What/Who Influenced You to Start Pipe Smoking?

[smknron]

EDIT: Fixed Capitalization in Title (See Rule 9) - Bob

Behind every pipe smoker, there is a story they got.. Story as old as their first pipe.. and whenever they are asked how they got in.. the spark can be easily appreciated in their eyes.. They want to share it out loud.. because their love for the hobby is eternal and they know it payed them well.
Share me out Designated Pipe Smokers.. What/Who and When you got influenced to get into the hobby?

My oldest brother (Robert) one day, was fiddling around with something in our father's workshop. I could see him in there intently working on some object he had clamped in a vise. I went in there and he really didn't want me to see this neat looking pipe he was working on. It was out of some dark looking hardwood I remember .When I saw it I was thinking how cool it was and I remembered being amazed, but I always looked up to my brother, he was very smart and always had something going on. I always wanted to hang around him. Anyways , as he was trying to cover it with his hand, he said it was for smoking tobacco, and I remember asking him where he was going to get tobacco, and he said he was going to get one of our dads lucky strike cigarettes and get the tobacco out of it. After a while he did just that. We both smoked that tobacco in the basement and I'm Pretty sure it was Saturday because my father was home for my brother to get one of his cigarettes. It was so risky because my mother went down there to do laundry and my father had a work room/shop down there and they would easily smell the smoke.My mother would have killed us both. But ever since then, I wanted my own pipe. There were many smokers in and around our family and my brother and I were two of them. I actually bought two of my first pipes from a tobacco shop in the 1970's. I don't have them anymore but I do remember that one of them being a Dr. Grabow. I guess you can say that my brother Robert had a big influence on me wanting to smoke a pipe!

 

[burleybreath]

Behind every pipe smoker, there is a story they got.. Story as old as their first pipe.. and whenever they are asked how they got in.. the spark can be easily appreciated in their eyes.. They want to share it out loud.. because their love for the hobby is eternal and they know it payed them well.
Share me out Designated Pipe Smokers.. What/Who and When you got influenced to get into the hobby?

Nothing and nobody, other than the taste and smell of tobacco. I had an uncle or two that smoked a pipe occasionally, but I hardly think they influenced my choice to smoke. I wasn't around them that much. And I had to beg them to light up, so I could smell it. I just like the weed. Been smoking pipes since 1966, and can't think of anyone I wanted to emulate over that period, not in a piperly sense. Call me sui generis or something.

 

[Dr_Harshit_Joshi]

I found a picture of myself at about four yrs old sitting in a rocking chair smoking my Dads pipe

Old School 3319.. hoping you are enjoying your pipes and smokes my friend..
Happy Piping!

 

[Dr_Harshit_Joshi]

I've been drawn to pipes since a very early age.

Why, that is hard to answer.
No pipe smoking father, grandfather or uncle.
I guess there was some kind of atmosphere around the pipe that was appealing to me.
A sense of calm, order, sophistication, independence.
Maybe it also was the environments in which pipes often were seen; offices, desks, book shelves, libraries.
I also thought the pipe was a beautiful and interesting object in itself.
Somehow it caught my attention and still does, decades later.

autumnfog, you are correct.. Pipes are authoritative.. that's the beauty they hold and they are damn appeasing to soul of the hobbyist.
I'm glad you got into the hobby.

Enjoy your smokes and blends..
Happy Piping!

 

[Dr_Harshit_Joshi]

My oldest brother (Robert) one day, was fiddling around with something in our father's workshop. I could see him in there intently working on some object he had clamped in a vise. I went in there and he really didn't want me to see this neat looking pipe he was working on. It was out of some dark looking hardwood I remember .When I saw it I was thinking how cool it was and I remembered being amazed, but I always looked up to my brother, he was very smart and always had something going on. I always wanted to hang around him. Anyways , as he was trying to cover it with his hand, he said it was for smoking tobacco, and I remember asking him where he was going to get tobacco, and he said he was going to get one of our dads lucky strike cigarettes and get the tobacco out of it. After a while he did just that. We both smoked that tobacco in the basement and I'm Pretty sure it was Saturday because my father was home for my brother to get one of his cigarettes. It was so risky because my mother went down there to do laundry and my father had a work room/shop down there and they would easily smell the smoke.My mother would have killed us both. But ever since then, I wanted my own pipe. There were many smokers in and around our family and my brother and I were two of them. I actually bought two of my first pipes from a tobacco shop in the 1970's. I don't have them anymore but I do remember that one of them being a Dr. Grabow. I guess you can say that my brother Robert had a big influence on me wanting to smoke a pipe!

