Opportunities In Pipe Smoking

[telescopes]

All this talk about the "Golden Age"

Forty years ago....sitting at a restaurant dining table, any restaurant, any where in the world, and lighting up my pipe with out any worries that someone would say anything to the contrary. How does one top that.

It was accepted, considered normal, and plenty of people were around who could offer a light and were happy to do so.

Pipe shops in Saint Louis were ubiquitous and could be found within an easy drive in any direction. Pipe choices... enough to satisfy more than I could ever purchase. Tobacco choices... plenty enough and only a dollar an ounce.

Cellar tobacco? Why, it wasn't like it was going to disappear.

But just being there, smoking, not being bothered, ... how do you top that?

 

[cigrmaster]

Harris...I have watched your posts for several years and know you to be a man of distinction and quality...what the hell are you gonna do with all that tobacco? You planning on living til you are 250 yrs. old?

LOL, I will run out if I hit 85 years old. The chances of that happening are slim to none. I am 63 and I think I will be lucky to hit 75. My kids know what to do with any tobacco left over as it will all be valuable.

 

[bayareabriar]

Being both a pipe smoker and cigar smoker, I am definitely happy with the selections available. Good to hear perspectives to refocus mine.

 

[anotherbob]

One way it's a golden age for sure is how easy it is to get information. You can just ask. You're not limited to finding a book and hoping it knows what it's talking about or reliant on the friendliness of your local older pipe smokers. There was a point where it was not uncommon for me to meet another pipe smoker who didn't care if the tobacco was grown in Virginia (yes I do mean that).

 

[anotherbob]

One way it's a golden age for sure is how easy it is to get information. You can just ask. You're not limited to finding a book and hoping it knows what it's talking about or reliant on the friendliness of your local older pipe smokers. There was a point where it was not uncommon for me to meet another pipe smoker who didn't care if the tobacco was grown in Virginia (yes I do mean that).

Oh and not having your selection dependent on your location helps too. I've meet people who used to smoke pipes but they moved and didn't find a blend to replace their old favorite.

 

[mso489]

Golden Age? Compared to what? Compared to what's coming in the next few years, we may well still be in a Golden Age. I can still get three or four bulk blends for about twenty bucks. New blends are offered regularly. Let's see what happens. I hope this isn't a Golden Age. I hope it is a dismal trough.

 

[Grangerous]

Golden Age? Compared to what? Compared to what's coming in the next few years, we may well still be in a Golden Age. I can still get three or four bulk blends for about twenty bucks. New blends are offered regularly. Let's see what happens. I hope this isn't a Golden Age. I hope it is a dismal trough.

It’s hard to take that they’re legalizing marijuana on one hand and making villains of old men enjoying pipes and tobacco on the other. These are indeed the end times.

 

[Boognish]

It’s hard to take that they’re legalizing marijuana on one hand and making villains of old men enjoying pipes and tobacco on the other. These are indeed the end times.

I don't think I'll ever understand the mentality (in all these forums not just here) that these activities are mutually exclusive. Smokers are smokers and the anti smoking lobby are against it all. I get the same fake coughing and "mean looks" regardless of what I'm burning. I vape too so try wrapping your head around that one.

 

[saltedplug]

Prior to the internet, I was just a call away from B&M orders and deliveries from C&D. Craig Tarler would custom tailor any of C&D's blends, and even press any of them into a cake.

C&D was different business back in Craig Tarler's day, poised for the explosive growth to come. As I understand it he and Greg Pease talked everyday and collaborated on more than a few projects. They bought a pallet of that rare mahogany burley that gave the initial release of Cumberland its signature taste.

Craig was friendly and put the customer first.

 

[frjacob]

I was thinking back today of when I bought my first pipe and tobacco in 1980. The pipe was a Dr. Grabow, which I still have somewhere and the tobacco was Borkum Riff which I did not enjoy and haven't smoked since. The thing I remember the most was the limited selection, at the time, to choose from. You were at the mercy of the Department store or gas Station etc for the OTC blends. The closest Pipe Shop was a far piece away. I'm not complaining because I smoke many of those OTC blends today, but the selection for the new pipe smoker today is limitless. With the onset of the Internet, the selection of pipe tobaccos run into the thousands. I have read that pipe smoking is on the upswing. The new pipe smoker can basically find any pipe, any taste, any selection that they want to develop to enjoy their hobby. I guess there are still a few benefits to living in today's world.

