Losing a Pipe is like Losing a Friend

[Bwana Kiko]

Two weeks ago I lost a dear friend.

A simple yet beautiful Czech-made churchwarden that fell out of my hands in an absent moment and broke on the floor in front of me.

I will try to repair it, but it's going to take some tools that I don't have and some care.

That pipe was a regular part of my Sunday afternoons that I find myself mourning this loss. I realize that it was a symbol of tranquility for me that has not yet been replaced by another.

Anyone else ever feel this way about a pipe?

 

[gamzultovah]

Sure. But it happens…

 

[hoosierpipeguy]

All pipes aren't created equal. There's 5 to 10 of my pipes that would be painful to lose. At the end of the day though, they're inanimate objects and can be replaced. Losing a real friend is a thousand times worse than losing any pipe.

 

[mso489]

You may want to put the pipe parts away for a while, to decide whether you want to repair it yourself, send it to a pipe repair person who may charge less than you think (agree on a price in advance), or simply order a new pipe. I think it is the ritual and relaxation that you associate with the pipe, more than the pipe itself, that you mourn. Moderately priced pipes include Savinelli-made Rossi pipes at about $48 to $60; French Ropp pipes at about that same price; long-stem MM cob pipes with acrylic stems at about $30; and other MM cobs from about ten to eighteen (and less). If you repair the broken pipe, you can always use a back-up or several. Estate (used) pipes can be had online for five or ten dollars, but their condition can be unpredictable. I was surprised when I received a MM hardwood (maple) pipe for my birthday at what a good pipe it is, and I think these run about six bucks. Save the broken pipe; if you miss it, it is worth having it repaired or repairing it yourself.

 

[Chasing Embers]

Anyone else ever feel this way about a pipe?

Nope

 

[hauntedmyst]

I know what you mean. But trust me, its far worse to lose a friend and a pipe. I lost both the last time took the train from Chicago to Milwaukee. It was late, almost no one was one and we had a private car. Mike loved to stick his body out the window like a dog in a car when ever he drank. I had loaned him one of my pipes, a gorgeous Iverson with mammoth bone. He was smoking it like a pipe puffing golden retriever as we cruised at 50mph. Well, an express was about to pass us going the opposite way while Mike was trying to count the railroad ties and didn't realize that other train was very very close to us when he fell out the window. He landed on the other tracks! Well, you can imagine what happened from there. The train stopped and I wept as I looked down and saw that bloody broken shank. There wasn't enough of that pipe left to even try and repair it. A $2400 Iverson gone just like that! I mean...um, I mean, Mike, gone just like that! But it's not true you can't replace a lost friend. I did. Took me a couple of weeks after the funeral (I'll tell you, it was a bloody mess but getting hit by a train really saves you with burial costs. What was left of Mike fit in a shoe box. We buried him in his favorite Air Jordans box) but I met a great new pal. My new friend Joe never sticks his head out the window of moving vehicles so I let him smoke any of my pipes.

 

[WNCLEE28466]

I saw a YouTube vid on Boswell's Tobacco, and there was a sign that read: "We Repair All Pipes" Give them a try & see what, if anything they can do.

 

[bassbug]

At the risk of being shunned....

LOSING A PIPE IS NOT LIKE LOSING A FRIEND!!!

It's damn piece of wood.

 

[Chasing Embers]

At the risk of being shunned....

LOSING A PIPE IS NOT LIKE LOSING A FRIEND!!!

It's damn piece of wood.

Or rock.?

 

[hauntedmyst]

At the risk of being shunned....

Fine. Be at odds with the Amish.

 

[The Amish Tyrant]

Fine. Be at odds with the Amish.

Do you call my name?

 

[sablebrush52]

I've lost friends, and no way a pipe feels like that. On the other hand losing a dog or a cat can feel very much like losing a friend.

 

[Chasing Embers]

On the other hand losing a dog or a cat can feel very much like losing a friend

Sometimes more so.

 

[Sweet Home Alabama]

Adhesives exist, but my concern would be toxicity. I simple clamp would hold the two peices together. Hide glue might be an option, just have to ask around. If a guitar bridge can be held onto a soundboard with glue, a pipe should be able to be stable. I personally like challanged like this. I agree that perhaps put it away and think about what you want to do.

 

[WVOldFart]

Sometimes more so.

You got that right. Our furry companions are our FRIENDS. I have gotten over the loss of human friends, but I still haven't gotten over the loss of my German Shepherd six years ago. He was a true friend.

 

[saintpeter]

You got that right. Our furry companions are our FRIENDS. I have gotten over the loss of human friends, but I still haven't gotten over the loss of my German Shepherd six years ago. He was a true friend.

Amen to that. I have never had a cat borrow money and not pay it back, rip me off for anything or refuse to snuggle on a cold night.

 

[kcghost]

Until, you lost a loved one or a pet, you haven't been hurt at all.
If you want to fix a broken stem there are just a few guys can do it and you will never see the break. Refurbishers need not apply.

 

[Sweet Home Alabama]

You guys need grand children

 

[Bwana Kiko]

A pipe is not like a human being. This is not a comparison between a person and an inanimate piece of craftsmanship. In my post I mourn the loss of tranquility and ritual associated with the pipe.

Our memories are often attached to objects, tastes, smells, dates. I was unaware that I had attached meaning to this pipe until it broke.

@ChasingEmbers: I liked your "pipe = hammer" picture but in exactly the opposite way of what you intended...

I used to work construction. My trusty framing hammer went with me through many hard years and helped me pay the bills. After I was done with construction I moved, and left most of my tools, but carried the hammer with me -- a tool that sat in a kitchen drawer and did little more than hang pictures.

One day that hammer broke. I bought another one the same day, but I still felt it.

My point being that there is something that I suspect many people in this community find in smoking in their pipes that is more than hardware...

But maybe not. Maybe there is a parallel forum out there called "HAMMERSMAGAZINE.COM" where a bunch of guys discuss hammers all day and swap nails that they have kept in Mason jars in their basements for years.

 

[mso489]

Yeah, emotions should not tie onto objects beyond a point. However, when people lose a whole house with their belongings, you sort of get the picture, it is the furniture and tools of their life and memory that are gone, not just stuff. When you want to look at that one old vacation photo album, and it isn't there, it's a piece of your time gone. The baby faces of grown children. I have pipes to spare, but the idea of culling them down by half seems insurmountable.