New Members, Introduce Yourself!

[fishfly]

I'm a retired English teacher and software engineer (educational software and avionics) living in Northeast Iowa.
I've been smoking a pipe off and on (mostly off) since about 1963. I started with drug store aromatics and a few pipe store house blends. I gave up cigarettes about 15 years ago and lived off nicotine collected by hanging around cigarette smokers for the second hand smoke and smoked a few cigars.. But cigars have started to get too expensive (I'm a serious cheapskate) so I ordered a pound of Newminster English Luxus and fell in love. Wondering if there were others out there even better, I ordered a Sutliff English sampler and the Newminster English Oriental. I'm also trying a straight Burley, Prince Albert, Carter Hall, and Mississippi River (just because I live on the real one). So far all are not-wasted-money, but nothing has beat the Newmintser English Luxus, so I' sticking to what I know I like.
My pipes are mostly inexpensive ones (have I mentioned that I'm a serious cheapskate?) that I have picked up over the years: No Names, Medicos, Dr. Grabos, Kawoodies, Careys, and one cheap meerchaum. I have bought a couple of GBDs, one of which smokes even better than my Medicos and looks a hell of a lot better, the other you'll have to ask UPS about. But, I'm watching for GBDs on e-bay and trying to fight off a Pipe Acquisition Disorder infection. So far, my only new pipe since the 80's is a Missouri Meerchaum (thanks to forum recommendations). Cheap, so it pleases me.
I've been reading this forum for a couple months and am impressed with the intelligence, personable-ness, and downright friendless of the participants. I am very much an introvert, so I probably won't contribute as much as some of you, but I've found several topics in which I think my thoughts might be useful.
I am also impressed with the organization of the forum. I'm mostly familiar with phpbb forums, so this is taking a little getting used to. But I particularly like the "Latest Discussions" section. I still haven't worked out how to get my rss/atom feed reader (Sage) to display what I think it should, but that's probably my problem, and certainly not a huge one, since I can see it all with a web browser.

 

[aleguy66]

I'm very new to pipes. Only been at it for about a month. I'm 48 and in Mesa AZ. I've smoked cigars off and on for the past 20 yrs or so and the thought of smoking a pipe has always intrigued me. My dad smoked a pipe for short time when I was little and I can remember the wonderful smell around the house. I have one briar pipe and just got a bunch of corn cob seconds from MM. Looking forward to gaining knowledge from the group and have been listening to the radio show, up to episode 16 now and have a long way to go.

 

[beardedbassguy]

Hello everyone!
I am a brand new pipe smoker; within the last 2 weeks I started. I love it so far. I have lurked on this site and others for a while, and finally made the plunge last Saturday. Through this forum, and the pipe tobacco subreddit ( www.reddit.com/r/pipetobacco )I have learned a lot in a short time.
I hope to be a small, but quality, part of this community. Small as in I don't post often. I try to live by the old proverb "It's better to keep silent and look a fool than to open your mouth and prove you are one".
Thanks for the wealth of knowledge I have already gotten from you all here, and what I know I will be receiving in the future.
Some general facts about me.
Male, 35, Texas, Husband, brand new father of an awesome boy. I play bass guitar, enjoy the sport of shooting, am passionate about Jeeps, and now am obsessed with pipes. I helped start a local church and love every second of it. I make some of the best chili you will ever taste, enjoy a good steak, beer, or scotch. I'm fat, but working on it. And I have a beard.
That should do it for now.

 

[terrygoldman123]

I'm 67 and fat too. Welcome aboard and send us the chili recipe ASAP.
Post often…lots of us make less than brilliant posts. All is forgiven here. A good proud dad. Nice.

 

[bloodwood]

Hello from Puyallup, WA:
I came upon this forum while mining the internet for pipe smoking etiquette (read: show me what the heck I'm doing).

Updating the search to include the prefix "Briar" was necessary.

Using pipe alone only harvested page upon page of "pot smoking" etiquette.

Yeah, I too was thinking oxymoron.
The last time I smoked a pipe was somewhere around 2000.

The first time I smoked a pipe was at the beginning of the 1991 NFL season.

My college roommate and I got a hair up our butts and decided to jump in blindfolded.

We purchased the best pipes and blended tobacco Long's Drugs had to offer.

The Mahogany stained hands and woozy feeling only added excitement to the games we watched.

After a few months we decided this wasn't for us.
Fast-forward to 1996.

Another good friend gifted me a humidor including several sticks for my birthday. I was hooked!