Yes, I remember the limited pipe tobacco choices of the early 1980s well. I’d been a pipe smoker for 15 years and being reduced to Borkim Riff was the last straw. I quit for 20 years. My three sons grew up & the day came when was surrounded by the three of them smoking pipes! “Next birthday buy me a corncob and two packs of Flying Dutchman,” my old time favorite. Soon I discovered the incredible variety of blends available by then. It may not be a golden age, but now, if it exists you can get it, one way or another.

 

[WVOldFart]

Yes, I remember the limited pipe tobacco choices of the early 1980s well. I’d been a pipe smoker for 15 years and being reduced to Borkim Riff was the last straw. I quit for 20 years. My three sons grew up & the day came when was surrounded by the three of them smoking pipes! “Next birthday buy me a corncob and two packs of Flying Dutchman,” my old time favorite. Soon I discovered the incredible variety of blends available by then. It may not be a golden age, but now, if it exists you can get it, one way or another.

When we couldn't find any other tobacco than Borkum Riff, it is a wonder we even bothered with a pipe.

 

[anotherbob]

back in the day we had what tins the tobacconist thought would sell and that was it aside from what they blended in house. And people complain about the situation now.

 

[telescopes]

Yes, you can smoke anything you went, but NOT at Alice’s Restaurant.

 

[stoutreader]

I don't think I'll ever understand the mentality (in all these forums not just here) that these activities are mutually exclusive. Smokers are smokers and the anti smoking lobby are against it all. I get the same fake coughing and "mean looks" regardless of what I'm burning. I vape too so try wrapping your head around that one.

I don't know that I agree with that. Most of the marijuana smokers I know are anti-tobacco. They see these as two completely different products, believing theirs to be less harmful by far for both themselves as well as bystanders. Every vaper I know is rabidly anti-tobacco. The first words out of their mouth are almost always "it's just water vapor and can't hurt you". I don't know that I have a strong opinion on either "alternative" but I do see that it is not an equal or two way street from their vantage point.

 

[saltedplug]

What I read recently is that vape isn't harmless.

 

[WVOldFart]

What I read recently is that vape isn't harmless.

I believe "popcorn lung" is a possibility if you vape. There has to be a stumbling block for everything a person likes.

 

[wyfbane]

I would not call these the golden years of pipe tobacco. Maybe back in 2012 -2013 it was but when you have limits like they do theses days then I say it is not a great time. When I wanted 25 tins of say Wessex Brigade Campaign Dark Flake, it was rarely an issue getting that many or even more. When I was loading my cellar buying 5-10 pounds at a time of Samuel Gawith Flakes was not a big deal. I think the best times ended back around 2013-2014.

I agree. I got in at the very tail end of the good times.

 

[Chasing Embers]

As I understand it he and Greg Pease talked everyday and collaborated on more than a few projects.

Yep, that's how Two Friends came about.

Craig was friendly and put the customer first.

That he was. He would just as easily bullshit with you on the phone as he would take your tobacco orders. One of the funniest individuals I've had the pleasure of talking with.

 

[Pipenwheels]

I would say the golden years of pipe smoking have passed us by. I would say maybe 10 years ago was the sweet spot. Unfortunately, the preliminary portions of at least a 1600% increase of federal taxes is being born in the house as we speak. All of us who enjoy what we have need to make it known that this is unacceptable. This is not partisan but universal as it threatens what we have left today. I fear the industry will not bear a raise in taxes of $180 per pound....this is no exaggeration gentlemen.

Raise your voice, anyway you can.

 

[Pipenwheels]

Also, when Mcclelland folded, piping lost one of it's main organs. Some will argue it was merely an appendix, others a wart and still others the very heartbeat of this glorious body!