Just one guy's opinion

[cigrmaster]

I really think that when new people ask what kind of pipe they should buy, recommending a cob is a disservice to them. If people are really going to stick with a pipe then I believe their first few pipes should be quality briars . This will give them a true representation of how great the blends they choose can be. In my opinion cobs are good for people who already know what they like and for experimenting with new blends in which they do not want to ghost their better pipes. Cobs are great for work, or camping or times when you don't want to take your better pipes out. Cobs are not a substitute for a quality briar or meer. They can and do burn hot, they can and do smoke wet, they certainly have their place , but they are not the end all be all in the world of pipes. With the sponsors we have people can buy quality briar pipes for 50.00 all day long. You do not have to break the bank to get a quality pipe.
I would never try and tell someone what they should smoke or what they should buy, I think everyone should do what works for them, but in my experience, a new pipe smoker is much better served buying quality briar as their first pipes so they can really get the full benefits of the blends they are smoking. I know for myself that if I had started with a cob,I would never have stuck with the pipe. To my tastes, they do not smoke my blends well at all, they mute the flavors and they burn much hotter and wetter than my briar pipes. I am not comparing cobs to my higher end pipes, but pipes I paid 50 bucks for. I have plenty of pipes I didn't pay a lot for and my blends smoke much sweeter, drier and cooler than in a cob.
I hope this post is taken as it was intended, it is not a condemnation of cobs, but an alternative to how we as a community attract new smokers to our ranks. I believe we will get more people who stick with their pipes if we recommend a quality pipe for them to enjoy their blends in.

 

[cynyr]

Well said. I have recommended cobs to new smokers, but mainly from a financial point of view. I see the logic in your points... I might have to revise my thinking.

 

[matchstickman]

While a quality briar can be had for $50, there are probably a lot of newcomers who dont even want to drop that modest amount of cash to really find out whether or not they like pipe smoking. It is true that $50 can get you a nice Savinelli that will be a great smoker, but only having to drop $5 for a cob to find out whether or not you have a taste for the tobacco can be a pretty good selling point. I actually have a soft spot for cobs because I like the way that they smoke once they are fully broken in, much like a briar, and because I am thrifty (read: cheap bastard). Is it the greatest idea to recommend cobs as first pipes? Probably not, and I agree with your original post that quality briars are much better than cobs. I think a lot of it also depends on what happens if a person buys a quality briar as their first pipe and still doesn't have much taste for it. In most cases, a barely used pipe for that price can probably fetch most if not all of the original investment if it was well cared for and given a good cleaning before it was sold, but most newcomers probably dont think about that if they dont like the experience of pipe smoking.

 

[captainprophesy]

I agree as well... my first time smoking was on a cobb... and thats what got me hooked! In fact Im going to pick up a couple and give them out at Xmas to friends who have shown interest in pipes.

 

[dervis]

Mr. Brog great quality pipe for well under $50.00

 

[sixmp]

The problem with having a briar as a first pipe.
When i started out i wanted to try quite a few blends to find something i liked.
Spending ££ on a briar then on tobacco to have it ghosted and then everything ends up tasting like Lake-land essence would have been horrible for me at the start.

Luckily i got a couple of cobs for less than a cheap briar so when i hit the lake-land essence i wasn't phased.

Which is why i always suggest cobs, they tick all the boxes.
After a short while when i was sure i was ready to invest more money i then got a meerschaum. When i was ready to dedicate pipes to blends i started on the briar collection :D

 

[numbersix]

I usually agree with you cigrmaster, but I am not so sure on this one, especially for a newcomer. You make a good point, but even some $50-70 briars can smoke poorly.
I am not a fan of cobs either, but that's just me. Plenty of people feel they smoke very well, so for someone who just wants to give pipe smoking a try, a cob is probably a good choice. I would have made that my first purchase had someone told me that they can offer a decent smoke. I honestly thought they were a gimmick when I first became interested and so I passed them by.
There are plenty of people who tried a pipe and found they didn't like it. If each one of those people plunked down $50-70 bucks on a new pipe, that would be a costly lesson.

 

[docrx]

Agree with you cigrmaster. Till I purchased a quality briar the smokes were substandard. To really apreciate a good tobacco it needs a good pipe to accompany it.

 

[eaglerico]

I usually steer clear of any of the this stuff but this one just irks me.
When I first joined this site, one of the main reasons I stayed was because there was a general consensus that just because you spent $x on a pipe didn't mean it was a "good" pipe. What the hell does it matter how much is spent on a pipe. Half the time when people are asking about what to buy they don't even know what is available. They are wanting to see everything. The constant "save more money and buy a better pipe" comments I am seeing more of on here are B.S. That's like saying don't eat steak until you can afford Filet Mignon or don't by a car until you can afford a Mercedes.
There is a reason there have probably been more Grabows and MMs sold then most all other brands, probably combined. They smoke just fine. I can't stand all this snobbish crap about the monetary value of a pipe as correlating it to being a "better pipe."
If you can afford "high quality" pipes good for you. But don't go around telling everyone else what they smoke is crap just because they didn't spend as much as you did.

 

[captainprophesy]

for a no name briar is a hit and miss... my first pipe was a $15 basket pipe that to this day (21 years later) smokes fantastic.

