Too Many Pipes?

[samanden]

Now I know the retailers won't like this question, but can you have too many pipes? I have just seven in rotation with no plans to add anymore if possible (maybe a Dunhill Christmas pipe in the future). They all smoke fairly well. None smoke bad. I notice that the ones I've had the longest smoke best. No more than two pipes are dedicated to a particular blend, i.e. aromatics, Virginias, VaPers, English, and cigar leafs. My theory is that the more use a pipe gets, along with proper rest and care, the better smoker it will become. With so many pipes, how can you push the briar to its fullest capacity? Thoughts?

 

[ugh457]

I haven't been into the pipe smoking thing for too long at all. I have noticed a limited number of members here that don't have room for just one more pipe. LOL...me included, 8 so far.

 

[mso489]

smanden, if seven are a comfortable rotation for you, I'd stick with it. I'm not an all-day smoker,

or even an everyday smoker, but when I'm on a project, I might use two or three pipes in an

evening, and I don't think seven would quite rest them between sessions. That said, I have way

too many pipes, and I try to keep them in rotation, but I do sometimes realize that I haven't

smoked a particular pipe I am lighting for ... weeks? Months? I think you are right that up to

a point, keeping pipes in frequent use makes them smoke better and better. When you have a

lot of pipes in rotation, a thorough break-in can take some months. It's a delicate balance. Since

I haven't done this myself, but since you seem to be able to get along with a nice select group of

seven pipes, I think you are someone who could set your sights and save up for really higher end

pipes, slowly build to maybe a dozen, but really exquisite examples. I have so many great old

cheapies, along with some pretty nice upper middle level pipes, it's an embarrassment.

 

[samanden]

I guess I'm coming at this as more of a tobacco hoarder rather than a pipe hoarder; I have over 150 tins of tobacco aging in my pipe cabinet, some with 5+ years on them. (You don't become a pipe smoker if you don't have some obsessive qualities.). Thus, is it possible to get the most out of a bowl of tobacco if said bowl doesn't have tons of smoking time invested in it?

 

[acaciavet]

I have 125 Pipes what the F.I just love pipes,Purchased my first two in 1967 .Grabows and I still have them.

 

[bigvan]

On one hand, I'm always looking for my next pipe. But on the other (more realistic) hand, I have rack space for about 100 pipes and when the racks start getting filled I know it's time to thin the herd.
Which is happening now, I'm afraid. Oh well, the Columbus Pipe Show is just around the corner.
Just curious, MSO, what's an example of an "upper middle level" pipe?

 

[cigrmaster]

Speaking for myself, yes I can have too many pipes and I have recently been thinning the herd trying to get down to a number I am more comfortable with. I don't like seeing a pipe sit for months without getting smoked. I think my pipes smoke better when they are in a regular rotation. Also when my tastes change, I don't like having pipes in the collection that don't fit my collecting focus. I think a pipe needs to fulfill it's destiny and by me letting it sit unsmoked, I am disrespecting the pipe Gods. For me I think a number of around 30 pipes is just right. I smoke 4-5 different pipes a day so each pipe can be rested a week if I choose to, although I normally rest a pipe 3-4 days. Over the years I have had as many as 60 pipes at one time and for me it was way too many. I used to be a quantity over quality collector but that has changed. It has taken a lot of discipline on my part because I love a great deal and see them all the time on ebay and online dealers. I literally have to stop myself from looking at ebay or the PAD will get raging.

 

[foggymountain]

I have around 140. This is probably too many, but not by that many. The longer a pipe sits unsmoked, the better it tastes when you do get to it. The reason? They are made of roots. Roots, especially briar roots, which grow in an often dry climate, were evolved to retain moisture. Infrequent smoking means they will be drier, in most climates, anyway. Drier = better tasting. I used to smoke a briar once every fifth day, and smoked about 10 a day. That meant 50 were required in the rotation. But when I got to 50, I thought, I have no Savinellis, and the guys say they are very good, and wow, look at those Vintage Hilsons which just turned up. Stuff like that. Then I found sources for better, cheaper Dunhills than we get in the USA, and had to have some of the shapes I didn't have before. So I now have maybe 119 briars, 11 meerschaums and 9 cobs. As I said, when you smoke them less often they taste better. So I might pick up a pipe that has been unused in weeks. Even if it hadn't been so great a smoke before, it is usually a great or near great smoke after weeks. Of course my wife thinks I am crazy, but she really knew that all along. She married me because I was an offbeat artist, and unpredictable.

