I just started to collect pipes. Any tips?

[expatpipe]

Titanic, your in it for the fun of it, like me. Watch out! it will be consuming. But a great time all the time. Flea markets, antique stores, antique contacts, online auctions, reading and reading pipe history, makers, brands, companies etc. I absolutely love it. I can't give you any advice that others have not said. Maybe this, if you see something you really really want to have, sometimes it's best to skip it, cause a few days later you see something you MUST have. Sucks to miss something you would rather have cause you already reached your budget that month on pipe related spending.

 

[marmal4de]

Best advice: Purchase many Peterson's.

 

[seakayak]

I like hilojohnny's advice best so far. Take your time. A quality pipe collection should ultimately be a chronicle of your evolving tastes and interests. I have a fairly broad range of styles and sizes in my rotation. The collection is represented by a variety of countries and makers from Italy, Ireland, Denmark, France, Spain and USA. They all have two things in common: 1) I love and enjoy them all and 2) they each represent specific times and wonderful memories of my life. Take your time trust your sense for pipes that resonate with who you are, and who you become, throughout the years.

 

[titanicexplorer]

Why do i get the feeling that collecting pipes can be an addiction? ; )

 

[hobie1dog]

The bad part about collecting anything is having to part with it when finances dictate generating money....engagement rings, baby's, job lay-offs, etc. Then you have to decide which ones you will part with, thus realizing it's just STUFF and that everything we have is just temporary in life.
Just do it in moderation instead of quantity collecting.

 

[titanicexplorer]

Good points hobie1dog. I also collect ocean liner & Titanic related memeoribillia- I have a few pieces from the ship- there was a time I put every penny into my collecting- then realized it was leaving me broke- so I now keep a small core collection. With pipes, i'd be happy with a peak collection of 15 to 20 pipes, but that's it.

 

[unclearthur]

Addiction ? YES!!!!!!!!!!!! I am in need of thinning my collection heavily over three hundred now.

 

[marmal4de]

I am in need of thinning my collection heavily over three hundred now.

My home always has room for more Petes :: :mrgreen: :wink:

 

[salewis]

I suggest that you buy and read Rick Newcombe's book (267 pages) "In Search of Pipe Dreams." This book is a little dated, however, it is a great book for a beginner pipe smoker, seasoned pipe smoker and beginning pipe collector. While Rick has collected some very expensive pipes, he gives advice on some less expesive pipe makers.
Good luck, and take it slow, since if you are serious patience is a virtue.

 

[hauntedmyst]

I've been buying pipes for 30 years, buying a bit of everything that struck me at the time. I ended up selling some, giving away others. It took me a long time to decide on what to collect and now I'm pretty focused. Decide what you like and what you want to keep for a lifetime and you'll be in good shape. It doesn't have to be expensive or can be greatly depending on your tastes.

 

[cortezattic]

over three hundred [pipes] now.

Uncle Arthur, you need help. :lol:

 

[pauls]

I started collecting pipes because of artistic design and still have many of them. I primarily collect Horace Dejarnett pipes from Arizona as he makes each one himself by hand and each one is unique, also most of them have proven to be great smokers as well. I currently have 20 of his in my collection. I also have many straight "freehand" pipes in my collection that I enjoy just for there appearance.
Just to note; I found an unsmoked Preben Holm straight grain 7 day set the other day at my local tobacco shop I am trying to acquire...wish me luck!

 

[titanicexplorer]

Thanks salewis, i just ordered a copy of that book online.
Oh dear,in addition to collecting pipes, i might now need to collect books about pipes. This will be an expensive hobby!
Great advice- I was compelled to buy pipe collections off Ebay, but think what I might do is reserach the pipes, and buy one good pipe a month. There are some good looking pipes that are actually crap quality, and ugly looking pipes that are superb smokes-I think it will take time to get the feel of the pipes that do & don't work for me

 

[hobie1dog]

Collecting just just quantities would be unfulfilling to me, as I'd like to have a nice Mahogany tall Curio Cabinet, lighted inside with 4 or 5 great looking, high quality pipes on display, instead of the walls lined with old beaters. But everyones different ( thankfully ).

 

[lonestar]

Titanic, I think the smartest collectors are the ones who *start* with higher end pipes. If I could start over, instead of buying four $50 pipes, I'd slow down and buy one $200 pipe.

But it really all depends on what kind of money you want to spend.

I've bought a lot of them, from spending $10 on no name pipes, up to spending $300 on certain Italian pipes. Of course, you can spend more than that, but I havent got there yet

My advice is still to decide what price you want to spend on your pipes, and then find the best deals on that range of pipes.

My experience is that a certain name on a pipe is almost a promise of a certain level of quality. Sure, you might find the odd GBD or Stanwell that doesn't smoke well, or the shape just doesn't suit you.

The good thing is, if you buy at good prices, you can typically relist them and get your money back.

For me, I've settled on Italian pipes.

Ser Jacopo, Mastro de Paja, Don Carlos, Rinaldo, Brebbia and Armellini are the briars I smoke and enjoy the most.

I have also kept a number of individual pipes I collected over the years that just fit me. I have one or two Custombilt, Stanwell, GBD, Savinelli, Nording, Jarl, Neerup, Amphora, Wally Frank, Corncobs, etc.

They're all great smokers, but I've resold twice as many as I've kept.

Then again, if I had concentrated on higher end pipes the whole time, I'd have twice as many of those, and probably not many cheaper pipes.