Is the pipe a tool? (I think so)
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I am now in the school that I don't care what/how it's called, as long as it's highly engineered. And can almost instantly smoke any tobacco down to a fine white ash.
PS, moto- A good essay/question. My reply is rather arcane, meant to stimulate certain patriarchs and generally fussy pipe smokers. I certainly don't disagree it can be seen as a tool.
PS, moto- A good essay/question. My reply is rather arcane, meant to stimulate certain patriarchs and generally fussy pipe smokers. I certainly don't disagree it can be seen as a tool.
I'm a new piper (4 months). I have a Savinelli, a Big Ben, MM Dagner Poker Cob and a few basket pipes from Tinderbox. Since I don't have a lot invested in them I treat them all the same. I still take care of them and if this turns into a long term hobby...my choice of pipes will be more selective and the prices will go up.
That's the beauty of the thing. That image of my yachts that I posted, only two of those cost more than $30. You can get great pipes very inexpensively if you look around, and can build a nice collection for pennies. :wink:
@ChasingEmbers Cap'n, ye made me spit me Virgil's Root Beer all o'er me blasted monitor.....Argh, now I've got ta swab me screen....
CW
CW
Well to answer you properly, you'd need to clarify what constitutes "fine" as opposed to "simple" pipes? Most pipes possess a simple mechanism and they are fine insofar as that simple tobacco delivery system functions well.
Or do you mean by fine something more like 'luxurious' or 'refined' and by simple something more like 'inexpensive' or 'entry-level'?
If so, then I do like my fine pipes more than my simple pipes in that sense. In general, I have found that 'fine' pipes are more pleasurable to use and that they do function slightly better than my 'simple' pipes; of course there are exceptions sometimes, but the exceptions serve to prove the general tendency. So from what I have written it is clear that I do not share your feeling about 'simple' pipes. I'd rather have my 'fine' pipes.
"meant to stimulate certain patriarchs and generally fussy pipe smokers." -- Troublemaker John, they call him. -evyl grin-
Technically anything you use is a tool, no? So I think a pipe is both art and tool. A pipe unlit in my box is still as beautiful to look at when its not lit. But it would be very hard to smoke pipe tobacco without a pipe.
^^^ great example of a tool being appreciated as a piece of art (unused pipes). I find it interesting that there’s a perception that the two are mutually exclusive.
The more abstract, eye-of-the-beholder discussion would be, are pipe’s really pieces of art? :twisted: (fwiw, I think so)
I think we can all agree that the definition of “tool” fits pipes, almost as if the definition was created for pipes
From the Oxford dictionary:
a device or implement, especially one held in the hand, used to carry out a particular function.
From Collins dictionary:
A tool is any instrument or simple piece of equipment that you hold in your hands and use to do a particular kind of work.
From Merriam- Webster’s dictionary:
a handheld device that aids in accomplishing a task
The more abstract, eye-of-the-beholder discussion would be, are pipe’s really pieces of art? :twisted: (fwiw, I think so)
I think we can all agree that the definition of “tool” fits pipes, almost as if the definition was created for pipes
From the Oxford dictionary:
a device or implement, especially one held in the hand, used to carry out a particular function.
From Collins dictionary:
A tool is any instrument or simple piece of equipment that you hold in your hands and use to do a particular kind of work.
From Merriam- Webster’s dictionary:
a handheld device that aids in accomplishing a task
Is a wine glass a tool? A whiskey glass? A cake plate? Sure, in a sense. It's attitudinal, but if you use an object to attain a desired result, I guess that makes it a tool. However, if I were asking, I wouldn't ask someone to bring me a tool off my pipe rack unless they were in on this discussion, so as a communicative point, that's not the word I'd use. I think a cook might get a cooking tool, something with a handle, but might not think first of a skillet or sauce pan that way, at least in requesting it be handed to them. But yeah, they're tools in a dictionary sense. Language fun.
Fair answers from everybody and thanks for responding! (I was afraid I may step on the toes of people who do enjoy having a very custom celebratory pipe, which is great. I am just analyzing my own pipe smoking and if anyone else shared in my own idea.)
I did leave open the subjective nature of what is 'fine' and what is not.
And as for the semantics of "tool," it is without a doubt a physical tool that is intended for smoking efficiently. I was leaning on more so as a means to getting to a point of thought (some may even say a form of prayer). It is that catalyst for 'slowing-down'.
I've thought a little more about my initial writing. I think I was meaning that the pipe, to me, is not an end in-itself, but it is a means to get to that point of 'slowing-down.' And to me, that is what I enjoy most about it and possibly why I may not pursue being a collector or in the pursuit of a more one-of-a-kind pipe. As long it gives me a perfect smoke (as best as I can try to achieve) that's all I want. So then I can sip and taste, and think of other things.
cheers!
I did leave open the subjective nature of what is 'fine' and what is not.
And as for the semantics of "tool," it is without a doubt a physical tool that is intended for smoking efficiently. I was leaning on more so as a means to getting to a point of thought (some may even say a form of prayer). It is that catalyst for 'slowing-down'.
I've thought a little more about my initial writing. I think I was meaning that the pipe, to me, is not an end in-itself, but it is a means to get to that point of 'slowing-down.' And to me, that is what I enjoy most about it and possibly why I may not pursue being a collector or in the pursuit of a more one-of-a-kind pipe. As long it gives me a perfect smoke (as best as I can try to achieve) that's all I want. So then I can sip and taste, and think of other things.
cheers!
I've always had an affinity, or fondness or attachment to the tools I own.
Anything from a Kershaw pocket knife to my old cantilevered Kennedy full of Glazier's tools are comforting in their places.
Pipes are tools that transcend their primary function. Just how far that transcendence goes is subjective.
Anything from a Kershaw pocket knife to my old cantilevered Kennedy full of Glazier's tools are comforting in their places.
Pipes are tools that transcend their primary function. Just how far that transcendence goes is subjective.
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