How many pipes?

[teufelhund]

The closest thing I have to dedicated pipes are my cobs. I always smoke them when I'm working in the garage/workshop/yard and their rack is next to a tub of CBW. However when that runs out I have a tub of Sugar Barrel so I guess they won't be dedicated anymore.

 

[jmsutton]

I would seriously look into getting a mr brog. I have had one for over a year and for a long time was my only pipe. They make pipes out of both briar and pear wood, which I have heard nothing but great things about. My wife just got me a pipe rack from them and it is very high quality. Check out their stuff. Good pipes for not too expensive. Also, may want to look at a Kaywoodie, Dr.Grabow, or Medico. All quality pipes and around $20 or $30 so you can check out what styles and such fit you best. If you're smoking Latakia, look into briar; it seems to handle the heat better.

 

[jmsutton]

Also, think about getting a MM hardwood. Great for aromatics and tend to not burn out as quickly (in my personal experience).

 

[mso489]

"So many pipes that you can't smoke them all...." Not what I intended, but the direction that I am going.

 

[mrmotoyoshi]

I guess I'm a genre guy. I have pipes that are only for VAs (I'm probably strictest with my VAs as they are my favorite baccys and I feel the sublte nuances of their flavors is the most difficult to enjoy, YMMV)

And then I have pipes for any Latakia/English blends. Aros are usually dedicated to 1 of two cobs or I have bent tsuge E-star that is an anything pipe (Mostly Aros)

 

[aquilas]

For me, the only dedicated pipe I have is one Savinelli towards smoking only Mississippi River and FMC. Outside of that, I smoke anything and everything out of all my pipes. I don't think I can ever dedicate all my pipes to something in particular because some days, you're not so much in the mood for a certain tobacco as you are in the mood to smoke a particular pipe.

 

[jimmy70]

I have 3 pipes and they aren't dedicate. Maybe the next one will be dedicate.

 

[anglesey]

This may sound ridiculous but I separate my pipes into 'happy' 'content' and 'sad'. My happy pipes are for light refreshing blends like SG grousemoor, my content pipes are for middling blends that have nothing terribly remarkable or ghostable about them, and my sad blends are for dark latakia blends and such, what I believe is known as 'English' blends on these Americanised forums. Of course most of my collection is made up from clays, so I don't have the same rigid structure as someone who owns 20+ dunhills.

 

[durham270]

I have a very eclectic taste when it comes to tobacco blends and enjoy most (VA/Burley/VAPER/Lakeland/Aromatics,ETC) but find lately to be on a Burley kick! I keep about 45 pipes and each one had it's own special blend.

 

[av8scuba]

I own about 15 pipes, but regularly only smoke about 5. I generally smoke English blends, but do smoke a few aromatics as well. I mix and match just as the mood strikes me. I have found that one blend I enjoy most does seem better in one pipe over the others, but I don't worry about it too much.
Just experiment as you can, and maybe keep a log as you find things that work. After you've been at it a while, it will start to "click" with you and become old hat.
Happy experimenting and puffing! ::

 

[tankbuster183]

I'm fairly new to the hobby; I think the guys recommending the cobs are right on. Smoke them all and try multiple blends in a few; if you don't like it, you know you need dedicated pipes for your tastes.

 

[mso489]

I don't experience ghosting, or if I do, it doesn't bother me. I'm just not aware of it at all. However, if I were,

I would definitely designate pipes. I do tend to smoke English blends in billiards and Virginias in smaller

bulldogs and Rhodesians. Pipe smoking is sumptuous to me. I don't want to be all that orderly about it,

except to keep the pipes good and clean.

 

[kalvort]

Get a few corn cobs. I recommend the Country Gentleman! If you smoke all kinds of blends then I find it's always best to keep a few cobs around for the Aromatics and the Lakelands because these usually ghost a pipe. But don't worry too much anyway it will go away after a few bowls.
Also with a cob you don't really need to break it in, and you can smoke it many times a day since its so cheap and it actually can handle that much abuse lol.
-Lateef

 

[ocpsdan]

My tastes are usually Virginias of any sort, so I tend not to dedicate any pipes to a certain blend. If I want to smoke an english or an aromatic, I grab a pipe that either smokes very well, or one that smokes decently but for some reason doesn't always end up in my regular rotation. If you're worried about ghosting, you can try that, or buy 3,000 cobs like that other folks said. :P

 

[dottiewarden]

Like jimmy70 I've only got three pipes. It's not that I wouldn't love to have a whole lot more, But I'm just getting started at this. I hope to eventually have genre pipes, but for experimenting with new blends I may need all three just to figure out which pipe the tobacco likes!
Dot

 

[cigrmaster]

Allan, what have I been telling you, I better not catch you smoking a Latakia blend in one of your VA/Vaper pipes, you know it is blasphemy. lol
For a new smoker cobs are fine for trying to figure out what blends you like, but think about this. How are you going to get the true flavor of a blend if you smoke an aromatic and them smoke a Latakia in the same pipe? You are not going to get the real flavors of a blend because of ghosting. I dedicate all of my pipes to certain categories and also dedicate some pipes to one blend. I spend good money on my tobacco and I want to taste everything a certain blend has to offer.
If you think you are going to stick with your pipes then I think you should buy yourself a nice pipe to see the difference between that and your cobs.
Something like these would be a great starter.
http://briarblues.com/phj48.htm

http://briarblues.com/gl011.htm
I started with a Savinelli as my first pipe and I was able to really appreciate the tobacco I was smoking.

 

[okiescout]

Best reason I have heard yet for justifying buying my next pipe. Not the two I just purchased this weekend, the next one! :O))))))))))

 

[phred]

Interesting that this thread popped up again - I wound up smoking an Aro this weekend out of a pipe that I normally smoke Latakia blends from (grabbed the wrong tobacco pouch on the way out the door), and the world did not end. Plus, my spouse gave her seal of approval to the 'mustache note' of Molto Dolce, so it all worked out. :D