To Save For Fewer, Better Pipes, Or Not

[mso489]

I'm not of the school that thinks people should spend as much as they can on a first pipe, or the first few. I'd guess maybe one out of three or four people stick with it, so no need to bust the savings to try it out. Those who propound that idea speak for themselves. On the other hand, though I don't follow the plan, I do think once you have a row of pipes, it would be smart to save longer for fewer, better pipes. I like variety and I like to buy pipes, but since pipes last for decades or a lifetime, better to think and save longer between purchases and end up with twenty or thirty higher end pipes than eighty of mixed lineage. Or so I say. I do love my strange array of low-end factory pipes, pipes on sale, estate pipes, and MM cobs, etc., and my six or eight (or maybe a few more) higher end pipes, gifts and lucky purchases. But if you are somewhat starting out, or starting in again, and can plan ahead, consider fewer pipes over a longer term, if you can. Both ways work, but decide when you still have the choice.

 

[alaskanpiper]

I agree, Tom! Start out with a rotation of good value $50-100 pipes while you get the hang of it and find out which shapes you enjoy, then invest in fewer higher end pipes when those special ones call to you. Or don’t! Whatever works!

I like having both on hand. Rotation smokers, as well as special occasion pipes to use when looking for the whole experience, or to do dedicate to special blends.

All part of the fun!

 

[jaytex1969]

C. All of the above.

 

[tradition]

I have 7 pipes, all premium brands. 3 of them have been with me for 45 years.

My pipe rack holds 7 pipes.

I smoke every day and I don't need or want any more.

 

[mso489]

tradition, admirable good sense. Not me!

 

[jaytex1969]

Those of us with random, sprawling "collections" are a vital link in the proper feeding of the estate pipe market supply.

?

 

[mycroftholmes]

I would prefer to smoke 1 good smoking Dunhill shell briar than 10 Parkers

 

[didimauw]

As I enjoy inexpensive or cheap pipes, I do think your correct MSO, as they do last for a long time. Might as well get ones you will truly enjoy for decades ...

 

[workman]

I have enough pipes now, sort of. What I want now is to slowly upgrade. Not necessarily to more expensive, high end pipes, but to pipes that are better suited to my preferences regarding smoking style and in some cases pipes of higher quality, esp. with the stems and bits.
I am more experienced now and better able to tell whether or not a pipe is all of the above.
But I'm in no hurry.

 

[sablebrush52]

My only suggestion is that neophyte smokers not go all in on a high priced pipe. Decent smokers can be had for $50 to $150. Cobs work well at a fraction of that price range. Learn the technique. A high priced pipe will not help you if you don't know the basics.

Learn the basics, then upgrade for the aesthetics or a more comfortable bit.

 

[mso489]

Take it from sable. That's my opinion too.

 

[bnichols23]

tradition, admirable good sense. Not me!

-huuuuge laugh- Same here, Tom. I never claimed to have Good Sense when it came to my purchases. I've never dropped 5 Benjamins on any of mine, & freely admit I've spent $5 on a few of them (1970s dollars, of course). Once you pass $100 or more (20xx bucks naturally) you're probably going to get a good one, but there's no real need to spend even that much to get a fine smoke (Bones, for example).

If one appeals to me I'll go for it. More than a few times I've walked, either figuratively or literally, into a shop intending to drop $100+ on one & come out with one that was only $70 or so that screamed "Me!" & been more than pleased with it. It just all depends!

 

[JLD66]

Need and want are two different things. While I have more than I need I’m always looking for another. Defies reasoning I know but there it is.

 

[mityahicks]

I'm still interested in both. It all depends on whimsy. I'm also a fan of estate pipes.

