How Much Is to Much?
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The world is different for everyone. I personally don't know what smoking qualities people are looking for. Not in a million years does a cob smoke better than any of my artisan pipes, for me. The smooth draw, the added taste of briar, a cob can't touch that. It doesn't smoke the same. But for some, this is as ridiculous as I find those statements. To concur, though, your budget is your budget. I personally think that $100 to $300 is a nice range for a handmade pipe, especially if you take the time to get to know the guy who made the pipe. It adds to the whole experience for me. But I've purchased estates for $2 that turned out to be beautiful, nearly unsmoked pipes from 1932. And if I had the disposable income, I probably would happily purchase a pipe at over a thousand, but I don't so let's not pontificate too much.
Well, some of us are just cheap bastards. Others like to live vicariously through the luxurious lifestyles of others. There's probably no small measure of OCD in this population.
It was years before I started buying cobs. Glad that I did. Cobs offer a lot of bang for the buck, but they're not a replacement for my Brit wood or my artisan pipes.
Price doesn't always equal performance, but quality does cost. If you're someone who appreciates a well made stem and button, the cost of that work adds to the cost of the pipe. You might find a good pipe new for $60, but odds are that you'll do better above $150. Above $350 you start to head toward aesthetics and "brand" in addition to pure function. And "bragging rights" can go as high as mid five figures.
My most valuable and favorite pipe is probably a $125 piece. That was gifted to me. I have another at a similar price point that I won via the caption contest here. My second favorite pipe cost me $20 on Etsy and it is my undisputed best flake smoker.
Pipes aren't where I've chosen to spend the majority of my pipesmoking money, but I love all the pipes I have. Someday I may end up with $350 artisan piece a la Ryan Alden or something, but mostly because I'm interested in supporting what he does.
Buy the best pipe you can comfortably afford is always my advice. If that's a cob, you'll still have done just fine.
Pipes aren't where I've chosen to spend the majority of my pipesmoking money, but I love all the pipes I have. Someday I may end up with $350 artisan piece a la Ryan Alden or something, but mostly because I'm interested in supporting what he does.
Buy the best pipe you can comfortably afford is always my advice. If that's a cob, you'll still have done just fine.
You make some really good points, sablebrush. Especially on the stem. A huge part of why I go artisan is that I clench a pipe usually for the entire bowl. I need a well weighted pipe with a great button. And I know who makes buttons the way that I like them, and I am willing to spend how much it costs for them to make my button, or pipe, as you may.
You enjoy the feel of those weird plastic stems that come on cobs when you clench for that long? I find them mushy and gross. After about 10 bowls in a cob I can't stand the stem any more.
Personally my "threshold for pain" tops in around $300.00. Beyond that it a tough one for me. Have I spent beyond? Yes. Was I happy I did? On a few yes and on a few no.
In the $200.00 range and less there are loads of excellent choices. My friends at smokingpipes.com have a 15% off estate pipes sale, right now, and I did a quick look see and found a few pipes( ok more than a few ) I will re look at shortly. I did see a number of pipes under $200.00. Also on my site there are around 80 pipes priced at $200.00 and less.
My suggestions is to buy the best quality pipe you can afford, that you strongly believe will be a keeper. Your eyes will catch the shapes you like, then look at price. Look for things like stem button thickness, light gaps between stem and shank, tooth marks ( if estate ), weight, etc. Don't be afraid to ask questions of the seller. The SP.com Team are very good at answering questions.
Buy something you really like. Do not just buy because you feel the urge to buy. I can't say this often enough ...... the goal is to have quality smoking pipes. Not just quantity. Collecting pipes that collect dust sitting on a rack is a waste of money.
Michael J. Glukler
In the $200.00 range and less there are loads of excellent choices. My friends at smokingpipes.com have a 15% off estate pipes sale, right now, and I did a quick look see and found a few pipes( ok more than a few ) I will re look at shortly. I did see a number of pipes under $200.00. Also on my site there are around 80 pipes priced at $200.00 and less.
My suggestions is to buy the best quality pipe you can afford, that you strongly believe will be a keeper. Your eyes will catch the shapes you like, then look at price. Look for things like stem button thickness, light gaps between stem and shank, tooth marks ( if estate ), weight, etc. Don't be afraid to ask questions of the seller. The SP.com Team are very good at answering questions.
Buy something you really like. Do not just buy because you feel the urge to buy. I can't say this often enough ...... the goal is to have quality smoking pipes. Not just quantity. Collecting pipes that collect dust sitting on a rack is a waste of money.
Michael J. Glukler
Thanks for information Briarblues. Since starting in the pipe smoking, I've always been attracted to big name makers that where in my price point $150. I never thought about the size of Bowl, Stem exc. I bought a Sav 611KS. And I will admit I tend to smoke the bowls hot, but when this pipe heats up it almost feels like it's burning your hand. Also, the back of my throat is on fire. I try to smoke very slow, but this pipe is the only one that gives me problems.
