Father, grandfather, and great grandfather. While none of them were everyday smokers, and it faded through the generations, I kind of rekindled it for nostalgia...
What Turned You on to Pipes?
- Thread starter highwaycobbery
- Start date
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Just think of all the pipes and tobacco you could have bought with the money you spent on 2000 cigars. I can’t imagine you smoked cheap cigars.
I never really got into cigars, they always gave me a headache but I know how much they cost, my stepfather had about a $600 to $1,000 a month habit before his stroke. You can get so much more pipe tobacco with a grand than ya can with cigars.
Hawky, I smoked mostly Cuban cigars and paid only 5-9 bucks a stick as I had the best connections in the world for quality and prices. Back in 1999 The SPanish Pasetas was in the toilet at 181 to a dollar. I was paying 177 for Cohiba Siglo III's. 272.00 for Trinidad Fundadores and those were 336 in Cuba. Before the Euro came on line I was stocking up about 25K worth a year. Cabinets of 50 Punch Selecion 2's were right around 6 a stick and Punch Punch Cabs were even less at 5 and change a stick. I could buy Cuban cigars for way less than high end Fuentes or Padrons so that is what I was smoking. One of the best sources was Stagnetto's in Gibralter. Another was a guy named Rony who was in Beirut Lebanon. His business name was Promocigars. When he heard I was smoking pipes he had 3 pipe shaped cigars made for me. When I sold my cigar collection I sold those as well and I really regret that. A cigar buddy really wanted them and made me an offer I couldn't refuse.
I cannot believe I am remembering this stuff. I can't remember what I did yesterday but for some reason these numbers stick to my brain. I think I am like Rainman or something.
I cannot believe I am remembering these numbers.
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Do you still smoke an occasional cigar? I’m trying to picture what I pipe shaped cigar would look like... I imagine they weren’t smokable?
It accents my Dickensian wardrobe choices.
I've said it before but everyone in my family smoked a pipe with the exception of the women although I have often wondered about Aunt Winifred. Because of the age of my Father most male members of the family were WW1 vets so for them the Battle of the Somme was yesterdays recent news. Clay pipes, beaten up briars, sharp plug knives were the norm for me growing up. I started smoking young with my Uncle Charlie teaching me how to roll cigarettes, he was a machine gunner in WW1 and had the cheekiest smile you ever saw! My Uncle Claudius taught me how to slice plug and twist and I could go on for ever but its time for a bowl but I am sure you get the general idea!
As sad as this sounds, as a 17 year old in the '60's' I wanted to emulate Hugh Hefner. Always a pipe in his mouth and his arm around a Playmate. Also, my photography mentor smoked a pipe... always a latakia blend, which took me years to appreciate.
Was it the bowler or the monocle that gave it away?
nope, well not all by it's self. It's stuff like thinking that's odd.
My uncle smoked a pipe when I was a kid. I liked the room note and it looked relaxing, so I wanted to try it one day.
Years later I had not got around to trying it so I found this forum, bought a cob and some BCA. I instantly loved it, but I probably committed every rookie mistake in the book.
I have not smoked much this year because it has been so crazy. Unless it is a holiday I don’t smoke much... usually it is the weekend if fire up a bowl. I only like to smoke when I can really stop and enjoy it.
This morning it was a bowl of Squadron Leader with a cup of coffee. Absolutely wonderful and relaxing on this fine autumn day.
Years later I had not got around to trying it so I found this forum, bought a cob and some BCA. I instantly loved it, but I probably committed every rookie mistake in the book.
I have not smoked much this year because it has been so crazy. Unless it is a holiday I don’t smoke much... usually it is the weekend if fire up a bowl. I only like to smoke when I can really stop and enjoy it.
This morning it was a bowl of Squadron Leader with a cup of coffee. Absolutely wonderful and relaxing on this fine autumn day.
Smoked cigs from 15 to 28. My friends that I hiked with liked to pack cigars and smoke them around camp. I never really cared for cigars. I remembered a brief period when my father smoked a pipe and remembered the great smell. I'm also a fan of old black and white movies when pipes were pretty prevalent. I always thought pipesmokers seemed to have life figured out. Decided to buy a basket pipe and some tobacco and it took off from there.
