I'd smoke them, they were made to be enjoyed.
Lovely looking pipes by the way.
Lovely looking pipes by the way.
Should I Smoke Them?
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I see nothing wrong with keeping them unsmoked, if you appreciate them as artistic or collectible pieces. Book collectors do this all the time, keeping first editions and collectible books unopened as much as possible to preserve the binding and spine, and buying duplicate "reader" copies for actual reading.
It's not a perfect analogy, given that opening a book a few times does not harm it as much as one smoke in a pipe, but it's close. I have a few vintage sci-fi paperbacks that are not worth as much as one of those pipes, but I'm not going to read a Philip K. Dick title worth $50 and possibly screw it up.
It's not a perfect analogy, given that opening a book a few times does not harm it as much as one smoke in a pipe, but it's close. I have a few vintage sci-fi paperbacks that are not worth as much as one of those pipes, but I'm not going to read a Philip K. Dick title worth $50 and possibly screw it up.
They are very beautiful pipes but don't you have duplicates? So why smoke these? Beautiful pieces of art, display them and enjoy! I doubt that they will smoke any better that your current stable!
Personally, I’d smoke the shit out of those pipes!
Well you guys have mainly just reinforced what I thought about anyway. I like the idea from @jzbdano ...I think I’m going to smoke the Watson and the 150th for now. Save the others for later. Funny thing is I have no problem smoking an old pre republic pipe (have a few) or even a 1970s Supreme System with Gold Band (was unsmoked before me and valued way more than these pipes) but because of their “collectibility” I hesitate on these ?
Must be the Star Wars figure collector syndrome.
Must be the Star Wars figure collector syndrome.
My signed first editions of books by Bradbury, Ellison, Niven, Heinlein, Asimov and others have all been read once, but for re-reads I have paperbacks.
One thing that I appreciate about this particular thread is the absence of judging. This is a topic that has come up before, and there were people who would act like not smoking everything was a crime along the lines of committing genocide, just nuts. There was one guy who claimed that the pipes were being denied their destiny and it was our obligation to smoke them. It was like his masculinity was at stake. He got quite heated, and borderline hysterical, when I suggested that I wasn't put on this earth to obey his commands.
So if you owned a Rembrandt, would you paint over it, or attach a tail to it and fly it like a kite?
For me, it was just hard to find the 1st year of issue in both styles unsmoked and with the original box/paper/sock.
pretty funny about that guy. I’m personally glad the people before me didn’t smoke the pipes. I have had a lot of unsmoked estates and they are some of my best pipes.
pretty funny about that guy. I’m personally glad the people before me didn’t smoke the pipes. I have had a lot of unsmoked estates and they are some of my best pipes.
Definitely don't smoke them if your intent is for collection, you might also want to post them up for sale as according to the collective pipes are as good as fire wood and if you sell them you can buy more tobacco! ?
A little different in that a painting's "use" is to hang on a wall and look at. A pipe is designed to be used by smoking. A similar comparison would be a Ferrari, just left in a garage to admire, or enjoy it driving. I, for one, say "drive that fucker".
It's just two different activities. If you have all the pipes you need and want to smoke, but want to have a separate group as collector pieces only, that's completely rational. High quality pipes that have never been smoked have a special place and status.
I really enjoyed reading this section. Found myself nodding and agreeing with points on both sides here. I'd be inclined to side with smoking them, but I dont really own anything similar so I'm not sure if that makes me more cavalier than I would be otherwise.
If you decide against smoking, have you thought about setting them up to display (if you haven't already)?
If you decide against smoking, have you thought about setting them up to display (if you haven't already)?
Funny you should mention a Ferrari. It brought back the memory of a party I attended in the early 1980's at a pied a terre owned by a Saudi prince, high up in the Hollywood Hills. The house commanded an extraordinary view of the city, from the coast past downtown.
The woman hosting the party was its caretaker, and she lived there except for the one to two weeks that the prince was in town, and as long as she did no damage she could do as she pleased at the place. She was showing me around and took me to the garage to see the prince's Ferrari Quattrovalvole, which I think was a 308(?). I asked her if she had ever driven it, and she said no, no one but the prince's valet drove it, and that was only up and down the long driveway, with the prince in the passenger seat. Other than that, the car just sat there. I guess it was "lightly" used.
I think Pete's are fairly ubiquitous so I think you should enjoy them just as you do your others. They've made a thousands of the Sherlock Holmes as far as I can tell. There are 5 or 6 unsmoked Founders editions on ebay right now so the collector value is low. It will be higher when the 200th anniversary rolls around. Do you want to hold on to it that long? Let's say it's value triples and is $1000 then. Will it be worth it? To me the value of enjoying it for the next 50 years is beyond that.
Sell or trade 'em if you're not enamored of them enough to already have smoked them.
That said, I have an unsmoked Mastro de Paja that looks woefully at me from the rack. My excuse was I was breaking in too many other new pipes, but that excuse is disappearing.
Time to buy more pipes, I guess.....
That said, I have an unsmoked Mastro de Paja that looks woefully at me from the rack. My excuse was I was breaking in too many other new pipes, but that excuse is disappearing.
Time to buy more pipes, I guess.....
The decision to save or smoke depends on a few factors for me. If it's a truly rare pipe, I'm more prone to save it to gift, resell, or maybe use someday on a special occasion. I do not have a large collection, and most of my pipes are newer; they were made in the 90's and onward. Several were commissions, and/or "first of a kind" in terms of a technique, or grade, or shape from some respected artisan carvers. These remain unsmoked. I don't think I'm cheating myself by not experiencing these pipes. I have basket pipes that smoke quite well. These unsmoked pipes are nice to look at - I view them as art and history (sorta), I know (or knew) the carvers, and I know I can sell them quickly if I wish to do so. If I purchase a beautiful Ardor - I would be more inclined to smoke it because while beautiful, it's not rare.
Beautiful pipes. Smoke them, or not... doesn't bother me.
I have some pipes that I just don't smoke, although I have smoked them... I just don't tend to grab them, so they end up in a drawer or a display in my case, not on the rack. But, I don't consider myself a collector. I also have lighters that I really admire, but never use, guns that have meaning for me, that I don't use, musical instruments that I enjoy just owning, never playing, a few ties that I hold on to, albums that I don't play any more, and even tools that I never use, but enjoy having. Some might see it as a waste of space, and some might understand the desire to own something for nostalgia or just appreciation.
I have some pipes that I just don't smoke, although I have smoked them... I just don't tend to grab them, so they end up in a drawer or a display in my case, not on the rack. But, I don't consider myself a collector. I also have lighters that I really admire, but never use, guns that have meaning for me, that I don't use, musical instruments that I enjoy just owning, never playing, a few ties that I hold on to, albums that I don't play any more, and even tools that I never use, but enjoy having. Some might see it as a waste of space, and some might understand the desire to own something for nostalgia or just appreciation.
If I had an impeccably restored or never driven Hupmobile, but I regularly drove my Mazda, I wouldn't consider that a problem. That's an exaggeration. Your Petes aren't rare antiques yet, but it echoes the point.
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