Noob thoughts and questions

[jpmcwjr]

I smoke inside and out under all conditions but very heavy rain, and conditions don't seem to affect how I taste the smoke.
As to resting a pipe, it's generally not needed anywhere near the amount of the old saw you quote.

 

[literaryworkshop]

Re: your original question about more expensive pipes--if you buy from an established maker (somebody who has made hundreds of pipes), then you shouldn't have to worry about getting a bad one. Engineering the inside of a pipe to smoke well is not difficult, and any established pipe maker knows how to do it with total consistency, or he (or she) wouldn't be in business. So when you are ready to drop some cash on a high-end pipe, go with something in a size you know you like and in a shape that will please your eye and hand.

 

[tschiraldi]

Though I lack the experience of literaryworkshop, I have to reluctantly disagree a bit. When choosing a pipe I hold the pipe with the stem pointing up and look into the bowl. The draft hole should be centered. I've seen them off to the side more often than you'd believe. I also look to see that the hole is at (near enough anyway) the bottom of the bowl. On a straight pipe or up to a half bent, I like a pipe cleaner to pass easily through to the bottom of the bowl. Premal Chedda taught me to also look for a notch or a "V" in the hole at the button end of the stem (his continue to "V" halfway through the stem). These things all contribute to a nice open draw. If these are seen to and the pipe is pleasing to my eye and hand (and I have the cash), I'll buy it. If I'm wrong on any of these, one of you "old salts" please set me straight. I, too, am still learning.

 

[tgwilt]

When I first started smoking pipes, about 4 years ago, I had come into a bit of money and spent almost $10,000 on pipes, both new and used. I found that there weren't a lot of compelling reasons to spend a lot of money, since I didn't see a correlation between expense and smoking pleasure or taste. I do have a couple of commissioned pipes from Tyler Lane and Andrew Staples that I bought because I really liked the looks. These pipes do smoke very well. I also have a couple of good meerschaum pipes, which again I bought for the looks (one of them is a carving of J.S. Bach, my favorite Baroque composer). I have a few Dunhills, Savinellis, and J.M. Boswell (great value for a hand carved briar), but avoided ebay in favor of Marty Pulvers for used pipes. That's just me, some folks have had good luck on the auction sites, but Marty has never done me wrong and his prices are very good for the merchandise.
I know I've veered off topic and expect the topic police to find me. Sorry for the long winded useless information.