Pipe Smoking Must-Do Experiences

[mortonbriar]

Clay doesn't color like meerschaum and can return to pure white when cleaning it with fire.

My clays colour a bit but yeah, more like turn black around the bowl and stay close to white everywhere else, not that gradual change like a meer of course.

 

[mortonbriar]

Go to a pipe show.

For me, this is very much on my pipe bucket list!

 

[thechristophershow]

Okay, here is one must-do: Buy and smoke an unfinished pipe until it is fully finished through smoking alone. There are a number of pipes sold as unfinished, but I would especially recommend the smooth ones for the full observable effect. The unfinished rusticated pipes already have the textured finish. The smooth pipes first darken in an undistinguished way and don't look especially good. Then they begin to darken a little more and take on a somewhat attractive matte finish not unlike pipes finished as matte. Eventually some begin to shine with a walnut (or other hue) aura that is deep and rich and quite even throughout the briar. Hand oil may have something to do with it, but it is too uniform on the shank and other less-handled parts to be the main influence. It is magic -- or magic seeming, if the magic idea is too annoying. I have a forty year old Savinelli pipe that started out unfinished that now looks more finished than some of my smooth pipes that came fully finished. You cannot miss this experience. Savinelli makes good unfinished pipes, and right now PC has Stanwells in smooth unfinished form. I'm sure there are other brands. Don't miss this in your pipe smoking life.

That sounds really interesting. Do you have a picture you could share of a pipe that was natural when you bought it and now looks finished?

 

[hoosierpipeguy]

It would be nice if every pipe smoker had the opportunity to visit a real old school B&M for an afternoon. Check out the pipes, tobacco, accessories and memorabilia. Smoke a bowl or two in the lounge. Chat with other smokers. Somewhere like Iwan Ries.

Serious pipe smokers who haven't had that pleasure should put some effort into doing so. Those B&M's aren't likely to be around forever.

 

[Ahi Ka]

I’d even say having a go at growing your own Tobacco. Even if only once, I found that through the process my enjoyment and understanding of smoking a pipe has increased significantly.

 

[hauntedmyst]

You aren't a real pipe smoker until you've smoked a pipe and been buck naked and been chased by a country hooker because you got drunk and decided to wrestle her pig in the mud best two out of three falls. Don't ask me how I know.

 

[Ahi Ka]

You aren't a real pipe smoker until you've smoked a pipe and been buck naked and been chased by a country hooker because you got drunk and decided to wrestle her pig in the mud best two out of three falls. Don't ask me how I know.

You aren’t a real pipe smoker until you use punctuation...great story by the way. The sorta stuff I hope to one day tell my grandkids

 

[alexnc]

So I decided smoking a clay and a Dr Graybow might be mandatory parts of the experience. I’ve got to say I was surprised. I like the clay, it’s a good short smoke for powerful blends like War Horse Bar or Irish Flake. The Graybow is a great size for a short smoke too. I’ve only smoked it twice, but it seems OK - whereas I did not expect to like either.

 

[alexnc]

And, last but not least, per MSO, an unfinished pipe to watch color

 

[cigrmaster]

I would commission a pipe with Jack Howell and then you will see what a true artisan pipe smokes like. You also don't have to spend a fortune His pipe smoke as good as any 1000-2000 pipe on the market for a fraction of the cost.

 

[mso489]

Hardly required as pipe smoking experiences, but worth considering, unless you have a strong predisposition, are churchwarden and Oom-Paul/Hungarian pipes. I was intrigued by both, but didn't take the leap, but my wife bought me one of each on two different Christmases, and I found I enjoy both of them. My avatar pictures the arrival of the churchwarden, a Sav 601, and the Oom-Paul is also a Sav, a Hercules series with a fine deep bowl that hangs as if it weighs nothing, since there is so much less leverage with the U-turn stem and shank.

 

[The Clay King]

Clay doesn't color like meerschaum and can return to pure white when cleaning it with fire.

Thanks I'll try it when I take part in living history re-enactments.

 

[alexnc]

Hardly required as pipe smoking experiences, but worth considering, unless you have a strong predisposition, are churchwarden and Oom-Paul/Hungarian pipes. I was intrigued by both, but didn't take the leap, but my wife bought me one of each on two different Christmases, and I found I enjoy both of them. My avatar pictures the arrival of the churchwarden, a Sav 601, and the Oom-Paul is also a Sav, a Hercules series with a fine deep bowl that hangs as if it weighs nothing, since there is so much less leverage with the U-turn stem and shank.

An Oom Paul is next on my list. I’ve never had a churchwarden either. I’ve prepped a stem for a churchwarden though. But I think the Oom Paul comes first!

 

[briarbuck]

A pipe, some tasty tobacco on the beach with Jessica Alba.

 

[mso489]

If you haven't experienced a large pipe and a small pipe, one of each isn't too much, but shop carefully so you get ones you will use. Small pipes can be used for short smokes, for longer smokes with flake/coin/plug/rope cuts, and to sample at pipe shops, shows, or clubs. Large pipes are the ticket for long mediative smokes, and they don't have to be extra heavy. But shop a lot to see what is available, so you get pipes you really want. Pipes can last forever, so buy for the longterm.