 

[smudgersmissingleg]

My first pipe was a £50 Butz Choquin. Not an expensive pipe by any stretch of the imagination but neither is it a cheap £15 basket pipe (not that I'm saying there's anything wrong with them). The reason I wanted something half sensible as a first pipe was because I was worried if I got something very cheap and then didn't enjoy pipe smoking I'd never know whether it was because I just didn't care for it or it was because the cheap pipe was rubbish and spoiled the experience.
Of course this was when I first started out and had absolutely zero idea what I was doing and honestly thought a more expensive pipe equalled a better smoke. I now know that isn't the case at all.

I do try and buy higher end pipes as they're often the ones I'm drooling over on tobacconist websites. Obviously when I say "higher end" that's a relative term. For me and my financial situation a higher end pipe is in the £120 to £250 price range, I'm sure some of the lads on here would see that as the lower end of the spectrum as they purchase artisan pipes costing many times my budget.

I decided early on that I'd rather have a handful of higher end (to me) pipes than loads and loads of cheap ones. Not that there's anything wrong with cheaper pipes, it's just the way I chose to go.

I now own 5 calabashes, 9 briars and 1 meer. I've told myself that is probably all I need as it's a decent rotation for the amount I smoke and it's probably true, I don't NEED any more pipes, that doesn't stop me WANTING them though.

P.A.D is real and should not be taken lightly! Its got to the stage now where I almost feel I should be walking into some anonymous building somewhere and telling a room full of seated strangers "Hi my name is Christian and I'm a pipe addict, I haven't bought a new pipe in 30 days." Then I get a little badge/button with 30 days written on it. If I was ever weakening I could call my 'sponsor' and they'd tell me how well I was doing and that I definitely didn't need that Peterson Sherlock Holmes Original fitted to take a 9mm filter.
And before you ask, yes I have been looking at that very pipe. Please don't judge me, it's an illness?.

 

[sablebrush52]

If your pipes and tobaccos provide you with pleasure, what more do you need. There's no one correct way to approach this pastime. We derive pleasure from pipes in many different ways.
I enjoy owning and smoking my vintage Barlings, and learning about their history, and I enjoy collecting different American artisan pipes, as well as the one offs that appeal to me. Others like collecting a specific shape or examples of a specific shape from the same maker. There are so many ways to enjoy pipes and tobaccos.

 

[trubka2]

To each his own... I definitely go for quantity over quality, if you're measuring quality by monetary worth. I buy and fix up lots of very inexpensive (mostly sub-20$, and many sub-10$) estates because I enjoy hunting down absurdly undervalued old pipes and learning how to coax them back to smokable condition. And also because I don't conflate collectabiliity and awesomeness. I had 7 pipes before I joined this forum a little over a year ago, and now I have no idea how many I have. After trading in a bunch, maybe 60-ish? I'm really glad I did it this way rather than buy fewer, more expensive pipes at the beginning, when I had no idea what I like in a pipe. This has given me the chance to smoke a lot of different types and brands as I figure out what my tastes are in pipes, and what smokes well for me. It's also allowed me to learn how to smoke different kinds of pipes properly without risking damage to an expensive pipe. The only thing I plan to change any time soon is that I need to start farming out the ones I don't smoke often.

 

[hoosierpipeguy]

Personally, I'd rather have 25 $400 Artisan pipes than 100 $100 pipes. That's my personal preference though. People should do what makes them happiest. Beginners should start out with $50 to $100 pipes, learn to smoke and what they like before moving into higher end pipes. I'd add, while I type this, even though I have quite a few high end pipes, I'm thoroughly enjoying a bowl of Undead Scotsman in a Brebbia I bought for less than $100.

 

[hauntedmyst]

Pipes, Iike friends, should be used just once like toilet paper and then thrown away. At least that's what grandpa used to say. But he was senile and I'm pretty sure he was talking about paper plates because I never saw him throw a pipe away, try to flush one or toss one in the fireplace. He'd toss all the paper plates right in the fireplace at Thanksgiving. Grandma would get mad because he'd throw whole pieces of turkey in there and the smell coming out of the chimney would attract coyotes for miles around that night. Then grandpa would sit in a tree and paintball them all night and call them Jerry bastards.