Top 10 Reasons to Smoke a Pipe

[tarak]

I have a friend who has challenged me to convince him why smoking a pipe is a great thing to try. I decided to give him a "Top 10 List"
But I'll make it easy for you. What are your top 5 reasons for enjoying the hobby?

 

[4dotsasieni]

1. Relaxation -- a chance to take a break from our frenetic, over-connected world.

2 through 10: the same.

 

[delkhouri]

1 - It is relaxing

2 - Comradery of friends to smoke with and the pipe community

3 - I enjoy smoking and its not nearly as harmful as cigarettes and its cheaper than cigars and generally smells better then both

4 - So much variety with tobaccos and pipes I don't ever feel like I will run out of options

5 - It doesn't have to be expensive or time consuming but you can put as much money or time in as you want

 

[plateauguy]

1. Stress reducer - pipe smokers live longer. (Relaxation, relaxation, relaxation!)

2. As inexpensive or as expensive as you want it to be

 

[brian64]

1. For the love of tobacco.
2. Quality pipe tobacco smoked in a good pipe is a superior method of enjoying tobacco. The only thing that comes close is an expensive cigar...which is much more costly over time than purchasing pipes and pipe tobacco.
3. Pipe smoking can be a very meditative/contemplative, relaxing experience...the benefits of which are many.

 

[cigrmaster]

Simple, chicks dig the pipe.

 

[papipeguy]

1-9 Beacause I can.

10 Because I want to.

 

[bryanf]

Enjoyment, a break from life as often as I want, the buzz from nicotine. And yeah, chicks love it. Had a young girl ask me today if I was smoking and e-pipe. I said no, a real pipe. She said, cool.

 

[mso489]

1) Enjoyment of selected flavors among the hundreds/thousands of tobaccos and blends; 2) Enjoyment of the visual pleasure

and craft of pipe carvers and manufacturers; 3)Pleasure in the pipes from different nations; 4) Interest in the lore and history

of tobacco pipes, tobaccos, pipe companies and artisans; 5) Savoring of my small collection of about 40 pipes; 6) Ritual of

packing, lighting, tamping, smoking, re-lighting, and emptying, cleaning and polishing pipes; 7) The meditational zen focus

of pipe smoking and its contemplative serenity; 8) Sharing a smoke with a pipe smoking friend or two; 9) Sharing knowledge

and information about pipes and pipe lore; 10) Getting and giving tobacco pipes and tobacco as gifts.
I could go on, but that's enough for now.

 

[mrjerke]

1. Relaxation

2. Enjoyment with friends

3. The love of the pipe

4. The love of the tobacco

5. For me, it just feels like home
Any one or combination of the above and for a few short moments all is well in the world.

 

[keith929]

It stops the voices in my head that keep telling me to smack the living daylights of someone that truly deserves it. :evil:

 

[sparrowhawk]

mso489, your list hits it on the nail. I smoke for all those reasons except for #10, because I don't know anyone who would like a pipe. But #7 is probably the biggest reason I became a pipe enthusiast. (Forty pipes is a small collection? Mine must be microscopic, then!)

 

[lostandfound]