smoknron7, elder brothers are always inspiring to learn great amount of things that one may be unaware.. True enough.. It's a very risking task to smoke around parents.. and things get even more complicated when parents are non smokers all their life! (In my case actually! ?)
I am happy you got into pipe smoking. Far much cleaner and sophisticated version of smoking cheap ciggs.. And yes.. Dr. Grabows are great briar pipes for beginners!
Enjoy your blends and smokes..
Happy Piping!

 

[Dr_Harshit_Joshi]

Nothing and nobody, other than the taste and smell of tobacco. I had an uncle or two that smoked a pipe occasionally, but I hardly think they influenced my choice to smoke. I wasn't around them that much. And I had to beg them to light up, so I could smell it. I just like the weed. Been smoking pipes since 1966, and can't think of anyone I wanted to emulate over that period, not in a piperly sense. Call me sui generis or something.

burleybreath, your username seems like you are die hard fan of Burley based tobaccos!
Anyways.. what you quoted is damn right.. Pipe Tobaccos have that distinct aroma that keeps it class apart from other cheaper options available!
And they do smoke great when loaded..
I hope you are enjoying your blends and smokes..
Happy Piping!

 

[briarbuck]

Oddly enough it was from a very brief conversation that I had with an old High School friend who lives on Lake George who mentioned that he enjoys a pipe.

 

[Dr_Harshit_Joshi]

Oddly enough it was from a very brief conversation that I had with an old High School friend who lives on Lake George who mentioned that he enjoys a pipe.

briarbuck, glad enough you got into right.. hope you are enjoying your smokes and blends
Happy Piping!

 

[Dandy Pipesmoker]

My grandfather used to smoke an aromatic blend with a good scent (I think a mixture from a local shop). My father smoked Danish blends and occasionally Early Morning. A beloved high school professor smoked Early Morning all day. I grew up breathing pipe smells. I started in the early 2000s. First attempts went bad with flavored OTC's and then the revelation with Early Morning (not surprisingly).

 

[Dr_Harshit_Joshi]

My grandfather used to smoke an aromatic blend with a good scent (I think a mixture from a local shop). My father smoked Danish blends and occasionally Early Morning. A beloved high school professor smoked Early Morning all day. I grew up breathing pipe smells. I started in the early 2000s. First attempts went bad with flavored OTC's and then the revelation with Early Morning (not surprisingly).

John_Barleycorn, man I had heard so so much about Early Morning! and other Dunhill (Peterson now) blends.. I hope you are enjoying it to the core.. And glad you got into pipes.. holding 2 decades worth of experience!
Enjoy your blends and smokes..
Happy Piping!

 

[puff_not_snuff]

Did Higgins in Magnum PI smoke a pipe?

 

[Jaylotw]

I was maybe 16 or so the first time I tried a pipe. My friends and I were pretty bad as kids, we stole cigarettes and beer and generally lived a Huck Finn life in a small Northeast Ohio town. I’ll try to paint the picture for you...

My closest friend lived in a somewhat ancient and rickety old home, one of those buildings that had been haphazardly added on to over the years so that rooms met at odd angles, there were mysterious crawl spaces, holes that you could peer into and see into lower rooms. The plumbing was added with no regard for concealment-when someone flushed the upstairs toilet you could hear the water rushing through the massive black pipe running along the kitchen ceiling. It was a magical place that was always dusty inside, but always warm and welcoming.

