One Peice Of Advice

[reepicheep]

What is the single best piece of advice you would give someone getting into the hobby?

 

[cortezattic]

Buy a high end pipe instead of several cheaper pipes. Save up your pennies, then do it again.

 

[pipestud]

Get out before you go broke! Unless, of course, you want to be like me and live in a shack, use a bicycle for transportation and eat beans for breakfast, lunch and dinner.
Aside from the above; I'd find a mentor that you can regularly converse with in order to learn more about pipe smoking, buying the best pipe/pipes you can afford, and ideas about tobaccos that may best suit you. Make sure it is someone you trust and not just some blabbermouth on a pipe smoking forum... like me.
Pipestud

 

[philobeddoe]

Buy the book CONFESSIONS OF A PIPEMAN by Gary Schrierer. It will give you a big head start on your pipe education.

 

[reepicheep]

Confessions of a Pipeman on order from amazon. Thanks

 

[trailspike48]

Join the pipesmagazine.com forum and get some of the best advice available for smoking a pipe. I guess you already figured that one out. Welcome Reepicheep.

 

[captainsousie]

Patience. Patience touches everything in our pipe smoking hobby and patience is usually the hardest thing to learn.

+1 Roth got it right and concise.

 

[fnord]

Welcome to the forum, Reep!
Roth nailed it for the long haul. This hobby is all about patience: patience as you puff & patience waiting to save the coin for a better pipe & more exclusive tobacco.
But, Pipestud also walks in truth and light. Get a mentor. Get several mentors. Ask questions and then be ready to deal with all of the responses. I've got a couple of guys who post here and, for me, their thoughts and writings might as well be carved in stone. I reach out to them on a right regular basis - embrace the PM feature, pal - to solicit their advice and expertise.
Please remember that the only dumb question is the one never asked.
Fnord

 

[latbomber]

Keep trying and dont get caught up in "rules" You'll find the best techniques through experimentation.

 

[jah76]

Welcome!
Ditto what Roth mentioned.
I would also suggest that you just spend as much time (if not more) on learning about tobaccos then pipes.
I've only been smoking pipes a little more then a year but I'm still learning nuances of certain blends that I've smoked from early on. Every smoke is a lesson learned.

 

[locopony]

Sit back and relax in a comfortable chair as often as possible. But mostly after putting in a good days work. You will feel good about your accomplishments for the day, and you will find the relaxation refrshing . Then take out your pipe while in a relaxed state, gravity fill it with tobacco then put a pretty good pinch about the same diameter of tobacco as the bowl on top of the gravity filled bowl and push it down with your thumb. While holding your thumb on top of the bowl use your other hand and pinch the loose and excess tobacco off and put it back in the container. Then use your finger to tamp lighty and make the top look neat and tidy. Sip in the stem to see how easily air draws through. It should be about like sipping water through a straw or easier. Then light a match while clinching the stem of the pipe between your teeth. Not to tight remember relax. While drawing lightly through the pipe hold the match close enough for the flame to be pulled down to the tobacco. Move the flames over the tobacco in a slow circle so that all the tobacco getts charred on the top. Use your finger to lightly dress the top again because likely the tobacco will puff up. The relight as described before . Remember relax .

 

[peckinpahhombre]

My advice is to read Rule Number Nine

 

[tennsmoker]

Read this forum daily!

 

[numbersix]

Read this forum daily!

+1
Even long time pipe smokers have agreed that they've learned more in a few months here than years of smoking on their own.

 

[zonomo]

Buy the book CONFESSIONS OF A PIPEMAN by Gary Schrierer. It will give you a big head start on your pipe education.

You are going to like this book. Gary belongs to our Seattle pipe club. Cool guy.

 

[reepicheep]

CONFESSIONS OF A PIPEMAN arived yesterday. It is great. Thanks to Philobeddoe

for sugesting it.

 

[philobeddoe]

I'm glad you like it!

 

[bryanf]

Only fall in love with blends you can buy in bulk...too late for me...love Condor.

 

[plateauguy]

+1 Roth

+1 Peck

+1 Loco
Welcome Reep! Never be embarrassed to ask a question - everyone here is generous with their knowledge. Smoking your pipe is for relaxation and enjoyment.
I buy bulk tobacco while deciding what I like or don't, much more affordable and less waste.

 

[foggymountain]

Don't get caught up in the rituals. Stuff the tobacco in your pipe, light it, smoke slowly and enjoy it. Most of the rest is nonsense.