I Will Be Introducing a Cigar Guy To Pipe Smoking...

[deckpiper]

A business colleague of mine is a recreational cigar smoker. He doesn't smoke daily. He's more of an out-with-the-guys smoker, but I gather he does it fairly often when he is out with the guys. And yet, he lamented wrestling with a humidor, etc.
When I told him that I had tried pipe smoking, he was very intrigued, and now he wants to try it out. I told him I had an extra Missouri Meerschaum he could have (their cheapest one):

Thoughts? Is that OK for a starter pipe for someone who has great "pipe potential?" Would you recommend another pipe to start him off? I probably won't buy him an expensive pipe, but he makes very good money (better than I do), and he might be willing to invest in a nicer pipe even on a lark like this.
What about a starter tobacco? My current favorites are:

• GLP Quiet Nights
  
  SPC Plum Pudding
  
  SPC Mississippi River
  
  Escudo Navy de Luxe
  
  H&H Magnum Opus.
  

I was thinking Plum Pudding, or Escudo, for the first time. I guess I wonder if I should start him out on Lane BCA instead, or something like that. All comments welcome.

 

[warren]

If I were in your shoes, I'm not, I suggest that, rather than smoke to "fit in" and be one of the guys, he saves his money for other things.
If the "humidor" is a challenge for him ... how's he gonna handle, tins, cake, pipe cleaners, pipe tools, pouches, loading, maintenance, and all the other stuff a many pipe smokers seem to accumulate. The, there is loading, breathing, tempo, retro-haling, etc.
Do him a favor, suggest he save his money and stick with the occasional cigar.
Does he take the humidor out on the town when he's out with the guys? I usually just lift the lid, grab a handful of sticks and head on out.

 

[chilllucky]

I've done this with five people in the last year. Two of them got cobs, one a pipe from my own cabinet that I didn't love, one had his own but hadn't smoked it, and the last one I splurged on a basket pipe for.
Tobacco wise, I bought sample packs for three of these folks and a couple ounces of a blend the local B&M calls "all-day". It's made by sutliff, but I don't know what they call it. It is very mild, and made of all the same tobaccos one would find in American cigarettes (burley, Virginia, orientals) so folks you are trying to convert will recognize it.
Three of these friends have become occasional pipe smokers. Two have not.
If you have a B&M where you can both meet up, he might be persuaded to buy his own cob, basket, or even brand-name pipe, plus smell and sample all the tobaccos. If you're going to meet up on neutral social turff, bring him a cob and two or three of your tobaccos, but try to cover the spread.

 

[redglow]

Maybe give him several small samples to try in different zip lock bags.
Meeting up at a b&m is also a good idea. He can get a feel for the different styles of tobacco, pipes, tools etc.

 

[deckpiper]

Hi Warren. By "wrestling with the humidor," I was just using a colorful phrase to refer to the work required to keep cigars in good shape--humidity maintenance. He mentioned he had a bunch dry out...and at $10 a pop, that's not good. Yeah, you can rehabilitate, I suppose, but again, more "wrestling."
I always found cigars to require much more work that merely putting tobacco in a jar. Don't you agree that jarring tobaccos is much less work than keeping fine cigars in good shape?
He is very interested, so I will not discourage him.
Thanks for the comments, everyone. I was thinking about a night on the deck, but the B&M is a good idea. I will let everyone know what we do.
Looking forward to more comments.

 

[chilllucky]

Looking back on it - I think the fact that I picked out my first pipe based on attraction to that particular one (of the ones I could afford) is what kept me interested beyond that trial ounce of "triple cherry". If that first pipe had been a 'throw away' cob (no offense to cobs), I might not have stuck it out.
Your friend may be the opposite, of course. He may be all about the flavor and not care at all for the vessel. But the chance to see what's available at a decent B&M will allow him to decide that for himself.

 

[hugodrax]

You’re doing the right thing by trying. He might not take to it, but at least he gave it a whirl.

 

[warren]

Don't you agree that jarring tobaccos is much less work than keeping fine cigars in good shape?

I don't hoard tobacco so I wouldn't know. I rarely have more than three/four tins open at any one time. The amount of angst some here show with regard to humidity, proper sealing, mold, etc. certainly seems more complicated than opening my humidor, glancing at the humidity, taking a fist full of stogies and heading out of the house.
It's the pipe maintenance that is the pain in the ass for me with all the tools, setting aside an hour or two on Sunday to clean the pipes used during the week. (I do have a pipe or cigar going during cleaning so, it's not all lost time.) Of all the methods of getting nicotine into the system, the pipe seems the most convoluted but, I've come to terms with all of that and thoroughly enjoy them. Cigars and cigarettes are not as "needy" as the pipe is all that I'm saying.