The owner, my friend’s dad, was a mailman and devilishly good fiddle player. His brothers and extended family were all intensely musical, and about once every month or so a party would break out in this old house and the entire family plus friends and assorted hangers on would arrive in droves toting beer and liquor and instrument cases. The owner of the house, along with his banjo hammering brother, smoked pipes.

Us kids would generally have a party of our own, upstairs. We’d come down to swipe some beers, maybe a neglected bottle of booze or unattended pack of cheap cigarettes. The adults knew...of course they did! But they didn’t say much about it. We were all just having a good time.

We all started smoking around the age of 14. I couldn’t finger the exact age I was when we decided to try a pipe, But it was probably close to 16. It wasn’t hard to find one, they scattered every surface of the house and were in all states of use-some were pristine (we left those ones alone), but most showed some serious dings and chew marks. I DO remember though, that the first pipe I ever smoked was an MM cob of some description that we snagged off a side table in the parlor room.

The owner of the house smoked Carter Hall, in the big tub. These tubs were also scattered about the house but it was always somewhat of a crapshoot whether they contained tobacco, or screws and random hardware, or cat litter or vegetable trimmings. I remember, though, as clear as day, that we found one with an ounce or so of Carter Hall rattling about the bottom in some forgotten corner of the house.

The scent of Carter Hall, to this day, takes me back to that night, sitting on a rooftop, hearing Chinquapin Hunting on three drunken fiddles, an old war horse Martin guitar and a banjo that was older than my grandfather coming from the kitchen downstairs, feeling the house shake and pulse underneath me, the sound of dancing and stomping and the pure joy as I took my first puffs and thought, “There’s something to this pipe thing.”

 

[Dr_Harshit_Joshi]

Did Higgins in Magnum PI smoke a pipe?

I don't have any idea regarding this my friend. Enjoy your blends and smokes!

 

[Dr_Harshit_Joshi]

I was maybe 16 or so the first time I tried a pipe. My friends and I were pretty bad as kids, we stole cigarettes and beer and generally lived a Huck Finn life in a small Northeast Ohio town. I’ll try to paint the picture for you...

My closest friend lived in a somewhat ancient and rickety old home, one of those buildings that had been haphazardly added on to over the years so that rooms met at odd angles, there were mysterious crawl spaces, holes that you could peer into and see into lower rooms. The plumbing was added with no regard for concealment-when someone flushed the upstairs toilet you could hear the water rushing through the massive black pipe running along the kitchen ceiling. It was a magical place that was always dusty inside, but always warm and welcoming.

The owner, my friend’s dad, was a mailman and devilishly good fiddle player. His brothers and extended family were all intensely musical, and about once every month or so a party would break out in this old house and the entire family plus friends and assorted hangers on would arrive in droves toting beer and liquor and instrument cases. The owner of the house, along with his banjo hammering brother, smoked pipes.

Us kids would generally have a party of our own, upstairs. We’d come down to swipe some beers, maybe a neglected bottle of booze or unattended pack of cheap cigarettes. The adults knew...of course they did! But they didn’t say much about it. We were all just having a good time.

We all started smoking around the age of 14. I couldn’t finger the exact age I was when we decided to try a pipe, But it was probably close to 16. It wasn’t hard to find one, they scattered every surface of the house and were in all states of use-some were pristine (we left those ones alone), but most showed some serious dings and chew marks. I DO remember though, that the first pipe I ever smoked was an MM cob of some description that we snagged off a side table in the parlor room.

The owner of the house smoked Carter Hall, in the big tub. These tubs were also scattered about the house but it was always somewhat of a crapshoot whether they contained tobacco, or screws and random hardware, or cat litter or vegetable trimmings. I remember, though, as clear as day, that we found one with an ounce or so of Carter Hall rattling about the bottom in some forgotten corner of the house.

The scent of Carter Hall, to this day, takes me back to that night, sitting on a rooftop, hearing Chinquapin Hunting on three drunken fiddles, an old war horse Martin guitar and a banjo that was older than my grandfather coming from the kitchen downstairs, feeling the house shake and pulse underneath me, the sound of dancing and stomping and the pure joy as I took my first puffs and thought, “There’s something to this pipe thing.”

