Seriously!

[oldmooner]

As I look at the discussions/articles on our site, I wonder if we are not becoming more and more guilty of arrogance and taking our hobby (never have liked calling my pipe-smoking a hobby)too seriosly. I am now an old man and, of course, adverse to change, but I have been smoking a pipe for over 50 years and I do not ever remember (yes, I can still remember) pipe smokers being as "up tight" as they seem today. Like so many "hobbies" we have developed a group of "experts" that we bow to (God forbid I should critisize anything Danish) and developed a form of "excellence" that we are all supposed to attempt to achieve whether it be purchasing a pipe, tobacco, or even a tamper. That is a shame. Hobbies are supposed to be enjoyable. And before you jump on me for being an old fud, I notice the same thing in other hobbies and in society today in general. We can't just go bowling. We have to have our own ball, shoes, sports bag, etc. Same with golf. The group I belong to concerning scrollsawing is the same way. Ague endlessly about the "best" saw, blades, wood, etc and seem to forget that the object is fun and enjoyment of life. Oh well, just let me say to you younger troops-smoke the pipe you like, the tobacco that tastes good and laugh at yourselves once in awhile. I hate to see us, like wine drinkers, smelling the cork. I always enjoyed "twist-top" myself. You do not have to have a pipe that costs $200 and looks like some form of sculpture and you do not need to analyze the content/mixture of your tobacco. You too can learn to spell latakia and perique even if you prefer burley. Lighten up, troops!

 

[lordnoble]

Just for the record, I prefer screw-tiop wine bottle too, but I prefer Boxed wines more. The easier it is for me to pour when I'm tipsy the better!
I think that you are correct that there is a lot of "hat's best" out there in any hobby, but I think by and large, it goes by us. OK, we turn up our noses at Mixture 79 or Borkum Riff, but I don't think that we fault someone else for it. Additionally, I think that we enjoy the tobacco and want to figure out what makes it so good, that we attempt to find the hidden "flavors". It's kinda like that record or song that you love and can listen to it for hours and just about every time you hear it there's something there that hadn't heard before. At least that's how it is for me with my favorite blends. YMMV
-Jason

 

[85royals]

I like my Dunhill My Mixture 965 and Capt. Black in the white pouch I smoke a cheap corn cob and cheap Mr. Brog and some nice 50buck pipes as well.. I love my pipes and just want to relax.. As for wine it ok but pop me a top on mr can of High Life or Boxer beer and I'll be fine

Good topic i like it

 

[crpntr1]

Hmm...maybe I enjoy analyzing the things I'm interested in. Be it a pipe, tobacco, my new Adams driver, how much more comfortable are my Nike airs vs your footjoys? Have Porter cable tools declined in quality? What about Peterson pipes? What makes this marinade make my chops taste better? I'm not supposed to attempt to figure that out, if that's what I enjoy? I'll be damned.

 

[barkar]

I smoke what I like in what I like. However I do like to know what's in what I'm smoking so I can educate myself to seek out blends that have similar mix. Here in Canada a tin of tobacco is 25.00, maybe that's not a lot of money for some to waste buying something they might not like but I like to have some idea of what I'm buying before I drop the money.
I think I just got caught by a troll.

 

[photoman13]

I don't see a whole lot of arguing. A lot of people collect pipes. Many see it as a form of art. Different strokes for different folks.

 

[jaysin]

Most expensive pipe? A Peterson ARAN that was a gift from the wife. An Irish pipe for an Irish guy. But my go to pipes are Brogs and Grabows. Would I like to have a Nording free hand? Yeah, they look cool as hell and funky. Will I buy one? Probably not. Anyone got one they wanna trade?

 

[hobie1dog]

We have so much stuff out there, that we micro-analyze everything in today's society, and it will continue to aggravate us old farts until we pass on. If you can gather information in a consensus form, then sometimes you can save yourself time and money before buying more stuff. Taking one persons advice/opinion instead of a groups consensus, is risky at best.
Forums will always have individuals forcing and puking out their opinions like its the Gospel. :|

 

[taerin]

I think your posting to the wrong forums, the people here at not up-tight at all...

