If You Had To Do It All Over Again

[shaintiques]

I don't know that I would have done much differently. Maybe tried some flake sooner as Vorhees has said, but I have put as much free money into my cellar as I could from the moment I realized that I should cellar. The more I smoke the more I know what I like pipe wise and I"ve started thinning the ranks slightly to make room for a few more customs.

 

[pipesmokingtom]

The more I smoke the more I know what I like pipe wise and I"ve started thinning the ranks slightly to make room for a few more customs.

Many mistakes are fixable. I "collected" a lot of worthless pipes over the years, with what intention, I'm not sure... but they were ultimately a waste of money and I never smoked them anyway. If you buy garbage early, you're setting your money on fire.

 

[warren]

Fairbanks, 1965, Woolworth's, only game in town, only had Middleton and cheap Ropps. Couldn't have done anything different if I'd wanted to.

 

[deathmetal]

If you had to take up the pipe all over again or could give your past self some advice on the matter, what habits, purchasing, etc. would you change?

Start with one tobacco and master packing, lighting, smoking, etc. Then get small samples of every type and try them sparingly over six months. In the end, you will find your tastes have refined and then can crazy go nuts in that area.

 

[okiebrad]

In 2003 I would have approached McClelland and/or C&D. Offered them some absurd amount of money for their Syrian Latakia supply and then moved it to a different warehouse. Hindsight is a wonderful thing.

 

[wyfbane]

^ +1,000,000

 

[hextor]

when I was 18 years old, i was spending my money on stupid things that i never needed, some of my purshases were, lets say on greener tobacco, It got me in lots of trouble, my friends were not of reputable company, I wish I would have started the hobby of smoking pipe tobbaco when i was that age, it would have save me lots of trouble and also i find that pipe smokers are mature men that will either give good advice or will lend their ear when a good friend is having problems.

 

[jefff]

I could wish I had spent less on bad pipes and more on good pipes...but how would I have ever learned the difference?
I wouldn't change a thing.

 

[hakchuma]

I would have jumped into plugs and ropes sooner. I would have ran away from any Peterson tobacco. I would have purchased less briars and just bought more cobs. I would have not tried every pipe lighter I could find and simply bought more Bic lighters.

 

[noquarter]

I could have stopped buying pipes a little earlier. Having an ebay account doesn't help.

 

[didimauw]

I love this idea for a thread.
I would have bought less pipesand probably stuck with Grabows and stocked up on the one Tobacco I smoke today. It was my first love.

 

[cosmicfolklore]

I don't regret buying a single thing. However, I would have warned myself not to leave pipes in specific places, where they've gotten stepped on or run over.

And, there are a few blends that I would have bought more of that I can no longer find available, D&R Picayune and H&H Frieght Train as well as a few others.

 

[derfargin]

And, there are a few blends that I would have bought more of that I can no longer find available, D&R Picayune and H&H Frieght Train as well as a few others.

Aww say it isn't so. I like both of those blends, and I only have about 6 oz left of Freight Train. Much less of the Picayune.

 

[tinsel]

I would tell myself ...
"Self! Buy latakia blends sparingly and only in small quantities. Chances are when you try the you won't like them. Stock up on all the Dunhill Flake and Orlik Golden Sliced you can afford. Don't buy cheap estate pipes, they are junk. If you are broke, buy a cob. If you aren't, buy a pipe from a reputable manufacturer. You're gonna like bright, lemon, and red virginias the most, along with handful of VaPer's. Avoid lat bombs like the plague. Don't bother with aromatics, you aren't going to like any of them and they will sit around in jars collecting dust."

 

[kiel]

It would probably be what people were already telling me, "slow down." I wouldn't have listened to myself anyway. Slow down your smoking pace. You don't have to open that tin right now, let it sit. Take your time with what you what to try next. You don't need to buy that (insert name-brand) pipe because its only X amount.
I'm not sure if this advice would have helped make the road/experience any better. I learned a lot from smoking like a speeding locomotive, having "shotgun" purchasing habits,and finding out why pipe A was better than pipe B.

 

[mikestanley]

I would have been more patient on pipe purchased, meaning I would buy fewer but better pipes. I also would have a hell of a lot more Three Nuns in the 80's. I miss it.

Mike S.

 

[anthonyrosenthal74]

The one thing I would have done differently is, I wouldn't have bought one of those cheap (but rather cool looking)Ukranian pear wood pipes, and then a second one after the shank cracked only so the same would happen to the second. Instead I would have saved a little more and purchased a better briar pipe or purchased a few cobs earlier on. Oh wait... there is a second thing I never would have done. I never would have tried Captain Black Cherry. That stuff tastes like the back end of a dying camel.

 

[deathmetal]

I compiled all that I learned in the short pipe smoking FAQ I wrote, but I would have started with cobs as well. They are most forgiving to the beginner. Get a few because sometimes you drop them off buildings or accidentally use them as fishing bait.

 

[philobeddoe]

I don't think that I would change anything, every pipe and every tobacco was a learning experience some bad, but many more good. Of course, I could say that I would have skipped right to these kinds of pipes and these kinds of tobaccos, but how could I possibly have appreciated them had I not had the wealth of experience that only failure can provide. I bought my first pipe, a Dr. Grabow and a pouch of Borkum Riff Whiskey from a local drug store when I was 16. My first epiphany happened the day I ran out of filters and decided to try a bowl without one...holy shit, now I could really taste the tobacco and I was no longer trying to puff through a milkshake! My second pipe was an estate Big Ben that I bought at my local B&M and I then switched to a lightly cherry flavored house blend, which was a big step up, as far as getting any of the actual tobacco taste as well as nicotine. I tried my first English style tobacco when I was at college, either my sophomore or junior year, it was also a house blend, likely akin to EMP if I recall correctly. I do remember that I immediately liked the taste of the Orientals and Latakia, which only made me want to try more and more blends. Today, I know what pipe shapes I like best and I also know which types of tobacco I find most enjoyable, but I still enjoy trying new tobacco blends and discovering new pipe carvers, it keeps the hobby fresh. If I had skipped straight to Margate in a Castello 55, which is my combo more than half of the time, I don't think I would like either the tobacco or the pipe as much as I do now, I'm very satisfied with the path I've taken.

 

[pappap]

As has been said ,I would only smoke cobs and only smoke PA CH and BCA,I started out wit a cob and CH back in 19966 when you could buy a MM cob for $1.50