The Case Against Another Pipe

[mso489]

Sure, I'm drawn to another pipe from time to time, and sometimes I rather torture the decision even if it is a cob or inexpensive hardwood pipe or something. I'm not discouraging buying pipes, but sometimes I like to put on the brakes and think about it first.

I have racks of pipes. By culling and trading pipes for store credit, and giving a few away to active duty service people and a friend, I've kept the count below one hundred of actual smokers. I have a few extras, oddities I've been given that aren't smokeable.

What I realize before I order a pipe is that I have pipes in rotation that i haven't smoked in months, maybe in more than a year in some cases. And these aren't back-benchers, but great pipes with good draw, nice balance in hand, ample chambers, and fine smoking characteristics.

Another pipe just means I'll smoke these pipes-in-waiting even more infrequently. So sometimes I just pass on the purchases and rediscover some of the grand old friends that have been waiting on the racks all the time.

How about you? Do you ever just put PAD on hold (that's pipe acquisition disorder for people new to Forums)? I know a few members here puff contentedly with just a few pipes, or a rack of twenty, so I'm not preaching to that choir. Just asking how it goes with you.

 

[warren]

I get by with a bit less than thirty. If I find a pipe in a shop I want and it meets my criteria, I buy it. I will say, it's been a number of years since a pipe, on display, has captured my eye, much less been considered for purchase.

 

[cshubhra]

After buying a few extremely cheap pipes to establish a rotation, I have only focused on mid-range to extreme high end pipes. To me quality is more important than quantity.

I had established a criteria- Every pipe I buy needs to be a more valuable addition to my collection. Since value does not equal to price, occasionally a cheap cob was valuable addition to my collection (Since I focused on adding cobs to my collection after Meerschaum and briar), but other times the pipes were generally more pricey than others so I gradually priced myself out of PAD.

A few pipes remain to complete my collection. I am not in a hurry to acquire them, and may not acquire them at all (A couple extremely rare Sasieni, a Bo Nordh and a morta)

Last two pipes I purchased were a MacArthur Cob on February 2023 and Altinay translucent meerschaum on May 2022.

I can claim I am completely cured of PAD

 

[RustiePyles CPG]

I divide pipes into three categories,

1. Pipes I want to put into full rotation and smoke, often times they’re new pipes.

2. Pipes that fit into a “collection” often these are quite old and might get smoked occasionally.

3. Pipes with sentimental value, these are often gifts.

Group 1 purchases will be scrutinized.
Group 2 purchases are bought without hesitation if I have the money.
Group 3 well they are what they are.

 

[SBC]

Yes, pipes are the only things I've ever been tempted to accumulate obsessively and unnecessarily. (Well, I feel the draw towards fountain pens, too, but I've kept those around 7 or so.) Others experience the acquisition and hoarding idol in connection to shoes, jewelry, watches, whathaveyou.

Over the years, I've owned over 150 pipes, I suppose (although not all at one time). To be fair, many of those I intended to refurb and flip from the get-go. But some of those were difficult to let go of...

I've decided to limit myself to about 3 pipes a week, now, for medical reasons. That being the case, I need only so many pipes. Through selling and giving away, I've wittled down to a personal rotation of about 25.

I did this for my own soul, more than anything else. The hoarding lust scared me. I want to hold temporal things loosely.

When a new pipe strikes my fancy, these days, I remind myself that I didn't whittle down just to rebuild. I certainly don't need the 20-something I currently keep.

 

[bullet08]

Have to be a Peterson, and a shape I don't have. Also, I'll have to be drawn to it. Been awhile since I saw one that real pulled me to it.

 

[mso489]

Ha! So far, some of you have more self-control than I do. I like my pipes well enough, I don't want them to be clutter or go unused. When I smoke one for the first time in more than a year, it seems sad.

It reminds me of the saying, enough is as good as a feast.

However, Forums depends on an audience that enjoys buying pipes, so I don't want to discourage that, especially among new smokers who may need a few pipes, and even a few more.

 

[mortonbriar]

I stopped buying tobacco 3 years ago, and also purchased a lifetime worth of pipe cleaners. I think that is part of what encouraged me not to spend anything on pipes in the same time frame. I find it VERY satisfying that my main hobby/vice no longer pulls from the family budget. I guess there are some gardening costs for growing, and the odd bic lighter but that's about it.

I would buy a pipe again, but not until I have culled spots on the rack to put them in.

 

[HawkeyeLinus]

Heresy!

 

[ThermionicScott]

Heresy!

IBTL!

But seriously, I have similar thoughts about my collection, and it's only 20 pipes or so. Some pipes get smoked all the time, and others languish. The only practical reason I can think of for buying another pipe is if I wanted to branch out to another genre and have something dedicated to that. Maybe a particular Lakeland or aromatic...

 

[jmill208]

What’s the harm in “just one last pipe?”

 

[kcghost]

MSO at our age we shouldn't be buying pipes, but rather culling the herd.

 

[Zamora]

After buying a few extremely cheap pipes to establish a rotation, I have only focused on mid-range to extreme high end pipes. To me quality is more important than quantity.

Yeah as a new smoker my current strategy is focus on getting cheap pipes for a rotation. I turn 30 next year and might spoil myself with getting something like a Peterson or Savinelli. I'm not sure the extent I want to get into the collecting side of things, but I do want a wide variety of shapes and brands.

 

[Zamora]

IBTL!

But seriously, I have similar thoughts about my collection, and it's only 20 pipes or so. Some pipes get smoked all the time, and others languish. The only practical reason I can think of for buying another pipe is if I wanted to branch out to another genre and have something dedicated to that. Maybe a particular Lakeland or aromatic...

I've never had a Lakeland but from what I've heard it's pretty essential to have a dedicated pipe for them, some people insist they'll even ghost cobs or meers.