 

[rigmedic1]

I don't think Oldmooner was griping about us, just pipe "hobbyists" in general. One of the reasons I like this forum is that there are few, if any, pipe snobs here. We smoke everything: Graybows, Yelloboles, Duhills, etc, and briar, meerschaum, corncob, whatever. No tobacco is out of bounds, near as I can tell.

I like the tobacco reviews posted here, and all the different pipes and comments thereof. Gives a good overview of whats out there, and whether or not one would want any of it. This forum has done more to help me choose which new tobaccos to try, and decide which ones I don't want as well.

Lord knows I wouldn't want to join any club that would have me for a member, so I am glad that there is no "best" pipe or "only" tobacco here. Just open discussion about one of our favorite subjects.

 

[terry]

+1@ oldmooner.

 

[whitebriar]

As I look at the discussions/articles on our site, I wonder if we are not becoming more and more guilty of arrogance and taking our hobby (never have liked calling my pipe-smoking a hobby)too seriosly. I am now an old man and, of course, adverse to change, but I have been smoking a pipe for over 50 years and I do not ever remember (yes, I can still remember) pipe smokers being as "up tight" as they seem today. ........... Hobbies are supposed to be enjoyable. ............Oh well, just let me say to you younger troops-smoke the pipe you like, the tobacco that tastes good and laugh at yourselves once in awhile. I hate to see us, like wine drinkers, smelling the cork. I always enjoyed "twist-top" myself. You do not have to have a pipe that costs $200 and looks like some form of sculpture and you do not need to analyze the content/mixture of your tobacco. You too can learn to spell latakia and perique even if you prefer burley. Lighten up, troops!

Posted 1 hour ago #

_______________________________
agreed in general oldmooner --this forum is less inclined to aforementioned tendencies than some--

i am not a hobbbiest i just smoke a pipe--seldom worry about how i load it--rarely use a char light--my most expensive pipe was about 68 bucks in 2011---

i'll try anything EXCEPT highly scented blends (learned that lesson over 50 years ago with mix 79--if anyone likes 79 good; they need the business--- having said that, they have been around a long time so someone evidently does like 79--

i prefer burley and/or BurVaPer--really like PA off the shelf almost as well--if i smoke other than burley it's just like taking a vacation--i always go back home--
i like inexpensive wine, good brandy, and i have been known to swig from the bottle if a glass isn't handy--expediency rules my manners--i'm 68 years old, not in favor of change and am losing that battle--oldmooner and i date back to an era where a pipe was just a device to obtain nicotine--i don't think that time will ever return, so we will just get used to it and enjoy the show--seems like just the other day i bought my first briar; now i'm a geezer--enjoy your pipe however you want guys--it'll be over before ya know it--
smoke 'em if ya got 'em
WB

 

[winton]

I have some professional grade tools, some junk tools and lots between these two extremes. It strickly depends on what they are used for. If the tool is mission critical or used multiple times a day, then I get the best I can afford. For a single use tool, I buy the cheapest I can find and usually I finish the job before it breaks. Most tools fall somewhere in the middle.
I also apply this philosophy to my pipes. I picked up the pipe to relax. I had no idea if I would continue, so my first pipe and tobacco were the cheapest possible. TRASH, time to upgrade. As a woodworker, I really can't be satisfied with a pipe unless it is made of wood. Cobs are OK for trying new blends, but not for serious relaxing. Sorry guys, this is my opinion. All of my pipes are Graybow, Mr Brog, homemade or similar quality level. They meet my quality requirements for burning tobacco. The shapes are pleasing to me.
I guess that everyone has to make a decision on quality level for every aspect of life. I read house appraisals for a living. I constantly think, "Why would anyone spend that much on...." Obviously, not everyone thinks through purchase decisions like this. But it works for me.
Winton

 

[gnatjulio]

haha, no Dunhill or Ardor for me....I'm just lookin for a big bowl at a cheapi$h price.......tho i did buy a good bottle of booze to try the experience....