 

[deckpiper]

"an hour or two on Sunday to clean the pipes"
Wow. I'm speechless. I guess I'm doing it wrong, because I am certainly not doing that.

 

[loadclear]

Yeah me too
I smoke cigars, pipes, and (trying to lessen) cigs.
Of all these, pipes are the lowest maintenance for me. I buy tobacco in bulk in large purchases, jar them up in canning jars, then never worry about them.
As for pipes, I use a looped pipe cleaner and twirl them in the bowl after each smoke, and run one down the shank. I have enough of a rotation that I never smoke the same pipe more than once every week or two.
I don't deep clean them until they start to taste sour. I never build much of a cake with the twirling a pipe cleaner method. The last time I alcohol cleaned a pipe was last fall.
I particularly find pipe smoking more convenient than cigars since I can set it down whenever I want, and pick it up later. I don't have to set aside time like with a cigar.
I recently turned a cigar smoker onto pipes by gifting him a MM cob, and a bowl of Cult Blood Red Moon (I'm not an aro smoker, but that one is good for hooking new smokers IMO).... He now has 4 briars and a cellar approaching the size of mine.

He mentioned to me that the best part about pipes vs cigars that, as a machinist/welder, he can smoke while he works and set it down whenever he needs to.

 

[warren]

I smoke a briar pipe 8-12 bowls a day and then it is set aside until cleaning day, Sunday. A meerschaum is usually selected after dinner and smoked, two or three bowls then set aside for cleaning. This isn't etched in stone but it is the normal routine. I never wait for a briar to sour, my tobacco is isn't to waste, and keep the cake to a minimum. I have no idea what a "deep cleaning" is. The cake is pared down as needed. Stems and shanks are swabbed with 141 until the cleaner emerges fluffy white and clean. The pipe is set aside until the next day of use. My routine hasn't changed much over the last 50+ years. Why 141? I enjoy the taste.
Happly I can not admit to ever "hooking" another person on tobacco. If someone asks me about smoking I simply advise them to do the research, weigh the pluses (I really only know of one.) and minuses and then, make an informed and purely selfish decision.

 

[deckpiper]

Warren: I think you and I view pipe smoking differently. What you smoke in one day, I might take several months to smoke.
I don't view it as a burden to be discouraged. I view it as something to be casually enjoyed when I want a time out from life.
And, this guy already smokes like that with cigars.
I'm just suggesting that he replace his current cigars with pipes, which will make his life so much easier because of the reduced efforts at maintaining his tobacco: Put it in a jar until next month; run a pipe cleaner through the pipe and put it on the rack until next month. That is a lot easier than maintaining a humidor of cigars...and cheaper.

 

[smokeyweb]

Introduce your friend to 72% Boveda packs and a pelican case. That is the easiest way to store cigars with no fuss. As for the pipe, I started as a cigar smoker and now enjoy both cigars and pipes. The Seattle PC blends would be great introductory blends, as well as the Escudo. I would not start him out on any aromatics. They will just taste like hot air to a guy coming from cigars!

 

[alaskanpiper]

Having come from the cigar world, I can say the most important thing you can do is to drill it into his head that pipe smoking and cigar smoking are completely different things and should not be compared to each other. His first instinct is going to be to compare it to his beloved cigars, which is simply not fair. IMHO smoking a cigar has has about as much in common with pipe smoking as it does with packing a dip. There is tobacco and nicotine involved, but they are completely different activities and one should not expect the taste, nor the experience, to be similar.
If you can get him to understand that, any blend of decent quality will do, but I personally would go with an english blend or a fairly lightly topped aromatic. Or both. When I first switched from cigars VA/Vaper blends just tasted like a fancy cigarette to me. It took me a while when I first got started to come around to Virginias, but now they are some of my favorites. I liked english blends and aromatics right out of the gate................after I realized that pipe tobacco was a much more nuanced and mild taste and required more attention than my beloved cigars. :wink:
I would send him home with a few samples of different types of blends to try out as well.
I'm no expert, but that was my personal experience. YMMV.
As far as cob vs. briar, I think a cob would do fine, but part of the appeal for me when I started was certainly the beauty of the various briar vessels. The rustic appeal of a cob is not to be underestimated as well though, and they sure are easy to smoke.

 

[milehighpiper]

Deckpiper,
I think you are doing the right thing by giving your friend a cob. I have a few pipes now and I think my 4th and 5th pipes were cobs. I bought them to try out aromatic blends at the shop. However, after several smokes through the cob pipes, I realized that the cobs provided a great smoke! The only thing I did was upgrade to an acrylic/forever stem and now my cobs are definitely part of my rotation. If I was your friend, the fact that you are taking the time to teach me about a new hobby would be more valuable than the pipe itself. You are doing a good deed!
As far as what tobacco to start him out with, it totally depends on what he sticks his nose in and wants to try. Give him a few options from your stash and see how it goes. My advice: remind him that if he is not enjoying the smoke, he can dump the tobacco out without hurting your feelings. There is nothing worse in this world than having to grind through a bowl of nasty tobacco to please the person who gave it to you. Well then again trying to convince your wife that she needs to take antibiotics for your bladder infection sucks too!

