Pipe Priorities

[owen]

Button comfort

Bowl Size

Feel in the hand

Weight

Visual appeal including shape and grain

would be my order of priority.

 

[kola]

The look and feel of a pipe are a big part of the enjoyment. No-can-do with a ugly pipe..or a messy-crusty-never cleaned-abused one.

 

[curl]

I have a few old unfinished MM cobs that look a lot worse for wear, but are still very good smokers.

I tend to use these when I’m not likely to be disturbed.

My other cobs, new and old, make frequent public appearances.

 

[cortezattic]

^^^^^Ditto mikethompson

a good looking pipe (which is highly personal and subjective), is an important part of the ritual for me.

 

[scloyd]

I am currently making a briar pipe with a DIY kit that I purchased from P&C. It's my first attempt and I'm sure it will be butt ugly...I'll still smoke.

 

[briarbuck]

Probably if I was drinking a lot, but I'd regret it in the morning.

 

[jpmcwjr]

I am currently making a briar pipe with a DIY kit that I purchased from P&C. It's my first attempt and I'm sure it will be butt ugly...I'll still smoke.

So, photos!! Please! Works in process are always of interest.

 

[cosmicfolklore]

I could not enjoy an ugly pipe anymore than sleeping with an ugly woman... well... I might, but there’s hell to pay when your friends see ya doin’ it, ha ha.

 

[warren]

No! How would I discover it was a great smoker if it never made it off the display into my hand?

 

[mso489]

Beat up is way different than plug ugly. And inexpensive isn't per se visually unappealing. Some of it is in the eye of the beholder. Old design American (U.S.) factory pipes look to me like 1950's cars, pretty great. If your eye is attuned to fine artisan pipes only, they may be homely, but if you like retro industrial design, there's a lot there to love. Aggressively quirky current design is sometimes ugly to me, but I acknowledge that to someone else it might be pleasingly original. But a battered pipe is usually a lovely thing, lots of pleasant hours invested in its wear. Like some older people are attractive precisely because of their wear and tear.

 

[hoosierpipeguy]

I'd rather smoke an ugly pipe that smokes great than a beautiful pipe that smokes poorly. Same analogy with women. One that can suck a golf ball through a 10' garden hose has a beauty all her own.

 

[Chasing Embers]

I was wandering how long that would take.

 

[jpmcwjr]

I wondered, too.
"If you want to be happy for the rest of your life,

Find an ugly girl to be your wife...."

 

[scloyd]

@jpmcwjr Photos of the kit right out of the box and where I'm at now. I've never done this before. I'll accept any criticism or helpful tips. I'll smoke it no matter how it turns out...at least a couple of times.

Sorry, I don't know how to enlarge the photos. I'll read the forums to figure it out.

 

[mwsmoker]

Definitely not. There are way too many good smoking pipes that are also well designed and aesthetically pleasing. No need to settle.

 

[jpmcwjr]

It's done by removing the size delimiter and dash at the end of the photo's URL. (-109x150)
Dang! I had one such decades ago but some one tossed it "for" me....

 

[scloyd]

@jp Thanks for the photo tip. A post a photo when I'm finished.

 

[bnichols23]

If it were a peculiarly attractive butt-ugly, I might. If it were dog-ugly, worse than 20 miles of bad road, probably not.

 

[awesomeness]

I think "boring" is worse than "ugly". But I would smoke anything once.

 

[upnorth1]

No.