What Do You Do After Major Upgrades?

[Fo0zle]

So I’ve found myself in a situation where my newest pipe smokes at least twice as good as my other two.

The difference is so glaring that I find myself struggling to be disciplined enough to rotate my pipes.

What do you do when a new pipe just puts everything else to shame? Do you immediately retire the inferior pipes and list them on eBay? Do you just bite the bullet and keep smoking them? Or do you throw caution to the wind and start buying more nice pipes?

 

[Ahi Ka]

I clean the other two. If that didn’t work, I figure out what I prefer about the new pipe, is it superior or is it just shiny.

 

[Servant King]

A little of all three.

I kid. Yours sounds like quite the predicament, one that I most fortuitously have not had to deal with. If I did, I would probably just smoke them anyway, albeit with less frequency. The trouble is, most of my pipes have been gifts from others, so selling them is kind of off the table as an option.

Edit: Below me, @Brendan has succinctly demonstrated pure, unadulterated Aussie pragmatism. I think the OP will find that this echoes the forum consensus well!

 

[Brendan]

Your new pipe has set the minimum standard. Ditch the other two and replace with the same.
Life's too short to deny yourself the simple pleasures.

 

[Chasing Embers]

If dissatisfied with a pipe, in the trash it goes.

 

[warren]

Have you determined what makes the new pipe so much better?

Only three pipes? I'd keep all and look for another or four to match your latest one. Once you have a "few" good or better you can start throwing away the ones which don't give you a satisfying smoke. As an aside, I've never purchased pipes just to accumulate pipes. Well, maybe in my youth before I made determinations as to what I desired in my pipes.

 

[Briar Tuck]

Buy more pipes.

 

[OzPiper]

Keep the other two for use when you're gardening or walking in the rain.
I have a couple which don't see much use which are kept for sentimental reasons.
Others have been given away.

 

[DeerparkDays]

What about pairing pipes to tobaccos? I quite like it, and it almost feels wrong to smoke whatever in the “wrong” pipe. Ok so now you all think I’m an OCD freak!

 

[bullet08]

When I started smoking Peterson, it was better than Morgan Bones. Was it much better? To me, yes. Then I started smoking MM cobs for OTC blends, cobs smoked as good as Peterson. If I decide to go with one of the options, I'll throw away all my pipes and keep MM cobs. Are you kidding me? I kept all of them. Unless the pipe is a real defected piece of crap, you'll find a use for it. I do use Morgan Bones if I think a pipe might ghost.

 

[Seeleybc1]

So I’ve found myself in a situation where my newest pipe smokes at least twice as good as my other two.

The difference is so glaring that I find myself struggling to be disciplined enough to rotate my pipes.

What do you do when a new pipe just puts everything else to shame? Do you immediately retire the inferior pipes and list them on eBay? Do you just bite the bullet and keep smoking them? Or do you throw caution to the wind and start buying more nice pipes?

Being pretty fresh in this, and starting to appreciate the “rotation” and different shapes/finishes etc of pipes, I am curious, what specifically is better for you in the one compared to the others that you’re noticing ?

 

[frozenchurchwarden]

I would drill out the old pipes to increase airflow, once you do that there isn't much difference between a $30 pipe and a $300 pipe.

 

[huntertrw]

Dovetailing on what frozenchurchwaden wrote above, I would compare the size of the airway in your new pipe to those of your other two. If it is larger, then you might consider opening the others to match it.

 

[UB 40]

I smoke all of my pipes I bought usually as estates or made by myself. I don’t care much about brands, sometimes the pipes are just got in my way!and caught my attention. They all smoke a little bit different. An Open draw is an easy way to get comfortable with. But even some older pieces with an opening of 3 mm are good smokers anyways.

I always stuff any of them more or less loosely (take a pinch that might fit into the bowl method stuff it at one go) with tobaccos mostly on the dry side, so the density of stuffing isn’t interfering the airway in any aspect.

And I keep them clean.

I can adept to all of them to my full satisfaction. You know when you drive an old motorbike and compare it to a modern one, for sure there is a difference in comfort. But it’s just a nice thing to ride an old Triumph made in 1960s.

Of course you can try to open up the airway by driving a sharp metal drill by hand into the smaller airway, but there is still the limited airflow in the stem, that needs some attention, that’s a more difficult task, especially when it’s bend.

Another aspect is smoking the new one the whole day through. You can do that of course, just keep it clean.

 

[5star]

It would help to know what your three pipes are.
For example- if the other two were no name basket pipes bought from a pile of them in a cigar shop - and the new one you like is a nice Castello estate - - that would impact our replies.

Mac

 

[RustiePyles CPG]

I've found very few pipes I couldn't tune up and make smoke better. I usually ream the air way in the stummle to 3/32 with a straight 4 flute reamer and funnel the tenon/ bit back from the tenon with a 2/0 tapered pin reamer. I've been using the same two reamers for about 10 years. Links below.

Tapered pin reamer- McMaster-Carr - https://www.mcmaster.com/2990A16/
Straight 3/32 reamer- McMaster-Carr - https://www.mcmaster.com/2975A35/

This coupled with a proper ream and clean of the bowl will generally make a pipe smoke far better than it did. Having said that there are pipes that are just poor smokers no matter what you do.

 

[reloader]

I've never thrown a pipe away. I'd keep the pipes, clean them and use them for activities when I might loose or damage a pipe. I agree with a lot of the posts that once you determine why the new pipe smokes great then get pipes with those characteristics.

 

[didimauw]

So I’ve found myself in a situation where my newest pipe smokes at least twice as good as my other two.

The difference is so glaring that I find myself struggling to be disciplined enough to rotate my pipes.

What do you do when a new pipe just puts everything else to shame? Do you immediately retire the inferior pipes and list them on eBay? Do you just bite the bullet and keep smoking them? Or do you throw caution to the wind and start buying more nice pipes?

If they are in good enough condition, and I really really won't smoke em, they get sold or traded for tobacco. Otherwise, it's not a bad idea to have a shop, garage, or truck pipe!

I also recently started experimenting on both of my Rossi's too. Taking the lacquer off, getting the putty out of the pits, repatching the fills, restraining, etc. They aren't worth anything, except experience at this point.

 

[blackpowderpiper]

I'd probably hold on to the other pipes for a little bit. You may find that as you continue on that the old pipes may not be that bad and may actually smoke quite well. I've had pipes over the years that I initially wasn't impressed with but they just needed to be paired with the right blend or type of tobacco. You may also find that two identical pipes may not smoke exactly the same. Much of this pipe smoking stuff is subjective. However, the only opinion that matters is yours. If the new pipe is smoking twice as good as the others I sure would be tempted to get another of the same or similar type.

 

[TheIronMonkey]

I've found very few pipes I couldn't tune up and make smoke better. I usually ream the air way in the stummle to 3/32 with a straight 4 flute reamer and funnel the tenon/ bit back from the tenon with a 2/0 tapered pin reamer. I've been using the same two reamers for about 10 years. Links below.

Tapered pin reamer- McMaster-Carr - https://www.mcmaster.com/2990A16/
Straight 3/32 reamer- McMaster-Carr - https://www.mcmaster.com/2975A35/

This coupled with a proper ream and clean of the bowl will generally make a pipe smoke far better than it did. Having said that there are pipes that are just poor smokers no matter what you do.

Thank you for these links. I'm loath to vary from the "as issued" state of many pipes, but, I can't help but like the idea of making some of my pipes smoke better with bigger airways. I could certainly use these tools on ones I make myself in the future.