 

[fshu2]

i drink jack at 12 bottle and smoke the tobacco i like out of whatever pipe i want, as of late the ones i make. as i say, do what you like and let everyone else alone after all the only thoughts that keep you up at night are your own. oldmooner you are alright by me sir, much respect.

 

[tbradsim1]

I get what oldmooner is saying, I enjoy this forum after being away 40 yrs, I have learned many things here, from young and old, you have to be yourself, don"t let anybody tell you what to smoke or enjoy, this is America, I get tears in my eyes every timeAmerica the beautiful is played because a long time ago I thought I would die in a foreign land never to see my loved ones again, things change , sometimes for the better sometimes not, look at our troops, young men doing the nasty work of politicians, my son asked me if he should reenlist in the army, he was in the 82nd Airborne, I told him there is no more honorable profession than serving your country, but get out, those politicians will kill you for nothing,I salute all Americans, the old cajun

 

[ssjones]

Sometimes too much information is not a good thing (ie: internet..). Smoke what you like in what you like and leave the judging to a man farther up the food chain (judge not, least ye be judged is a good rule to follow). Having said that, this forum seems to have few squabbles (any?), a welcome respite from the rest of the world.

 

[crpntr1]

I just re-read my comment and would like to add: what I'm smoking, smoking it in, driving a golf ball with or cutting a rafter with, is not better than yours or his, if you wanna cut a cypress limb and drill two holes in it for your pipe do it. I, for one, enjoy info, I want to know what's what and what's it made out of. If the next guy is content with everything, I applaud him, but the same thing day in and day out, for me is boring. I've got a couple of Pete's and one of those Danish ones too, and kw and grabows. When I'm kicking back or driving down the road, smoking I don't over think it, I get that, but I'll study and analyze everything I set out to do so I can get MY most out of it. I realize (most of the time ) thing don't sound the same on a screen as they do in my head.

 

[reichenbach]

My father tells me this all the time. I asked him one time what he thought of Prince Albert, he said it was alright. I picked up a pouch and the next day I told him the history of the company I found online. He told me I'm making it too complicated. Maybe but I see it more as throwing myself into something I like. I'm sure he would find flake tobacco 'too complicated' and that's his prerogative. He told me once he wouldn't re-lit a pipe if he didn't get to it within minutes, I smoke during my lunch break and then come back to what I didn't finish after work. Am I right in what I do? Absolutely. Does my being right make him wrong? Absolutely not. If smoking from a Dunhill is what helps you enjoy your smoke more, then do it. If the thought of fire going near something you paid $5000 for gives you a sick feeling in your stomach, don't buy one. It comes down to preference and experience. If someone is a 'tin-sniffer' in the same sense as a 'cork-sniffer,' if that is your ritual, excellent. If not, don't. I've never noticed any pretense in anyone I've talked to one here or any pipe smokers I've had the pleasure of meeting the real life and I think that's what you meant. Some people are tin-sniffing Dunhillers, some people are foil-pouching Grabowers and the rest of us are in between. Sadly, we all take ourselves too seriously at points but we are only people after all, so you can't really expect much from us.

 

[bigvan]

Oldmooner I'm not sure I get your point. You think we're NOT supposed to examine the makeup of our favorite blends? We're NOT supposed to try to better understand what goes into making a good pipe? And everything that everyone does will always be OK? Sorry, but I disagree.
The attitude that everyone is always right, nobody's wrong, everything is great and it's rude to disagree is political correctness which I can't stand. There are some truly awful tobacco blends out there and some poorly made pipes. And just because someone doesn't know better or doesn't care doesn't mean the rest of us can't offer their opinions. Respectful disagreement is the key to discourse,and discourse is why we're here. Isn't it?