Problem is that, what if had been a bad smoker? would I have been put off from smoking and getting into this great hobby (if in fact you want to call it a hobby)

 

[bcirka]

I see your point, but I would like to support the opinion stated above saying that for those of us beginners who want to drive different types of tobacco, but aren't yet willing or able to spent $100s on different pipes to avoid ghosting. I'm still fairly new, and am glad with my cob purchases. I do expect to buy nicer briars in the future, but once I am ready.

 

[cigrmaster]

eagle, where in my post did I say that you have to do anything?
Try reading it again and I quote " I would never try and tell someone what they should smoke or what they should buy, I think everyone should do what works for them, a new pipe smoker is much better served buying quality briar as their first pipes so they can really get the full benefits of the blends they are smoking"
This is my opinion, I am not telling anyone what they should do. So you are saying that if I don't recommend cobs to everyone then I am some kind of snob? I buy 35 dollar pipes off ebay that smoke great. You are projecting your reverse snobbery on to my post.

 

[cigrmaster]

bcirka, I understand your point and like I said above cobs are great for trying blends due to ghosting, but I also believe that for you to get the true measure of a blend, it takes a briar pipe that is broken in and has a good cake. I think once you have tasted a blend in that kind of pipe, you will be much happier. Meers are also great pipes and people love those as well, but those do run more money which is why I do not recommend them to a brand new smoker.
Guys, I never tell anyone what to smoke or buy, and I don't EVER look down my nose at anyone's choices in what they smoke or what they smoke out of. I am just voicing an opinion, everyone is free to disagree or agree, but I am not and have never been a snob when it comes to people and their choices.

 

[matchstickman]

I was merely trying to point out that both viewpoints have merit. I love cobs but I can see where some people wouldnt, and as far as my philosophy on getting a return investment on a nice pipe if you decide you dont like it is only something I have recently started thinking about since I have sold off a few of my pipes in recent months and actually made a pretty decent profit off of them. I think its something that a new pipe smoker should think about if they pick up a pipe and dont like it. There is always resell value to it if it doesnt work out, but cobs are another option. While they have low resell value, you're not out much if you dont like it.

 

[admin]

Harris, the next thing you're going to do is go onto a wine forum and tell people not to drink wine from a plastic cup. :nana:
Here's an article I wrote a while back that might add a little fuel to the discussion.
http://pipesmagazine.com/blog/pipe-smoking-thoughts/snobbery-is-as-snobbery-does/

 

[gwtwdbss]

I do not think you are a snob at all Harris. I own several cobs and they do have their place but there is nothing like a smoke in a great briar. A lot of pipes lines have very distinctive tastes and I like that aspect of the hobby. If I would have smoked a decent pipe back in the day I probably would have not started on the sticks before coming back to the pipe several years later.

 

[lonestar]

Harris you make a good point about certain tobacco being a real letdown in a cob pipe. But I dont think most beginners have the taste to appreciate the nuance of fine tobacco anyway. It just comes down to yes I liked it, or no I didnt like it. With that being said, the tobaccos a beginner is most likely to start with (cheaper tobaccos, OTC's) usually smoke better in a cob than a briar in my opinion.

It really comes down to the individual. Some people love cobs long after they start smoking. Some people never liked a cob their whole life. Suggest a cob to someone who prefers briar and they would be put off. Suggest a briar to someone who prefers a cob and they would be put off. For $10 though, it is easy to find out whether they like one or not !

 

[mountainman]

Harris i think you started a great debate here! I see your point and mostly agree with you. That being said, i can see how a cob can work for some from a financial standpoint. Different strokes for different folks! I also don't understand the snob comment. Cigrmaster is always a gentlemen, and one of the finest members on this forum! Always helpful with advice and generous to new members/smokers! :worship:

 

[papipeguy]

I fully understand where cigrmaster is coming from. As with any hobby, the liklihood of enjoying it and staying with it is taking the gamble on buying good equipment. I've been a musician for almost 50 years and still teach guitar lessons. Mine is a hobby where you can spend anything from $30 to $300,000 for a guitar. When I see a student walk in with a "cheap" instrument I can almost guarentee how long it will be before he/she quits because the equipment is substandard. I'd never recommend a $1,000 guitar to a beginer but I would certainly encourage spending at couple of hundred dollars to start. If it does not work out it can be sold for a lot more than a piece of junk.

So, I see pipes in a similar vein. Don't spend big money at the begining but do the research, ask the questions and budget enough to give yourself a pleasant experience. My collection runs the gamut, like many here, includung some cobs. I've been smoking pipes for 42 years and usually encourage new guys to spend at least $50. It's also an incentive to succeed.

 

[tjameson]

I started out both ways haha the first time a smokes pipes I bought two nice briars and then left em at home when I went to college and came back to no pipes. When I went back to smoking pipes about 6 years ago I bought a few cobs and good tobacco. Of course it wasn't long until I for myself a nice briar and then a few more but to me the tobacco was what really made all the difference. I was very happy smoking EMP in a cob back then and I still have that first cob and it smokes some blends excellently. Now that I have good tobacco choices I have different pipes for different styles because my pallete has developed more. Eventually I may have blends dedicated to certain pipes.