If you want to smoke them, smoke them. I have a few unsmoked pipes, like the 1907 Barling companion set, that I'm happy to enjoy in their unsmoked condition. There's something kind of neat about owning something that's super rare and that acts like a little window to a bygone era. For example here's a pipe that commemorates Charles Lindberg's solo flight across the Atlantic:
I didn't plan on not firing it up, but I find that I have no need to do so. I've since restored the stem on it. I can enjoy it as a little piece of history. If I ever decide to smoke it, then fine. But for now it's fine just as it is, a reminder of a different era when an historical event would be commemorated with a pipe.
Once I've put a match to an unsmoked collectible vintage pipe, it's just another old used pipe. And it could be a very expensive match.
It's not like I lack for pipes to smoke. I smoke about 95% of what I own. The other 5% can be enjoyed unsmoked. But I also have an interest in the history of pipes and tobaccos, probably to an extent greater than most. I understand the view that a pipe is meant to be smoked. I simply don't buy that it's the only way to enjoy a pipe.
Ultimately, it's up to you what you want to do.
:
