Wear and Tear Versus Pristine

[mso489]

I think pipe smokers tend to express their personalities in their pipe habits. Many always want

the best pipes they can afford in the most mint condition they can achieve at all times. Others

want rough and ready in all pipe matters; one Forum member does pipe repairs with patching

compound. I think I fall somewhere in the middle. I carefully clean a pipe after each smoke, and

use brebbia compound to brighten up my stems. However, signs of wear are pleasing to me. A

little char around the top of a bowl after a few years, some wear from rubbing, and certainly the

wonderful patina attained by an unfinished pipe as it is smoked over time have a pleasing glow

for me. My wife calls these more worn pipes "rustic," and I see that. Where do you fall on the

bell curve? Do you like pipes as near museum quality as possible, or do you like a bit of use

to show?

 

[cortezattic]

I like 'em to look and feel like a comfortable old shoe -- provided they deliver in smoking.

 

[kashmir]

The way I go through tobacco, no pipe is safe. Although they get their share of TLC, I also expect them to stand and deliver.

 

[voorhees]

Since I have mostly estates with only three pipes I bought brand new, I like the patina of an older pipe, but not too beat up.

 

[boudreaux]

Just bought an estate Peterson System recently, and have 2 other estate pipes. If it delivers a good smoke, I'm okay with non-mint. One advantage, of course, is that it's been broken-in.

 

[philip]

For me a pipe is a tool.
While it is desirable to have tools in good condition, my best and most valued tools all show some wear.
Those who like to collect pipes as works of art may have other opinions.

 

[topd]

I like my Meerschaums to be as pristine as possible, but my Briers and Cobs show their

wear proudly....

 

[ghost]

My restoration side of the hobby has led me to take extra care of my pipes as far as cleaning them but, like my guitars, they're meant to be used not looked at. I like looking at them, but first and foremost they're functional. "Character" is going to happen.

 

[ciderguy]

There is nothing more pleasing to me than nice rough cob that has become a deep yellow-brown significantly from use. My pipes are meant for smoking and any minor signs of use help to give them character and a pleasing familiarity in the hand. I find that I more often smoke the blast an rusticated pipes in my collection because another mark here or there actually seems to add a little something to their beauty.
I love this little cob:

 

[locopony]

I like most fall some where in between. Taking care of them but using them as well. Depending on which pipe more careful use and care taken of them, but thats about where it came from. The one my wife got me for my birthday gets better care than the estates I bought in a bunch.

 

[smokeystover]

I take very good care of my pipes, but I smoke them heavily and expect them to darken and develop character over time. I guess that's why I avoid unconventional artisan shapes or really spectacular grain. I've picked up a few really beautiful pipes over the years that I avoided smoking too much because I didn't want to spoil their looks. I ended up selling or trading them and never looked back. I won't own a rifle too pretty to take hunting or a pipe too pretty to smoke.

 

[cigrmaster]

I buy pipes to smoke, not to look at so all of mine get used. I take very good care of them in terms of cleaning, but they do show signs of wear. I don't care if my stems get tooth marks, and any char on a rim gets taken off with some spit. I am very careful to always use a cork knocker because I don't ever want to see dings on the rim.

 

[hogfoot]

My regular pipes are treated well and get regular maintenance (thorough cleaning and polish of wood and stem), though they are absolutely smoking tools and have some nicks and scratches from transportation, use and accidents. My older pipes are all pretty low quality and used in 'high risk' situations, and I have a cheap cob that will be used whenever I find myself in a hot tub O_O
My new meerschaum is regarded as some sort of religious shrine to pipe smoking, and treated as such - it is exclusively a 'sitting pipe' to be smoked only under ideal conditions. My white goddess will be kept immaculate.

 

[allan]

Like others who responded, I smoke all of my pipes regularly and try to clean them and take care to the best if my clumsy ability-so they show wear and tear
But isn't it funny when shopping for estate pipes I find that on any particular pipe I'm looking for I prefer to purchase one in the most pristine condition?

 

[voorhees]

Hogfoot, I agree with you on the meers...I find myself looking over it like a girly magazine. Its getting lots of color now and its even better. After smoking I ever so carefully clean it and then get a soft clothe and polish it.

Its a sickness.

 

[salewis]

I usually try to doo a thorough cleaning about every 15 or so smokes. Not mentioned here, but I notice just after a thorough cleaning the tobacco tastes better in a clean pipe especially my few Peterson System pipes the mortise gets pretty ugly inside a takes awhile to clean with alcohol or Everclear.

 

[jonahtke]

I like a pipe that I can feel comfortable abusing the heck out of. Frequently I smoke while outdoors, Fishing, Walking, Mowing the lawn, etc... These activities come with certain risk and I don't want to concern myself with what happens to whatever I'm smoking. That said I have a few nicer pipes that I keep for special occasions and I baby them more than I do my own son.

 

[jah76]

Most non-necessity material things don't have value to me until they're used. It's the memories, time, and experiences that give something value to me.
I enjoy taking something that was broken and unwanted and reinvesting in it. Which is why I'm attracted to estate pipes.
I just finished refinishing a 30 year old Savinelli Autograph. The owner bought it during a MAJOR milestone in his life. He used it for 30 YEARS. For 30 years it was part of his life, it went places with him, and it saw him through his thoughts. He decided to sell it for whatever reason. I bought it, re-sanded it, and cleaned it up and smoked it for the first time this weekend. Now I'll have it for 30 years hopefully before the next person has it.
It'll be my pipe, going places with me, being smoked as my kids grow up, and one day hopefully being passed onto someone else. That's the type of value that I'm attracted to. I love my mended pipes. They all had a life before mine and just needed someone to remember that.

 

[cigrmaster]

But isn't it funny when shopping for estate pipes I find that on any particular pipe I'm looking for I prefer to purchase one in the most pristine condition?

Allan, nothing weird about that as I am the same way. When I purchase an estate pipe it has to be pristine because I feel the previous owner took care of it and it will be a good pipe. When I see estate pipes with dings and charred rims and bad teeth marks, I then think the pipe has been abused and could have over reaming, spider webbing, small cracks in the shank, basically issues I don't want to deal with.

 

[tbradsim1]

Jah +1 on that, could not have said it any better.