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Jun 9, 2018
4,012
12,929
England
I used to like smoking different brands of cigarettes for a change, I mostly smoked Dunhill Red but would mix it up as well.
Then from about 1995 onwards more and more brands disappeared and there was only one that did Turkish cigarettes (Tor).
I tried snuff but didn't get on with it so I looked at pipe tobacco with all its different blends and decided to give it a go.
Never looked back.
 

Frozenoak

Can't Leave
Oct 9, 2019
373
2,059
48
Lake Elsinore, CA
Smoking is something adults do, or so I thought as a kid, and men, real men, smoked pipes and cigars. My grandfather drove a road grader for the county, and was smoking a pipe every time I saw him. One uncle, a railroad man, often smoked a cigar. Another uncle was the chief of police, recently retired as county sheriff, also smoked cigars. My own father, when I finally met him, would smoke a pipe while he was rolling tomorrow’s cigarettes (same tobacco).
When I was old enough to experiment but not old enough to purchase it, I tried to smoke a cigarette I stole from my mom. I hacked up a lung and decided it wasn’t for me.
Some time later, I joined the Marine Corps and started hanging out with friends who smoked cigars and learned you don’t inhale. Novel idea. I started going to the local shop they hung at and tried several cigars. I enjoyed them well enough but memories of my grandfather kept drawing me to the pipes displayed at the same store.
When we got deployed to Iraq the shop owner sent us a care package it had enough cigars in it for the whole platoon, less one, but he had thrown in a pipe and 2oz ziplock of tobacco. It had my name on it, literally.
Some time later, after the Corps, I would go to a local pub that allowed smoking on the patio where several men would smoke cigars. I joined them when they were there but would smoke my pipe on occasion. I got so many positive comments from the ladies regarding the pipe that I eventually smoked it almost exclusively.
Today I enjoy a pipe as often as I can but cigars are buy a stick/smoke a stick, and only on rare occasion, usually for a celebration of some sort but my love is for the pipe. I’ve never had a cigarette since that first one.
 

crawdad

Lifer
Jul 19, 2019
1,471
11,447
Virginia
I had been smoke free for 5-6 years (picked up cigarette smoking in the Army) and I went through this phase where I wanted to reconnect with my deceased grandfather. He smoked a pipe and I remember the glorious aroma of his study. I wanted to know what was so special that a man I thought was a god among men would smoke a pipe and so I bought a Grabow and some tobacco. The rest, as they say, is history.

Plus, I think as I get get older, I get a bit atavistic in trying things or reacquainting myself with those things that are fading away into memory.
 

HatMagnet

Lurker
Jan 24, 2020
15
38
Arkansas
Quit cigarettes a year ago and just really missed the taste of tobacco. I didn’t want to go back to cigs so I decided to give the pipe a try.

I wish I’d switched to a pipe years ago! I’m really enjoying all the different flavors that pipe tobacco offers.
 

Jmac8504

Lurker
Dec 23, 2019
20
132
Im 34 and have been a dipper for what seems like my whole life. Got intrigued by cigars a few years ago and while I do love cigars, I do not have the patience to sit there for an hour plus. I have since got into pipes and have fell in love with the whole process and have stopped dipping. I guess I have also had a fascination with "old timey man stuff".
 

Peter - CCB

Starting to Get Obsessed
Dec 26, 2019
238
926
45
Santa Barbara, CA
www.etsy.com
I was intrigued by then mildly a long time ago. I got into cigars about 20 years old. I’m 41 now. I bought a Bjarne Viking Bent Apple pipe for about $60 back around 2007ish. Smoked it a few times. Didn’t click. It sat in my humidor since then. I had done zero research on pipes.
About 3 months ago, I was in cigar bid and decided to randomly buy a tin of tobacco. No idea if was popular or what type it was. Got a Tin of 1-Q. Smoked it and instantly loved it. I went and bought about 25 tins of all types. I went from smoking a cigar or 2 a day to... I haven’t had a cigar in a month or so now. I love the hobby and tobacco is just so cheap compared to nice cigars too. I am still learning a ton. Right now I smoke mostly plum pudding, golden sliced, RLP-6, Blackhouse and randomly select others as I develop my pallet and technique. Anyway.,. Just how I got into it. I’ve always loved esoteric hobbies and things I can obsess over. I didn’t imagine it would surpass cigar smoking though.
 

Elric

Lifer
Sep 19, 2019
2,185
9,826
Liplapper Lane (Michigan)
tobaccocellar.com
Like many current pipers, I had a relative that smoked a pipe; in this case, my grandfather, and I always enjoyed the smell. Fast forward to my time in the army and a buddy and I found ourselves in a tobacconist @ the Waco Mall. Talked to a fine gentleman for about an hour after which we each walked out with a Peterson system pipe and a sampler pack of tobaccos. Got a lot of strange looks on base lunting about but kept at it. Always enjoyed it in the field after a "meal" or during night watches.
 

