How many pipes do you need?

[sablebrush52]

Depends on the kind of pipe smoker that you are. The old rule of thumb was that a rotation was seven pipes, and that a pipe needed to be rested for 1 day per bowl or a minimum of a week between smokes. If you're an average pipe smoker this would be more than enough to meet your needs.
But today's pipe smoking environment offers a lot more variety (for now) than previous eras. We have a wider range of blends and flavors than in previous times. In response to this, many pipe smokers like to dedicate certain pipes to a specific blend, or a group of blends of similar flavor. The belief is that a briar that has been seasoned with the flavor of a particular blend or near cluster, will do a better job of delivering those flavors when smoked, rather than a pipe whose internals carry scents from a variety of different blends. That would require a wider number of pipes if you enjoy a wider number of blends.
Or, you could go the meerschaum route, in which case the number of pipes needed can be quite small since they don't need breaking in, and tend to be more neutral than briars.
And then, there's the cob, which costs next to nothing, adds a bit of sweetness to the smoke, and doesn't really need babying.
Need is not the same as want. I may need 7 pipes. I may want 700 pipes.

 

[aldecaker]

17 to 35 is the ideal number for the average pipe smoker.

 

[kanse]

1-3 is the amount I see myself with.

 

[jpmcwjr]

But, but, but, the answer is: 42!!

 

[foggymountain]

The number of smokes per day X 5.

 

[sablebrush52]

But, but, but, the answer is: 42!!

Well, that's true.

 

[Chasing Embers]

A pipe should not be smoked more than once a week

Total myth. As long as a pipe is cleaned after each smoke, and is allowed to cool between smokes, it can be smoked multiple times per week. I smoke the same pipe twice daily for a week before going to the next one. Have done so for decades with no ill effect. The old timers smoked the same pipe nonstop for years, and though heavily caked, can be cleaned up quite nicely. Pieces that I have that are close to, or over one hundred years old smoke just as sweet, and often better than my newer ones.

 

[aldecaker]

Dammit, Duane. What exactly is it you're trying to do to pipe sales!? :rofl:

 

[didimauw]

1 pipe. I have 8 briars, 3 cobs, and 1 hardwood. But I would be happy with one. I usually smoke the same pipe 4 to 5 times every day for weeks at a time, before I switch.

 

[didache]

The key here is the word 'need'. Not 'want' or 'covet' but 'need'.
Back in the day a father would gift his son withy a pipe set when the lad went to university, or started his first proper job. Typically, the set would consist of two pipes, to be smoked alternately. Many pipe smokers got by perfectly well on their two pipes, plus one or two more they may have received as gifts at Christmas.
Nobody 'needs' a couple of dozen. And nobody 'needs' to rest a pipe for a week because it has been smoked once.
Mike

 

[cosmicbobo]

How many licks does it take to get to the center of a tootsie roll?

3!.....link

 

[cshubhra]

Need transcends beyond the immediate explicit domain, and also to other implicit factors at play - taking the case of shirt - One can argue that all one person needs is "one" shirt. However, there is hardly anyone in the world whose need to cover himself is met by only "one" shirt.
There are a lot of unfortunate people with only "one" (or less) shirt - but that is the unfortunate scenario where there basic needs are not being met.
While analogies are never exact - you can match the clothes analogy to pipes as well, to a large extent.

 

[lasttango]

"The correct answer is 42."
Love that.
What I really need are less pipes and less tobaccos and MORE friends to smoke with.
Currently, my smoking buddy is the plant on the back deck.

 

[bigbehr]

7 one for each day

 

[cosmicbobo]

Same here lasttango

 

[georged]

Anyone who has smoked a pipe for long knows that how many pipes you need is expressed by the formula CN + 1
(CN = current number)

 

[Chasing Embers]

You know you have too many when you are debating converting your Dunhills to bonsai containers.

 

[mothernaturewilleatusallforbreakfast]

You need 1, but may want more than 1. It's up to the individual.

 

[panamacharlie]

Seems like some folks didn't catch the reference to The Hitchhikers Guide To the Galaxy

 

[Chasing Embers]

What do you get when you multiply 6 by pipe? :mrgreen: