Still Have Your First Pipe? Why or Why Not?

[joeman]

Yes. A Grabow Hillcrest in shape 119. I still have because it’s a great smoker, I still love the shape (have acquired several more), and lastly, I’m sentimental about my first. I’m just glad that reasons one and two are true.

 

[mso489]

to samuel gawith', who while in the navy threw his pipe overboard to his great regret, somewhere today is a tiger shark who smokes only the finest Balkan blends.

 

[tbradsim1]

. Here it is, good little smoker with stinger still in.

 

[bnichols23]

Nope, don't have it any more & glad of it!

A Medico Dublin that smoked like crap, because I didn't know any better. Still love the shape, but the best thing I ever did pipe-wise was to dump it! :D

 

[checotah]

Still have my first pipe, a Kaywoodie 500, purchased new in Oct. 1963. Well used, have replaced the bit 4 times. Obviously the stinger is long gone. Still smokes great. Wish I could say all of that about some others I have lost over those 55 years.

 

[mso489]

checotah, back in '63, Kaywoodie was the Cadillac pipe, and I'm glad to hear it still is.

 

[lifesizehobbit]

I do not have my first pipe but I know where it is, and if I really wanted it, I bet I could have it.
1983 two friends I met while stationed at Ft. Polk gifted me a Savineli bent billiard and starter kit with some tobacco. It introduced me to the joy of the pipe. Fast forward to about 2000 whereupon I gifted the now seldom-smoked Sav to a fellow piper who was never without a pipe in his mouth. Due to health reasons, he's had to retire his pipes.
I really don't have any sentimental value associated with that pipe.

 

[workman]

I was lucky with my first pipe. It has proven itself to be a good smoker and I like the way it looks. Pure luck as I had no idea what I was doing at the time.

 

[renfield]

I still have and smoke it. A BC group 3 straight apple with a flattened oval shank. I got it at a mom and pop tobacconist long since out of business. IIRC the first tobacco in it was 1-Q. A good smoking pipe with a lot of fond memories attached to it.
Ren

 

[captpat]

I no longer have my first pipe, a Tinderbox meer-lined billiard, purchased in 1976. I have a couple Petersons from that time and another box pipe I have to my son to get him started.

 

[irishearl]

Don't even remember what it was as it was too long ago. :lol: Workman, I bought a no name pipe off the Bay years ago that looks a lot like yours, though with a longer stem. Like the look of it so much, it's a regular in my rotation.

 

[workman]

@Irish Earl: Mine is a Stanwell 139. One of their standard shapes, it is an organic version of the billiard with a tall, narrow bowl. It smokes consistently good.

 

[mso489]

I'm interested and a little surprised at how many members still have their first pipe, even those who've been at this for years. I'm also intrigued that many who no longer have their first pipes had turkeys that didn't smoke well, which illustrates that a bad first experience doesn't necessarily turn people away for good. Apparently pipe smokers are a persistent lot. The ones who still have their first pipes illustrate that even an inexpensive pipe can be a long-term purchase.

 

[disinformatique]

My first time was a cheap chinese cob, so yeah that's gone. I still have my second pipe which was an estate Jeantet bent billiard (a tiny Gr. 1) . I however, sold my first NEW pipe, was a cherrywood by Rick Black.

 

[saltedplug]

Bent Grabow. Was a booger.

 

[jabo]

Yes, I do. A yellowbole pug. When ? 1967. What did I smoke ? Anything ! Smokinf was a bugger, tongue bite, etc. But,I stuck with it. Now, I'm a master. I laugh at that ! I'm still learning . ;-)

 

[condorlover1]

Sadly my first pipe/s were all 'Pollock' clay pipes so they are probably strewn all over my Mothers garden and the flower beds of the local pub!

 

[spartacus]

Yep... it's only 3 months old. A Savinelli Miele 207

 

[aldecaker]

I actually had two first pipes, bought at the same time at a Walgreen's around '89 or '90. I still have one of them, a Grabow Savoy with an unusually large bowl. Strangely enough, it has a yellow spade despite being an aluminum-tenon filter pipe, so it's kind of a rare bird. I do still smoke it occasionally.
The other was a straight billiard with a stinger that I never got on with. I believe it was a Kaywoodie; I lost track of it in a move years ago. That pipe kicked off my dislike of stingers of any sort, but I wish I still had it just for old times' sake.

 

[mso489]

Note to fairly new pipe smokers: it's a good idea to keep your first pipe, even if you don't continue to smoke the pipe. You may go back to it, or want the occasional or annual smoke for some occasion. Pipes have more personality than many personal souvenirs. Complete stinker pipes, pitch 'em out, and maybe get something decidedly better as a keeper.