I tried the pipe thing again during a chilly winter in Reno, NV. Again, it didn't last very long.
This past Fri. the wife returned from a girls vacation visiting France & Italy.

She kindly bought me a Savinelli ONE 404.

With the pipe came a verbal clause giving me a green light to smoke in the house... Woo-hoo!

Though, PIPES ONLY!
Saturday morning we drove into Tacoma and raided The Tinder Box for five 2oz. bags.

I opted for the Wilshire while the wife chose the other four.

No worries. As the wife would ask if I liked the blend or not the clerk would give me a gentle yea or nay head shake over her shoulder.

The Wilshire (Santa Monica, CA) was the only blend I could remember smoking once upon a time.
Smoked my first bowl last night during the contentious Ravens at Steelers game.

I must admit, it was very nice and relaxing. Much more enjoyable than past experiences.

Maybe it will stick this time.

 

[alpenjager1]

Hello, Folks!
I've just gotten back into pipes recently, having quit smoking cigarettes, and am glad to have found this community! My tobacco preference leans toward english/non aromatic stuff, and all my pipes (except one vintage alpine style briar) are made by Dr. Grabow, since I'm a broke college student. Nice meeting you all, and I hope to learn a lot from the other members here.

 

[vfefrenzy]

Well, this seems like an appropriate place for my first post.
I've smoked off and on for about 10 years, and recently decided to get back into it. Living in the Great Smoky Mountains of east Tennessee, the Gatlin-Burlier is my local tobacconist, so I've really only smoked their tobaccos from their pipes. Based on some of the things I've read around here, I've ordered some new tobaccos as well as new pipes. I really want to dive in, but the wait for my orders to ship is interminable. Hopefully, I'll have the new stuff by this weekend.
Anyway, I look forward to joining in this community. Also, it's pronounced Five Iron Frenzy.

 

[ozgur]

Hello pipe smokers,

I am from Eskisehir / Turkey. We are meerschaum carver/producer and direct seller. We are here to share something with you pipe lovers. We hope that we will be here long term. We will do our best to share cool/new things here...
Regards

Ozgur

 

[styler]

Greetings all,
My name is Steve and I'm from Aberdeenshire, Scotland. I work in IT as a Senior Database Administrator. I smoked cigarettes till my late 20s then quit all smoke for 2-3 years. I started smoking cigars in about 2009 and recently got tempted by the pipe after reading the pipe section of the cigar forum I'm a member of. That was about 6 months ago and I now have about 6 pipes and 20 different tins of tobacco waiting to be sampled.
Apart from the smoke I'm also a bit of a whisky buff and although I'm hesitant to admit it in polite company I've been known to enjoy the odd PC game in the evenings! I also have a wife and 3yo daughter who I adore. It does mean that I can't smoke in the house though and there isn't much room in my shed that isn't already taken up with spiders so my smoking tends to grind to a halt when the Scottish winters set it.
Anyway, I've never been a huge poster so might struggle to make an impact on such a large forum but I hope to contribute as best I can.

 

[desertpipe]

Greetings from the Manzano Mountains of New Mexico. I have been a pipe smoker for 45 years, and work in a Brick and Mortar in Albuquerque, NM, as a Tobacconist and Pipe Restorer (retirement job). I have a collection of several hundred pipes, but consider myself a smoker and accumulator, rather then a collector. My cellar is continuing to grow as I find new tobacco treats, and I am a member of the Albuquerque Pipe Club. Hope to find some interesting discussions and enjoy some great looking pipes owned by members here to lust after.

 

[stephenw]

Good day folks. I just joined this forum yesterday and I am happy to have found you all. I have been smoking a pipe since 1970 (which means I am old now). My go to tobacco is well aged McClelland 2015. It is just about the only tobacco I smoke. I once had a great collection of very good pipes, but an illness and lack of cash had forced me to sell almost all of my collection, so now I mainly smoke a couple of lower end basket pipes, cobs and a nice Bing's Favorite that I salvaged. I live in the eastern panhandle of WV just outside of Harpers Ferry, and I have been enjoying this forum very much.

 

[griffonwing]

Hello All. I am fairly new to this forum, only a week or so since signing up. I am currently in the north central part of Arkansas, near Bull Shoals lake and Lake Norfolk, and only a hop, skip and a jump from the great Buffalo River.
I've been smoking pipes for about 10 years. I started on the oily jar tobaccos, and quickly realized that tinned tobaccos are where the good stuff lies. I have a few high-dollar pipes, such as a couple ser jacopos, but I wouldnt think twice about putting one in my blazer pocket. For me, pipes are to be enjoyed. A clear, clean, pristine pipe is a shame...it's not one that is cherished.
Be that as it may, just a couple thoughts and a greeting and an introduction..
Good smokes!

