What Got You Into Pipe Smoking?

[Milleniumsmoker]

For me, it was my father. I remember sitting inside watching him light up and viewing his awesome collection from the 70's and 80's in the den. Some really nice pieces there including several Petersons and Nording freehand designs. To this day those are some of my favorite pipes. After he would smoke one and put it back in the rack, the smell would linger in that room and I was always fascinated with it. To me, pipe smoke smells like home. I remember sneaking in and grabbing a bowl here and there, and then later enjoying some with him after visiting the local pipe shop where I had my first real pipe (after the requisite Dr. Grabow and half and half lol).

It was an Army fishtail, the 120 model. Great smoker. I think I loved the warmth of that pipe and the way it brought out the taste and flavors of a good English blend. A good pipe is like a good friend, your relationship deepens with time.

Would love to hear from you guys about your earliest memories if you care to share. I am far from home at the moment, and while I do have my pipe here to comfort me, it's nice to chat and feel connected to other pipers. Thanks!

 

[hawky454]

I always loved the smell and the local Tinder Box in the mall was just heaven to me when I was a kid, the aromas in there were intoxicating. I always knew one day I'd end up smoking a pipe. I don't have a cool story, just always enjoyed the smell of tobacco (even cigarettes) as a kid. No one in my immediate family smoked a pipe.

 

[crustybowl]

I remember my grand-father sitting in his rocking chair by the wood stove, and striking a match on top of it to light his pipe. I loved the smell. I inherited a couple of his pipes when he passed in the late 80's but did not want to smoke them. I made the mistake of buying one of my own and some tobacco... well, 30-some pipes later, I think of him each time I light up.

 

[isaac]

The pandemic help to perpetuate the transition from cigars.

I was/am a pretty avid cigar smoker. I have a lounge about five mintues from my house. When the pandemic hit, i thought it was not the best to hang out in an area with other people where youre breathing recurculated smokey air with potential other issues.

I picked up the pipe, and stayed at home. pipe smoke, for me at least, does not linger or cling too much onto things. Scents disappate much easier with time and a nice candle. I could never smoke a cigar at home. Then, the more i got into pipes, the more I began to realize how much more cost effective it is over cigars.

 

[WVOldFart]

After graduating from college, I got a job as Activities Director/Park Naturalist at one of West Virginia's State Parks. My Mentor was a great guy and he smoked a pipe at the time. I am a massive reader and my hero was and still is Sherlock Holmes. I admire anyone who uses his/her brain instead of blaming everyone for their problems. Since my Mentor smoked a pipe and since Mr. Holmes smoked a pipe, it was only natural that I would want to smoke a pipe also. I am like hawky454 when it comes to how great the Tinder Box smelled when I was a kid. We went to town once a week to get groceries and my Dad smoked cigarettes at the time (he had to quit), so we would stop in to get a supply of his cigarettes. The smell of all the tobaccos, plus at that time you could still smoke in stores etc. was out of this world. The mixture of cigar and pipe smoke along with the tobaccos in their bins was just heavenly. It was a fond memory that helped me decide to pick up a pipe and start smoking. With one of my first pay checks I bought a Dr. Grabow and a pouch of Borkum Riff Whiskey that soon ended in the trash and was replaced with Captain Black. Captain Black was great until I got older and started getting other tobaccos. Captain Black is still OK, but I don't go there too often. I started smoking in 1980 and have smoked ever since with the exception of some down time along the way.

 

[Morrison Jeremiah]

Nicotine

 

[Chasing Embers]

Nicotine

Same, but did he have to call us "pipers"?

 

[warren]

I was a snoker of cigarettes and cigars. I chewed in high school So, already comfortable with tobacco when I hit college. Damn, pipe smoking, tweed wearing profs seemed to be bedding all of the coeds! Time to buy a pipe and maybe a cardigan.

 

[alaskanpiper]

It seemed to pair well with my superior intellect and rugged handsomeness.

 

[condorlover1]

I had an extreme oral fixation?

 

[RobertLeslie75]

Honestly, ten years ago I was watching The Andy Griffith Show and saw a feller smoking a pipe and I thought "nobody does that anymore" At least I don't see anyone doing it. I wanted to try pipe smoking to be different. One puff and I was hooked.

 

[SBC]

I do wish that I'd inherited the hobby from a father or grandfather.

I grew up an avid Lewis and Tolkien reader (in a religiously anti-smoking home). The iconic photos of those fellows with pipes in their teeth had a significant influence on me. As a kid, I told my dad that I'd never smoke, but that IF I did, it would be a pipe.