I have several pipes that were valued at about $300 when I got them, but I didn't pay that. Mostly, my sport is finding what I believe to be excellent smoking pipes of good quality and pleasing appearance for decidedly reasonable prices. One example is a Tsuge Sampling Pipe, a straight billiard that PC said was a $70 pipe for $39.99, and though it is certainly a factory pipe, it definitely has the feel of a Tsuge, decisive fit and finish. In several ways, this kind of purchase pleases me more than busting out heavy money. As if in answer to my quest, I have an in-state carver who works in Mountain Laurel, briar, Cocobolo and maple who charges moderate factory made prices for hand carved pipes, which to me are quite outstanding. So just daring myself to spend a lot isn't as satisfying. The best things in life may not be free, but if you believe your eyes and look at a lot of pipes, sometimes they cost a fraction of what you might spend.
Agreed. Much more satisfying for me to spend $20 and feel like I got the deal of a lifetime than toiling over spending too much on something.
My Lorenzo Straight Dublin is this pipe for me.
My Lorenzo Straight Dublin is this pipe for me.
This a great question for anyone who takes pipe smoking seriously. I have a friend who will buy a pouch of Half and Half and smoke from it for 6 mos. He is never bothered with how much is too much. He smokes a cob until it wears out and then buys another. It is instead a question for many such as frequent pipe boards and who have made pipes their study, in which case they can tell the difference between the quality of factory pipes and an Ashton, between that pipe and the current darling of this board Ryan Alden, and between that pipe and a Doctor's, and finally that pipe and a Geiger.
How much is too much is a great question given that a beater off Ebay that was drilled correctly and had wood of a sufficient cure is going to smoke as good as a Former. But Marty Pulvers has been known to extol the virtues of Ingo Garbe who he calls the "ultimate pipe purist." He had a Garbe pipe that smoked so well that he bought another for top dollar but still hasn't smoked it, afraid that he'll be disappointed. I'm sure the Garbe that he has does smoke better for him, but I've not read anyone who makes such claims put forward any communicable qualities that state why or how this is so. If such difference exists I would think it could be put into language and shared.
I cannot find any difference in smoking qualities in my pipes, and it's taken years to come to these conclusions. Retailers are not shy about singing the praises of the pipes they sell, and the forums are replete with the assertions about pipes, which in my opinion are not true. One pipemaker says that it is the smoothness of the internals that makes a pipe smoke better. To me this is ridiculous as whether the smoke has to navigate a channel that has not been sanded or another with some amount of roughness, to me, just can't impede the flow of the smoke. I don't understand how obstruction of even a quarter of the airway would make much difference. This might slow the smoke a bit, but it's hard to believe that the smoker could tell the difference in the amount of smoke resulting in his mouth, especially if he didn't know about the obstruction.
Pipesmoking is a terribly personal act. In considering it I always come back to the internal questions. What was the mood of the smoker? How much did he actually try to taste the tobacco rather than huffing on the pipe; did he take his time or was he in a hurry? To what extent is his palate developed? How capable is his smoking technique? Finally, what is his attitude about the pipe he is smoking? I think it's much more the case that the answers to these internal questions influence what we taste and how we think the pipe smokes than that some pipes have a special magic. The subjective in pipe smoking is huge.
YMMV. These are just my thoughts.
The simple answers to your question have already been given. Pipes are expensive. Like Mike Glukler said, only buy what you really like. Good luck!
How much is too much is a great question given that a beater off Ebay that was drilled correctly and had wood of a sufficient cure is going to smoke as good as a Former. But Marty Pulvers has been known to extol the virtues of Ingo Garbe who he calls the "ultimate pipe purist." He had a Garbe pipe that smoked so well that he bought another for top dollar but still hasn't smoked it, afraid that he'll be disappointed. I'm sure the Garbe that he has does smoke better for him, but I've not read anyone who makes such claims put forward any communicable qualities that state why or how this is so. If such difference exists I would think it could be put into language and shared.
I cannot find any difference in smoking qualities in my pipes, and it's taken years to come to these conclusions. Retailers are not shy about singing the praises of the pipes they sell, and the forums are replete with the assertions about pipes, which in my opinion are not true. One pipemaker says that it is the smoothness of the internals that makes a pipe smoke better. To me this is ridiculous as whether the smoke has to navigate a channel that has not been sanded or another with some amount of roughness, to me, just can't impede the flow of the smoke. I don't understand how obstruction of even a quarter of the airway would make much difference. This might slow the smoke a bit, but it's hard to believe that the smoker could tell the difference in the amount of smoke resulting in his mouth, especially if he didn't know about the obstruction.
Pipesmoking is a terribly personal act. In considering it I always come back to the internal questions. What was the mood of the smoker? How much did he actually try to taste the tobacco rather than huffing on the pipe; did he take his time or was he in a hurry? To what extent is his palate developed? How capable is his smoking technique? Finally, what is his attitude about the pipe he is smoking? I think it's much more the case that the answers to these internal questions influence what we taste and how we think the pipe smokes than that some pipes have a special magic. The subjective in pipe smoking is huge.
YMMV. These are just my thoughts.
The simple answers to your question have already been given. Pipes are expensive. Like Mike Glukler said, only buy what you really like. Good luck!
That is the question. How much is too much? One won't know, until it's too late. My 70 dollar Rossi, and my 70$ Stanwell, both smoke ten times better than my two 120$ Petersons.
Wow, you're biting down too hard. One of my cobs is over ten years old with the original stem, and very little chatter.
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