Jaylotw, Beautifully narrated! Submersible enough to enjoy the details you mentioned about your wild ventures with friends and booze and ciggs and pipe tobacco.
I hope you are enjoy your blends and smokes.
Happy Piping!

 

[hauntedmyst]

What/Who Influenced You to Start Pipe Smoking?

My uncle. Well, I call him my uncle. Everybody called him Uncle. Uncle Moses Jupiter. He used to sit outside the hotel house all the ladies went in with dates down in Calumet where I grew up and smoke his pipe. The ladies would always hand him money when they came out. He said the ladies were entertainers but we never heard much singing. Every now and again he'd give us kids some change for candy if we went own to the corner store for him and got him his tobacco and liquor. If you said it was for Uncle Moses, they'd give a preschooler a six pack and some Granger! Those were different times! As I got older, I asked if I could try his pipe. He said "No puddin head". I asked him all the time over the years and he always said "No puddin head".

One day in high school after football practice, I saw Uncle Moses smoking his pipe, rubbing his leg and I asked him what was wrong and he said he twisted it. I offered to get his drink and tobacco and when I brought it back, he said "You've grown into a fine, strong young man! Want to do Uncle Moses a big favor?" After all the candy he'd bought for me and my friends over the years, I said "You bet Uncle!" He handed me a golf club and said "Go up to the second floor, third room on the right and toss that cheap bastard out of Cinnamon's after you get the $75 from him! Use the club if you need it." So I went up there and opened the door and asked the guy putting on his pants for the $75 (as soon as I could speak. It was the first time I saw real boobs.) He said no and threatened to beat me. You know, a golf club doesn't make much of a sound when it hits a guy in the testicles. And he was pretty silent when I took his $75 and I gave Cinnamon an extra $20 for the boobs. He managed a yell when I threw him out the window. Uncle Moses yelled at me I came down and said "I meant, throw him out the building, not the window, puddin head!" I said "He is out of the building" and smiled big.

After the guy hobbled away, I handed Uncle Moses the money and he smiled at me. And then he laughed and laughed and said "Good job puddin head! You're hired!" And Uncle Moses let me try his pipe and I loved it! Next time I went to the store for him, he had me pick one out for myself. After that, 3 or 4 days a week I made extra money making sure the girls didn't entertain for longer than they were paid too and I paid for my own tobacco (and was the only junior on the football team who could afford his own new Mustang)! All because of Uncle Moses Jupiter. I miss him.

 

[diamondback]

Some excellent stories here! Mine’s relatively boring.

Okay so I got caught up in the midst of the “cigar craze” of the 1990’s and started smoking cigars. Occasionally I’ll go to my B&M and buy some sticks, sit in the lounge there and chat with the other patrons who frequent that B&M on the square of the sleepy little Southern city (well, not so little any longer).

Often the older guys would show up with their pipes. We’d all smoke and chat, but the thing is, the pipe smokers gave one-another these “knowing” glances. Like they were in on a secret that we cigar knuckleheads just didn’t get.

It was near Halloween in 2007. I remember that because I was there smoking a stick and there were two guys smoking a pipe and they asked me what day our County had set as the trick-or-treat day for the kids. One thing led to another and I just asked them what did their pipe tobacco taste like? Was it good? Good as cigars? Man did they ever have a laugh over that!

They told me to come back a day or so later and they’d start teaching me how to smoke a pipe. They gave me an MM cob and some Lane BCA.

Took me about 14 months before I really felt like I knew what I was doing, so I don’t really count 2008 as a year of pipe smoking. I count it as my inaugural year of learning.

Now I’ve got oh, around 250-280 sticks sitting around in tupperdores. Nice and aged (reasonably well). I’ll smoke a few now and again but I consider myself a pipe guy.