In college, I was over an older guy's garage and somehow mentioned in passing that I'd always thought about smoking a pipe. He chuckled and pulled out a cob and Half & Half. Said he hadn't touched them in years, but that I was welcome to try.

It was terrible.

But something in me knew that it could be better, and that experience concretized in my brain that this was a real thing I could actually do, not just a hypothetical, poetic thought to toss about from time to time.

Not long afterward I walked into an antique shop and asked about pipes. A few minutes later I walked out with a 24 pipe rack complete with 14 pipes, among them Ascortis, Savinellis, a Comoy's, a Sasieni, a Peterson, etc. All for $20.
It was a while before I learned what a once-in-a-lifetime steal that had been.

That Christmas, my wife (we married young, while I was finishing up classes) ordered me a sampler of tobaccos. Among them was Shortcut to Mushrooms (RIP), which was my first love. That mixture is probably what sealed things for me.

That was maybe 13 years ago.

I now have three sons, and one of my goals is to give them the pipe smoking heritage I wish I'd had. They're growing up with Lewis and Tolkien, too, but also with a dad who puffs a pipe while reading to them.

(More disturbingly, they're already claiming who gets which pipes when I die... :-/ )

 

[ray47]

I wanted to give up cigarettes and at first it worked, but I eventually started up again. I still smoke cigarettes, but the pipe smoking has helped me cut way back.

 

[sablebrush52]

Very simply, the scent of pipe smoke.

 

[JKoD]

An appreciation for the leaf. Having worked in the industry for a while I went through various stages of consumption. Cigars were my favorite for the longest time. Tried pipes several times and remember my first run more than 20 years ago. Being on the go I just didn’t have time to mess with it, all the accessories and extra crap and storage for the tobacco. So, quite a few years cigarettes were the trend. They’re truly not enjoyable, stink like shit and are the worst for you

My other half didn’t appreciate the smell of cigars as much as I did. I love walking out of the garage mid-smoke and returning to catch the full effect - just something about good tobacco. Anyway, I thought time to try the pipe again. So a few years ago I picked one up, wife didn’t complain about the smell anymore and actually appreciates the smell of some of the tobaccos. So, it stuck and here I am. Started off slow, then caught a wave. I suspect I’ll continue growing the stash as it’s significantly cheaper than cigars (once you have a good collection of pipes). And, I have a lifetime supply of cigars in the basement at the rate I smoke them with the pipe being the regular form of consumption. Although, on occasion I do love a good dip, haha!

No other family story or influence outside of seeing beyond cigarettes after spending an afternoon with an R&D guy who explained how he selected tobaccos for various projects. still one of the coolest things is if you pull tobacco to your mouth, exhale on it, then smell it…it changes, makes for a more rich experience and gives you a better idea of the tobacco’s character. Rubbing the leaf against itself I guess does a similar thing, but can’t exactly recall if it was the warmth and oils combined or just oils? Although, I don’t expect you can do that to cigars nor pipe tobacco you haven’t purchased.

Tobacco is really more of a culture than a product, IMO, and each base of consumption really represents its own subculture. And, pipe and cigar tobacco represent the best leaf of the plant and aren’t generally laced with an abundance of additional chemicals. I think cigars have the least overall.

So, that’s the general story.

 

[Baldbookgeek]

I started when I was 16 (legal in the uk at the time) my uncle is a pipe smoker, I wanted to try so we would go out hunting or something and hr started having an extra pipe with him and let me smoke it

He also took me to get my first pipe over time just found pipe culture lol

 

[Cappy]

Nostalgia, Solitude, Enjoyment, Relaxation. For an introvert, all four check boxes.

 

[WildTurkeySurprise]

I have enjoyed smoking cigars for years, and I still do occasionally. Echoing isaacrn above, the pandemic was the tipping point for me into smoking pipes. My grandfather and great-grandfather smoked pipes (PA and SWR respectively), so I feel a connection to my roots there. I like that it requires a little bit of technique in doing it properly. The pack ritual and the smoking cadence have a zen-like quality for me. Also, I like to read, and somehow I can’t really imagine smoking a cigar while reading a book. Smoking a pipe and reading, however, compliment each other wonderfully, and choosing to do one gives me an occasion to do the other.

 

[Sweet Home Alabama]

I thought it would make me more popular...LOL!!

 

[FLDRD]

It seemed to pair well with my superior intellect and rugged handsomeness.

You have to be born in Alaska to claim that. Are you qualified?