HatMagnet

Lurker
Jan 24, 2020
15
38
Arkansas
Like many current pipers, I had a relative that smoked a pipe; in this case, my grandfather, and I always enjoyed the smell. Fast forward to my time in the army and a buddy and I found ourselves in a tobacconist @ the Waco Mall. Talked to a fine gentleman for about an hour after which we each walked out with a Peterson system pipe and a sampler pack of tobaccos. Got a lot of strange looks on base lunting about but kept at it. Always enjoyed it in the field after a "meal" or during night watches.

Fort Hood?
 
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subsalac

Starting to Get Obsessed
Jan 9, 2018
277
1,124
I was a small kid, maybe in first grade? I smelled something incredible. I saw it was an old man, and wisps of smoke were trailing behind him. I ask my mom, "What's that smell? It smells so good!" It was incredibly sweet and woodsy.

"Amphora" she says, repeating it a few times. "Amphora. Amphora."

From there, it was magic. I'd see a piper walking down the street, fairly rare here in New York city but occasionally you'll find an old men with their pipe, and I'd make it a point to take a detour to my destination just to walk downwind from a pipe a little longer. I knew already that once I turned 18, I would smoke a pipe. It only became more and more anticipated and obvious to me, and finally, when I was 18, I went bonkers with PAD/TAD. I quit piping at around age 21/22, got rid of all of my hoarded cellar and ebay finds, and then... a year or two later, "Hmm.. why not try a pipe?" And then I realized my mistake, and here I am.

Oh, and it's worth mentioning: I just tried Amphora for the first time a few weeks ago! I love it, naturally. puffy
 

chopper

Lifer
Aug 24, 2019
1,480
3,317
When I was 15yo I some how convinced my religious freak father to allow me to smoke a pipe.
Carrying a pipe, tobacco, pipe cleaners etc. became a hassle.

For 35 years I then smoked ciggies.
Over 20 years ago I was diagnosed with Buergers Disease & given 2-3 years max to live. Cigarettes were blamed.
Although I quit, every time I became stressed or depressed I'd grab a smoke & fall off the wagon.

Around 10 years ago I was so tired of the merry-go-round of quitting [torture for me] starting, quitting that I grabbed the Peterson Sherlock Holmes pipe that my then wife bought me many years before [I tried it back then once. A cherry tobacco had incinerated my mouth] & was determined that if I was going to smoke then it would be a pipe & nothing else.

I'm pleased to say that I have not had a ciggie once in that time. Not even tempted.
I was terribly addicted to ciggies & was smoking 40-a-day. This is why I now intentionally choose blends that are low in nicotine.
Now I can go many hours without a smoke & not even notice when I'm otherwise occupied.

If I could go back in time & offer just one word of advice to my 15yo self, it would be to never ditch the pipe for filthy cigarettes.
 

chopper

Lifer
Aug 24, 2019
1,480
3,317
The health risks are still something I am reconciling in my mind.
A U.S. Surgeon Generals report found that pipe smokers who INHALE have the same life expectancy as a non-smoker.

Cigarettes have a staggering 300 PLUS added chemicals. Pipe tobacco has none [Harmless PG or glycerine aside]

When people talk about a high rate of oral cancers in pipe smokers, that comes from the days when working men smoked clay pipes that would often stick to a dry lip, causing a small wound.
Also 100yo ago oral health was poor.

When tar gets into an open wound or sore, there's a risk that it could turn nasty.
Briar/cobs with amber/vulcanite/plastic stems & better oral health changed all that.

Smoke your pipe with a clear conscience friend. [Otherwise, why bother?]
 

Drew72

Starting to Get Obsessed
Nov 13, 2019
145
590
Illinois
A U.S. Surgeon Generals report found that pipe smokers who INHALE have the same life expectancy as a non-smoker.

Cigarettes have a staggering 300 PLUS added chemicals. Pipe tobacco has none [Harmless PG or glycerine aside]

When people talk about a high rate of oral cancers in pipe smokers, that comes from the days when working men smoked clay pipes that would often stick to a dry lip, causing a small wound.
Also 100yo ago oral health was poor.

When tar gets into an open wound or sore, there's a risk that it could turn nasty.
Briar/cobs with amber/vulcanite/plastic stems & better oral health changed all that.

Smoke your pipe with a clear conscience friend. [Otherwise, why bother?]

thank you, Chopper. I do not inhale and lead a very healthy lifestyle. I’ve done a lot of due diligence and feel comfortable with this pursuit in the context of how I live... but I respect it as well and don’t intend to abuse it. Your response is really appreciated.

cheers
Drew
 
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