I'll second Brian. For the love of tobacco- the pipe being the ultimate way to smoke it.
Also, you could ask your friend what the #@&$ harm would come to him from trying ONE bowl of good leaf.
Also... Pipe smoking attracts a different kind of person from what I can see. Maybe it's just me, but we seem to take a great deal of care in developing the quality of our character.
I don't think your friend should need to be convinced. If he wants to try pipe smoking he just needs to ask. Buy him a cob and give him some burley, some Virginia, and some Latakia. Sit down with him and show him how to pack a bowl because if he does it on his own he'll %#@& up and hate pipe smoking forever more. Due to tongue bite and what not. People who want to smoke a pipe don't need ten reasons why they should try it. And, people who smoke a pipe don't need ANY reason to continue doing so. Not for people who need ten reasons to try pipe smoking anyway.
With that said:
1. See above
2. A link to the past. To an era that has come and gone.
3. An attempt to restore certain aspect of said era.
4. A sure-fire way to confuse the shit out someone who has no imagination.
5. It's good for you.
6. 10 reasons to smoke a pipe are a lot of reasons to smoke a pipe. Or "try".
7. It's relaxing.
8. Gives you an air of sophistication- be it false or true.
9. People will remember you... Better. Something about how the sense of smell and memory are related.
10. It's just plain @&$%ing cool dude.
11. It makes deciding who to give your time and attention to easier. Those who are judgmental of, or hostile towards pipe smokers get less time than the alternative.
Well would you look at that. :D
I'd print this out and hand it to your friend. Shit. I'd print this out and hand it to my friend if he wanted 10 reasons to smoke good tobacco.

 

[tennsmoker]

My reasons for smoking my pipes are many.
1.I enjoy the ritual, the tobacco, the relaxation

2.I love to smoke my pipe and read. I seem to zone in on what I’m reading while relaxing with a bowlful of my favorite tobacco

3.Smoking my pipes gives me pleasure of a different sort than I can find nowhere else.

4.It’s ethereal

5.Most of my heroes and mentors smoked pipes, thus creating in me a model to follow

6.Pipe smoking is an individual endeavor through tastes and preferences, and yet we are a community of like spirits

7.I have never seen a pipe I didn’t like, which I cannot say the same for people

8.My day isn’t complete without a pipe in my hand and thoughts of what to smoke next rummaging around in my head

9.With apologies to Mr. Kipling, a woman is only a woman, but a pipe is a smoke!

10.A pipe is my before and after

 

[amiller]

I'll quote a good friend of mine who is a pipe smoker. He was visiting his doctor and has high blood pressure. The doctor told him he needed to stop smoking and he asked why, the doctor said, "you're already stressed, suffer from anxiety, and have high blood pressure, smoking isn't worth it."
his response, "you haven't tried it have you?"

 

[mso489]

sparrowhawk, my collection of about 40 pipes is a lot, by the standards of having a rotation. But I have

pipes that go back about 40 years. This compared to some Forums members who have hundreds of

pipes, mine is a pretty small group. A few high mid-levels, no real "expensive" pipes by most standards.

I smoke them, don't collect them, though for a while I bought several American machine made pipes,

and lately I have accumulated several French pipes, which are well-made and a great buy.

 

[professorwheezy]

1. Relaxing

2. Spontaneous - Oh I'll smoke this tobacco and use this pipe

3. Planning - Oh I need to clean this pipe if I want to smoke it tomorrow, or prep and dry this tobacco

4. Reaches back to another era (sadly)

5. Don't get the same negativity (from some people) as Cigs and Cigars would cause

6. Endless choices and combinations between pipes and tobacco

7. Forces me to slow down

8. I usually smoke during my "quiet time" with God, when I read my Bible and pray

9. Brings back memories of my Uncle who smoked Carter Hall - Yeah he was a codger

10. I think its COOL

11. Patience

12. Restoring pipes has taught me woodworking skills and to be creative at solving problems

13. Would be silly to restore pipes and not smoke them

14. Pipe Collecting is awesome and can be as expensive or cheap as you want. (I'm in the Dr Grabow lot cause I can't afford Savs, Dunhills, and Petes)

 

[Wellington]

I simply enjoy doing it.

 

[flyguy]

For all of the reasons above plus:
Tastes great with no calories or carbs and pipe smoking acts as an appetite suppressor. It is a great diet tool!

 

[numbersix]

Good topic tarak.
I will add that it's something to look forward to. I generally smoke in the evening, and knowing that a pipe is waiting for me at the end of the day always brings a smile to my face.

It stops the voices in my head that keep telling me to smack the living daylights of someone that truly deserves it.

:rofl: