@pipesmokingtom
Some people say they regret buying so many "cheap" pipes. I'm not sure what the definition of that might be, but I've never spent more than a hundred bucks on a pipe. In fact, the great majority of my pipes were ten buck ebay purchases. I'd say 90% of those are still in my lengthy rotation cycle. Maybe out of 25% of those I'd consider to be my favorites. No regrets there for me. Of course if I ever do spend $600 on a pipe someday I might change my tune.
Just the opposite for me. I didn't have much access to help and advice when I started so I missed out on a lot of enjoyment from my solo pipe smoking efforts. I didn't realize what I was missing until I started reading this forum and watching videos a few years ago.I would have suggested spending less time learning about smoking a pipe (forums, videos, etc), and much more time actually smoking a pipe.
Some people say they regret buying so many "cheap" pipes. I'm not sure what the definition of that might be, but I've never spent more than a hundred bucks on a pipe. In fact, the great majority of my pipes were ten buck ebay purchases. I'd say 90% of those are still in my lengthy rotation cycle. Maybe out of 25% of those I'd consider to be my favorites. No regrets there for me. Of course if I ever do spend $600 on a pipe someday I might change my tune.