 

[4dotsasieni]

I remember someone saying or posting recently (it might have been Kevin or Brian)that, at a recent pipe show, he asked the others at his table how many pipes they had. The top number was 500 (!), followed, I think, by 300.
So that makes the rest of us look pretty conservative in our collecting frenzy.

 

[judcole]

Is it possible to have too many? Yeah, I suppose. Is 7 too many? No. Do I have too many? No.

 

[kashmir]

Too many pipes? It's like asking "How many fries you want with that burger"? No two men will give the same answer. I've got sixty five fine smokers. Do I want more? Sure. Will I get more? Well, that's why I play the Lotto.

 

[samanden]

Foggy, you have made a believer out of me. That is some sound advice. In fact, I remember letting my Poul Olsen sit a little longer than usual and found that it smoked wonderfully when I reached for it again. Maybe I'll acquire more pipes slowly over the years and not deprive myself of the opportunity to have more beautiful pipes. (When my wife complains, I'm blaming you guys, by the way.)
Many of you say you smoke multiple pipes a day. I will maybe smoke three or four bowls in one pipe during the day. I will let it rest an hour or so in between smokes of course. Am I putting too much stress on my pipes? Is smoking more than one pipe in a day ideal? Sorry for all these newbie questions.

 

[igloo]

About 40 most low end but all fantastic smokers and that works for a man with a kid in college . My budget per month is 150 bucks and most of that goes to TAD so a artisan pipe goes the way of used text books and another ten dollar pipe gets a new lease on life .Seems like I always have a bid out on Ebay . I like to clean up estates and if they have superior smoking qualities in to the rotation they go . If not well I give them away or trade them . I think older briar makes for a better smoker ,something about sitting around for fifty or more years makes everything better at least that is what I keep telling myself . Maybe someday I can build a high dollar seven day set but it will be for my ego and not the smoking abilities of the pipe .

 

[bigvan]

"Maybe someday I can build a high dollar seven day set but it will be for my ego and not the smoking abilities of the pipe ."
Saying that those who build 7 day sets are doing it for their ego when you admit that it's beyond your current means is a textbook definition of "sour grapes".

 

[numbersix]

I have about 20 pipes and smoke 18 regularly. For me, it's just barely enough. Would love to have about 30 or 40.

 

[crazypipe]

I have about 200 pipes took over 45 years to do this.

If I had it to do all over ,I would just have a 7 day set. The sad thing is when I die I have no one to leave them to. ::

 

[locopony]

Seven is certainly not too many pipes. Until you reach the level of one pipe for each day of the year you have not reached to the level of too many. Every pipe a man owns should be smoke at least once a year. If you have a poor neglected pipe that is not smoked at least once a year you should give it to a person who has less than a pipe for each day of the month. Preferably some who has less than one pipe per day for a week.

 

[petes03]

I have around 25 in my collection now, and regularly smoke more than that amount in a week. Some of them are not great smokers and do not get smoked often. In my opinion, I NEED more! I like to rest my pipes as much as I can, but its a challenge. My budget is limited, so I recently worked out a deal with Melvin ( the owner of my local B&M ) where I pay him weekly installments and put one pipe in layaway, as soon as its paid for I put another in. My wife might kill me, but it should increase my rotation of mid range pipes in short order. Oh, in case you're wondering, my idea of mid range pipes are brands such as Stanwell, Peterson, Nording, Savenelli, BC and the like. Pipes in the 75 to 200 dollar range are what I'm comfortable with. And as I enjoy some of my much less expensive pipes equally well, on my income I can't justify spending more on a pipe. Don't get me wrong,if I had the means I would have racks full of Dunhills, Ardors, Rad Davis and the like. Who knows, one of these days I may save up and get one. For now, my "mid range" pipes will do just fine. I just realized I may have went off subject a bit, but I guess my answer to the original question would be that it is completely up to the buyer. In my case, I don't think I could ever have to many!

 

[lockdown199]

2 months 4 pipes and planning on more. Looking for a hand made artisan.

 

[igloo]

On the contrary I have seven day sets already Amphora, Gbd, Nording and am working on a Gepetto set . I harbor no resentment to those with higher end pipes only envy for the beautiful grain of their pipes, Iam at a point in my life where my children's education and not my pipe rack is the most important thing for me. I just hate men with short dicks and thin egos try to tell me what Iam thinking .And try to compensate for it with possessions .