I haven't smoked a cigar in years. I purposely stay away from them as I know how addicting they can be. I am not going near them. The pipe shaped cigars were designed to smoke perfectly. I also had some one of a kind Opus X I also sold. A guy paid me 1800 for 11 cigars. I t was all for the kids so it was worth while. One of the auctions we had raised over 100K in only a few hours. One of my cigars was a Sammy Sosa bat and it went for 300.00. We did a lot of good with the auctions we did at least once a year.
The only cigars I wouldn't sell were my Don Carlos Lanceros. I begged Carlito to make some and he did. Best cigar I ever smoked. He used 1984 Cameroon wrappers on them and they were amazing. I was in his office one day and told him he needed to make them. He agreed and people would pay almost anything to smoke them. I smoked the first one that hit the US. I also smoked the first Opux X Maduro Torpedo that hit the states. It was a strong s.o.b. Carlito liked making guys like me smoke fresh Opus first thing in the morning,, he had a real, devilish sense of humor. Fresh Opus off the rolling table as a first cigar of the day was brutal. He laughed his ass off at us when we could barely get them down. He especially got a kick off of us when we would retro hale them. Don't smoke a fresh Ashton VSG Illusion off the rolling table, that is a strong bitch. He would just laugh his ass off at us as we barely got them down. Carlito had a real sense of humor when he wanted.
He had a factory that was refrigerated with nothing but bails of 1984 Cameroon wrappers. It was freaking huge. I offered to take a bail off his hands and he just laughed his ass off at me. He thought it was the funniest thing ever. I thought he was going to piss his pants he was laughing so hard. I couldn't believe how many factories he had full of incredible tobacco.
I was a long time cigarette smoker. About 4 years after quitting cigarettes, I started to take an interest in cigars. The idea of smoking just to enjoy the flavor and experience was something I liked. That's how I drink beer and bourbon. I bought my first couple of premium cigars and loved it. I joined a pipe/cigar group on Facebook and really dove head first into cigars. After a while, I realized I couldn't afford to smoke a good cigar as much as I wanted to (once or twice a day.) So my first thought was to find a good budget cigar. Meh. I kept seeing people mention how much cheaper pipe smoking was after the initial investment of the pipe and accessories. I bought an mm cob and some aromatics (because that's what everyone recommended). I liked it a little. Then I ordered the Dunhill "Big 3" Emp, 965, and Nightcap. After my first properly dried bowl of Nightcap I was hooked. Definitely cheaper to have a bowl of great tobacco than it is to have a cigar. But, I ended up finding a variety and complexity in pipe tobacco that I'd never experienced in cigars. Now I currently have 3 cigars in my humidor and about 20lbs of Tobacco in my cellar. I still enjoy an occasional cigar but can't ever see cigars replacing my pipes.
Started with the pipe in 1998...followed the "Uncle Buck" five-year plan to quit dipping, then cigs.
I think pipes help with that. Honestly I think a lot of it is just the smell which is something people respond to on a very subconscious level. Though the made or born debate could go on forever, but it's worth considering that something grabbed all of these folks attention where as how many non smokers or non pipe smokers have seen the same movies, read the same books, and had relatives that smoked a pipe. Oh and bottom line on getting some if you stick to something long enough it will work, or to put it another way there is a reason there are billions of people and it's not cause we're so great.
My stepdad smoked a pipe, or at least had one and some Amphora. Never saw him smoke it though, he and my mum were hardcore cigarette smokers. My best friend with whom I spent all my time as a kid, his dad was a pipe smoker though. Unfortunately he died in like grade six, so my buddy grew up without a dad. One day we were hanging out at his grandad's house (generational family farm) and looking at all the cool stuff grandad kept in his den and we found my friends late father's pipes and some old dry tobacco. We snuck out into the hills and smoked that tobacco dust at the ripe age of 12 or 13. He had a proper Calabash too if I remember correctly. Anyway that was my first encounter with pipes, and I didn't think much about it for my entire life up until this Thanksgiving. I remarked that I should take up the pipe because I was sick of ciggies. A couple days later and well, here I am!
Pipes have always been a draw for me. I've never seen a hurried, frantic, or frazzled pipe smoker. They always seemed chill, relaxed, and at peace with their world. I've found pipe smoking to pair well with reading a good book or spending quality alone time fishing or just contemplating how awesome life is.