 

[mso489]

I wouldn't strategize much. Your friend's reaction will be his own. The cob is fine for a starter. He's just trying this out. I'd start him on a mild blend, any one of them, unless you know for sure his sticks are full strength. Depending on his personality, he might emote delight and never smoke the cob again, or not show much reaction and go out and buy a high-end briar and tins. No telling. Just see what happens and play it as it comes. However he reacts, it might make a story, for others, or between you two. My only advice is to drop quiet hints about how pipe smoking isn't like cigar smoking, even with cigar leaf. Pipe smoking is its own thing. Reassure him about relights. Don't supervise much.

 

[hoosierpipeguy]

I don't understand the maintenance on cigar thing. If you properly season the humidor before putting into use and use a humidifier such as the PG Beads, all you should need to do is add a little distilled water every month or so. I'm not sure how it could be any easier.
It sounds like your friend is more of a Poser than a Smoker. He smokes socially with friends who do. Seems the easiest thing for him to do is clip a cigar and light it when the occasion arises. All the stuff associated with smoking a pipe, especially with someone who is not likely ever going to learn to do it correctly, is going to be very distracting if not frustrating to him.

 

[lawdawg]

Don't you agree that jarring tobaccos is much less work than keeping fine cigars in good shape?

On the whole, smoking pipes is much more work than cigars, mainly because you have to clean the pipes. Cigar humidity is easy with Boveda humdity control packs, which last months and only cost a few bucks a piece. Check the humidity in the humidor every couple weeks, and if it's rising much above or below the number on your Boveda pack, then replace the Boveda. My humidor has been coasting at an ideal 70 degrees and 70% humidity for months.
I started smoking my pipes again last week, and I probably spent 20 minutes yesterday cleaning them. That's more time than I spent maintaining my cigars all summer.
On the intro-to-pipe-smoking issue, I've found that since pipe smoking has such a steep learning curve, you have to really want to do it to persevere through the troubles that we all experienced as beginner pipe smokers. That being said, I recommend being sure to really dry out the tobacco for your buddy to get a good smoke. It's personal preference, but I've been smoking my tobacco just shy of crispy, and I enjoy most blends better that way, plus the pipe tends to light and stay lit easier.

 

[blues4goose]

I don't understand some of the judgement being passed in this thread in regards to your friends smoking habit.

Your friend is not a "poser". Your friend is not wrong to smoke the way he does.

Hoosier, you really wanna call the guy a poser because he only smokes when he's out with friends? How is that not a valid time to want to enjoy a cigar? You honestly just sound like a jerk, and a gatekeeper.

I didn't realize you had to smoke alone or had to smoke often to be considered a "real" cigar smoker.

If the guy owns a humidor it's pretty obvious he's somewhat serious about it for his own sake.

And it is perfectly valid that he wants to give pipes a try.

I would recommend starting with a stout english, a good vaper, and maybe an aromatic. IMO, the most cigar-like flavors come not from cigar leaf blends, but from ropes. If he wants a similar taste, try some Gawith brown or black, and there's also a Native Americn store called Turkeyfoot traders that sells a large tobacco twist (i think it's burley, waiting on confirmation) for like $10, and it tastes more like a cigar than most cigars lol.

That being said, maybe he doesn't want a cigar-like experience. For me, the reason I switched from 4 cigars a day to 10 pipes a day is because the flavors from pipe tobacco are generally much less aggressive than cigars, and I'm able to pick out more flavors and can basically chain smoke a pipe without burning out my palate. English blends usually work perfect for me, my favorites being Gawith's Commonwealth, C&D Awakened Elder, or really any English, I haven't found one I don't like.

When I was only smoking cigars and I would look at the flavor descriptions of latakia blends, they never sounded good to me at all. I wish I would've realized how wrong I was sooner.

It also helps to emphasize that if he takes your advice and it doesn't work for him, that he can tweak it and change it or do something completely different until he finds what does. Make sure he doesn't suffer with a technique that doesn't work for him just because he thinks that's what you're "supposed" to do. I learned pretty quickly that the 3-layer method was junk for me, and now I'm really not sure what to call how I pack. He'll figure it out if you get him started on the right path.

 

[voorhees]

Good luck. I have learned that you must have a passion for it. Pipe smoking is much more involved than even cigar smoking and some people enjoy the routine and some won't ever.