importantly purchase a mess of MM cobs. Happy puffing.

 

[rjs338]

I never thought of estate sales 4 deals on used pipes. Does any one know how to clean/disinfect used pipes before using them without ruining them?

 

[avitous]

I went on a "shopping spree" recently to fill out my newbie pipe collection (yes, I'll post some pics soon, I'm still embarrassed how much $$$ I spent...) and ended up with some wonderful used pipes from estate sales. A reputable pipe dealer will clean/disinfect them for you already; if you're concerned about disinfecting then wiping the mouth end of the bit and swabbing it out with a pipe cleaner soaked in alcohol should take care of any leftover microbes. There are some tips posted elsewhere on this site about how to clean/restore/"sweeten" a used pipe as well. The ones I had purchased seemed to already be cleaned well so I didn't worry about it.
Hope this helps!

 

[fred]

For me, the acquisition of Pipes and Tobacco initially was a real stretch of the

budget. The Pipes were affordable and smoked well, which is really what's important

both then and now. They were by no means works of art or high grade by any measure,

but I still have them and they still provide good service. I found that Meerschaums

could be smoked for longer periods, as they do not require the same resting time as

Briar, so for me they helped me stretch my budget to buy tobacco - which were the

'drug store' blends that I found. As time went by, and my budget increased, I

purchased better Pipes and started to cellar tobacco. This is frugal, but the

anticipation of better days was fun and gave me a sense of accomplishment when things

actually did get better.

 

[maduroman]

dude, look at it like this, in the long run it is cheaper than cigs.
and cigars? if you smoke a quality one it'll run you at least $5 per smoke.
there is nothing wrong with smoking corncob pipes unless you are more intrested in apearances.
btw, visit antique malls. alot of the vendors in them sell everything, even things they have no idea of the value. allmost all of my vintage razors, shaving mugs and my meercham pipe can from them...

 

[frankryan]

I just want to thank everyone for their input. I am learning so much and am looking forward to hitting the flea markets and estate sales. I have also began to browse ebay and some of the online stores looking at their estate pipes. My concern now is knowing the difference between healthy use and abuse. I know there are articles on this site but I ride a train to work 2 1/2 to 3 hours a day to and from work. Can any of you recommend a book or even a print magazine about pipe smoking and collecting?
Thanks
Frank

 

[illius]

I would say for the pipes check out ebay. Ive picked up some nice estate pipes for dirt cheap. If you can bid it right and have maybe $30-40 bucks(who knows you might get it cheaper) you could pick up a lot of estates, some lots are for a few some are for 10-18 pipes. It all depends whats up for bid. I got 5 estates for about 10 bucks that smoke pretty good and two other estates for about 5 bucks. Its worth a shot when your on a budget.

 

[jcsoldit]

rjs338,

Check with Bob... he has posted a video on how to clean and disinfect pipes. It's not a hard task.

 

[igloo]

I like my ebay pipes just as soon as the stinger is ripped out and thrown promptly in the trash . It is kinda cool to get a old Marxman , Kaywoodie , Dr G , Yellow Bowl etc .Clean it up and know you are out less than 10 or 15 bucks . As you read the what are you smoking thread notice that someone may smoke out of a high dollar pipe one day and a beater or a cob the next .Like what you have and smoke what you like .My friend Bud swears by Admiral's Choice Vanilla Cavendish at CVS it is blended by Altadis for them . Makes me laugh at those who will smoke Altadis then run down the CVS blends .

 

[unclearthur]

Most of my too large collection is estates . A little cleanup and you have a pipe you could never have been able to buy new.