 

[haebar]

Hi Everyone,
I am new to this forum, although I've been an off and on pipe smoker since the early 70's. My dad was a pipe smoker and I picked it up from him. He wasn't a collector; his preferred pipe was a simple Kaywoodie billiard and his favorite tobacco was Sir Walter Raleigh. Over the years I have suffered from PAD from time to time; currently battling it now.
This website is impressive! So much information here; I am overwhelmed. Still learning my way around here.

 

[stoker]

Hi Guys,
I'm a converted cigar smoker finding the pipe more convenient and enjoyable. Learning a lot from thise site, hope I can contribute in the future. Just ordered my first new non-cob pipe a rossi vittoria it should be here today.

 

[throbinson]

Hi everyone from Ontario, Canada!
I'm a new pipe smoker, just bought a cheap corncob this week to give it a try. I was a light cigar smoker, averaged maybe a dozen a year plus a pack of the Panter Noir's, thought I'd give pipe smoking a try. Came online looking for basic info and reviews of tobaccos to try when I came across this site and joined. I'd have said hello sooner, but, got distracted by the Pipe Babes section. :wink:
Just ordered six 1-2oz samples from 4noggins, and currently puffing on some Peterson Connoisseur's Choice... which I'm not liking much.

 

[stoneheart]

Hello pipe smokers. I'm Silvano from Argentina.

 

[bigc]

My name is Cory I go by BIGC I smoked my first pipe in August this year. I was a cigar smoker for 5 years or longer when my step dad also a cigar smoker was talking to me about pipes I was interested but never tried or knew much about it so he said he found a sampler online that came with a pouch of Sir Walter Raleigh, Captain Black Cherry, Sutliff golden age, and two of the worst made in China corn cob pipes. We tried them together he didnt like it as much as i did and gave it all to me. I tried four or five time with the various tabbacos and decided I liked it all except the cheap pipe. So i then went to a local smoke shop and bought a Missouri meerschaum ozark hardwood bent pipe that changed everthing now I love smoking a pipe even though I know i need a better pipe and more of them. I started smoking the captain black cherry til it was gone a little Sir Walter Raleigh not a big fan of and I bought more aromatics including prince albert cherry vanilla, smokers choice vanilla Cavendish, some bulk ky rum vanilla, and some captain black white label. I like the captain black white label the most until I tried the Sutliff golden age which I really like. I have been addicted to reading and watching videos on pipe smoking and pipe tobacco. I know that I need to buy some better quality pipes and many of them. I am waiting til after Christmas to buy more pipes but now i want some Virginia flake. After work Friday I stopped at two smoke shops on Bardstown road looking for Virginia flake and found that both smoke shops sold only pouch tobacco so i went to a cigar pipe shop Jshepards further down the road they had a great selection of cigars and pipes but not allot of pipe tobacco. I looked around at the pipes and then the bulk Tobacco they had when I was asked if I needed anything and i asked if they had any tins of Virginia flake and they didnt but they did have some Peterson flake with some Virginia. I said I was only interested in Virginia flake but now i wish i would have bought the Peterson now that i have researched it and it seems to have good reviews. I will be going to the oxmoor smoke shop tomorrow because i believe they had some Virginia flake last time I was there anyone who has pipe or flake brand suggestions i would be interested to now about them. I hope that i get all the Dunhill, Peterson, and Luigi Viprati pipes that I want for Christmas but I doubt it but I can dream and will start a collection soon after Christmas. Thanks to anyone who reads all of this babbling sorry if I went on and on I love this website.

 

[gadgetech]

Hello this is Gadgetech a.k.a. Paul. I think I smoked my first pipe some time back in 1988 as a minor. It was a corncob pipe from the local convenience store and I'm guessing the tobacco came from there as well. I began smoking cigarettes later in life and when I quit those 9 or so years ago I quit tobacco all together. This year I started back on cigars and I've recently picked pipes back up. I started back on pipes as an adult while still smoking cigs and I've acquired a few bowls. Anyway, just looking for a place to share thoughts and ask questions. This looks like a great community to do so.
I'll try to post the pictures in the order I got them:

 

[bigc]

Really cool peterson Sherlock Holmes I need to buy one is it a good smoker

 

[gadgetech]

The Peterson Sherlock Holmes is probably my favorite. That being said; I haven't spent much time with the Ferndown yet.