How Thrifty Can You Be

[Heypat]

The purpose of this thread is to share ideas on how to save money pipe smoking.

With that said It’s not always about saving money, sometimes circumstances lead you to a cost savings; for example I was restoring a batch of estates and was almost out of pipe cleaners. I had a few hundred on order but the vendor had issues processing the order and it took over 6 weeks to receive them. With local stores shut down due to the pandemic I could not just go to the store and buy them. That’s when I realized they could be washed and re used. Trust me this is not my Preffered approach, but when your stuck at home and want to work on those estates you do what you can. This is a minimal cost savings but one day you might need it.


Buying in bulk and cellaring tobacco is a common practice among pipe smokers. We have all heard it a hundred times, tobacco will never be cheaper than it is today. So we buy our favorite blend in bulk and cellar it in mason jars, not only does this save money but many blends are much better with age. So like everyone else I buy a buy a lot of mason jars and store my tobacco for future use. Then one day I am taking a bunch of large sauce jars to the recycling bin and notice they have a good rubber seal and a pop top. This is when I am reminded no matter how much money I have I will never embrace the disposable society. At this point I do a little research and learn these jars can be re used for tobacco similar to a mason jar. When putting several pounds in the cellar this can be a decent cost savings. I simply sanitize and pre heat the jars in the dishwasher add the tobacco and put on the lid; when the jar cools the pop top depresses and you have a seal like the mason jar.


And of course there are estate pipes, I am drawn to this more for the history than overall cost; but you can save a lot in the end if you invest in the time and materials required to complete the task.


Please share how you save money and reduce overall costs. Do you grow or blend your own tobacco for example ?

 

[Country Bladesmith]

I buy and smoke mostly bulk tobacco. Tinned tobacco gets purchased when there’s a sale on, mostly. I also mostly use cobs. They’re cheap, but smoke well. Pipe cleaners get used multiple times before I chunk them. All in all, pipe smoking doesn’t have to be expensive if you don’t live in a country or state that has introduced astronomical taxes on tobacco. It’s been a hell of a lot cheaper than my old cigar habit.

 

[seanv]

We used to have a member that washed pipe cleaners for reuse

 

[jpmcwjr]

Not so much to save money on pipe cleaners, but because it cleans the chamber and airway so well: I flush the pipe with hot tap water, let dry a day and smoke happily. I don't even (now) use a pipe cleaner unless there's an obstruction.

 

[Richmond B. Funkenhouser]

Everything about pipes moking is thrifty business.. even if you smoke the good stuff. It costed me about 4700 bucks a year to buy cigarettes, smoking a pack and a half of cigarettes per day.. and that's living in a state with relatively cheap cigarettes. For 4700 dollars, some people could smoke their pipes for a lifetime..

 

[sablebrush52]

The two best ways to save money on pipes and tobaccos, bar none:

1. Don't buy pipes.
2. Don't buy tobaccos.

How simple is that?

 

[workman]

Everything about pipes moking is thrifty business.. even if you smoke the good stuff. It costed me about 4700 bucks a year to buy cigarettes, smoking a pack and a half of cigarettes per day.. and that's living in a state with relatively cheap cigarettes. For 4700 dollars, some people could smoke their pipes for a lifetime..

+1.
Pipe smoking isn't very expensive. I stay clear of meaningless extravagance. I have a modest collection of good quality factory pipes and a modest cellar of tobaccos, I like.
It is good sense not to throw all your money at something that you don't need, like a 10.000$ pipe, but it is also sensible to spend what's necessary to get the most out of something you enjoy.
If I should feel monetary regrets each time I opened a tin of tobacco or broke a lighter, I wouldn't enjoy it a lot.
Not to mention stuff like reusing pipe cleaners or collecting dottle. That would feel cheap and I'm too proud for that.

 

[mikethompson]

Buying estates is a good way to get a great pipe at a great price, but even for $40 or $50 you can get a great pipe.

Best way to save money on tobacco is to live in the US I think and pay hardly any tax and not worry about customs!

 

[judcole]

I don't worry about it. Of course, I am not one of those smokers who thinks they have to try every tobacco out there, or spends lots on pipes.

 

[Casual]

If I were really concerned about the cost, I’d just stick to Carter Hall in a cob. Trying to make my own blends would take a lot of time that I could be using to work, and so wouldn’t be inexpensive at all.

 

[Guppy]

Lots of ways. I buy mostly bulk by the pound. A lot of really good blends that are under the radar. Buying estates and restoring them yourself. Plenty of deals out there. My new pipes tend to be clays, cobs, or Falcons, none of which are particularly expensive. There are also unfinished old pipes from old briar available from a few different sources. This one cost me $5 and after some rustication, staining, and opening the airway, smokes as good as any pipe I own.

 

[ray47]

I just put aside a few dollars each payday for about 2 months and then purchase only blends I smoke regularly, but where I used to order one pound, I now only order 8 oz. So far as pipes.....I have 150+ so I'm good.

 

[beefeater33]

I smoke old stogies I have found, short, but not too big around..............

 

[mawnansmiff]

Surely the cheapest way to smoke a pipe is to smoke someone else's pipe tobacco. This clip show how it's done over here....

Regards,

Jay.

 

[mso489]

To the degree you can moderate your bowl(s) per day, this stretches your cellar (in my case more appropriately called a stash). I guess I have a few pounds of blends, but these will last me for years, and even though I smoke only a bowl or two a day, I buy a tin or three now and then, so stay well ahead of my needs.

Estate pipes, new pipe discounts, special sales, trading in pipes for store credit, ritualized regular maintenance, seriously reconsidering any prejudices against factory pipes and MM cobs and especially U.S. factory pipes that now sell for so little ... likewise, sampling around for those bulk and bag tobaccos that aren't cheapie but can be very good, and learning to mix in condiments and other blends to give them variety. Patience in buying pipes and buying and sampling blends -- waiting for the sales and nosing out the truly good lower priced products can save you significant money over the months and years.

All that said, I am appreciative of high end pipes, of which I have a few, and premium tobaccos. But you don't need to compromise your budget to thoroughly enjoy your pipes and tobacco. In fact, saving on most pipe expenses can be part of the enjoyment and sport in this "hobby."

 

[aguineapig]

I love smokers pride rich taste in a cob, so yeah. 10 bucks a pound!

 

[tenton]

We used to have a member that washed pipe cleaners for reuse

Just when I thought I was the only one to wash and reuse pipe cleaners.

If I were really concerned about the cost, I’d just stick to Carter Hall in a cob. Trying to make my own blends would take a lot of time that I could be using to work, and so wouldn’t be inexpensive at all.

Yeah, it would be hard to beat Carter Hall in a cob.

 

[Richmond B. Funkenhouser]

I love smokers pride rich taste in a cob, so yeah. 10 bucks a pound!

Is it like anything else you've smoked? What would you compare it to?

 

[canucklehead]

Frugal pipesmoking practices I follow:

-smoke less (your cellar will last twice as long if you smoke half as much)
-smaller pipes (you can always smoke another, and I like the flavours better in small pipes)
-estate pipe restoration/ebay hunting
-home growing tobacco
-home blending tobacco
-homemade pipes
-buy bulk
-watch for sales
-attempting to ignore the many TAD inducing and enabling threads on here

 

[jpmcwjr]

We've been visited by royalty!

King of the Road!