 

[Dr_Harshit_Joshi]

My uncle. Well, I call him my uncle. Everybody called him Uncle. Uncle Moses Jupiter. He used to sit outside the hotel house all the ladies went in with dates down in Calumet where I grew up and smoke his pipe. The ladies would always hand him money when they came out. He said the ladies were entertainers but we never heard much singing. Every now and again he'd give us kids some change for candy if we went own to the corner store for him and got him his tobacco and liquor. If you said it was for Uncle Moses, they'd give a preschooler a six pack and some Granger! Those were different times! As I got older, I asked if I could try his pipe. He said "No puddin head". I asked him all the time over the years and he always said "No puddin head".

One day in high school after football practice, I saw Uncle Moses smoking his pipe, rubbing his leg and I asked him what was wrong and he said he twisted it. I offered to get his drink and tobacco and when I brought it back, he said "You've grown into a fine, strong young man! Want to do Uncle Moses a big favor?" After all the candy he'd bought for me and my friends over the years, I said "You bet Uncle!" He handed me a golf club and said "Go up to the second floor, third room on the right and toss that cheap bastard out of Cinnamon's after you get the $75 from him! Use the club if you need it." So I went up there and opened the door and asked the guy putting on his pants for the $75 (as soon as I could speak. It was the first time I saw real boobs.) He said no and threatened to beat me. You know, a golf club doesn't make much of a sound when it hits a guy in the testicles. And he was pretty silent when I took his $75 and I gave Cinnamon an extra $20 for the boobs. He managed a yell when I threw him out the window. Uncle Moses yelled at me I came down and said "I meant, throw him out the building, not the window, puddin head!" I said "He is out of the building" and smiled big.

After the guy hobbled away, I handed Uncle Moses the money and he smiled at me. And then he laughed and laughed and said "Good job puddin head! You're hired!" And Uncle Moses let me try his pipe and I loved it! Next time I went to the store for him, he had me pick one out for myself. After that, 3 or 4 days a week I made extra money making sure the girls didn't entertain for longer than they were paid too and I paid for my own tobacco (and was the only junior on the football team who could afford his own new Mustang)! All because of Uncle Moses Jupiter. I miss him.

hauntedmyst, wow man! What an account! Loved it immensely..
Uncle Moses do was a blessing to your pipe smoking ventures.
I hope you are enjoying your smokes and blends..
Happy Piping!

 

[Dr_Harshit_Joshi]

Some excellent stories here! Mine’s relatively boring.

Okay so I got caught up in the midst of the “cigar craze” of the 1990’s and started smoking cigars. Occasionally I’ll go to my B&M and buy some sticks, sit in the lounge there and chat with the other patrons who frequent that B&M on the square of the sleepy little Southern city (well, not so little any longer).

Often the older guys would show up with their pipes. We’d all smoke and chat, but the thing is, the pipe smokers gave one-another these “knowing” glances. Like they were in on a secret that we cigar knuckleheads just didn’t get.

It was near Halloween in 2007. I remember that because I was there smoking a stick and there were two guys smoking a pipe and they asked me what day our County had set as the trick-or-treat day for the kids. One thing led to another and I just asked them what did their pipe tobacco taste like? Was it good? Good as cigars? Man did they ever have a laugh over that!

They told me to come back a day or so later and they’d start teaching me how to smoke a pipe. They gave me an MM cob and some Lane BCA.

Took me about 14 months before I really felt like I knew what I was doing, so I don’t really count 2008 as a year of pipe smoking. I count it as my inaugural year of learning.

Now I’ve got oh, around 250-280 sticks sitting around in tupperdores. Nice and aged (reasonably well). I’ll smoke a few now and again but I consider myself a pipe guy.

diamondback, everything happens for a reason my friend. From Cigars to Pipes.. I hope you had a great journey to share with us all. And nothing sounds boring in this amazing place! You all are welcome to this thread to share out loud your stories without ever compromising your words a bit.

Pipe Smokers holds this ability to talk without speaking through smokes, or maybe gestures.. but they know what they are sharing the moment. And glad you got into this amazing hobby.
I hope you are enjoying your blends and smokes!
Happy Piping my friend!

 

[alexnc]

My wife loved her grandfather - I guess most of us do. He immigrated from Germany around 1910 with his wife and two kids. The boy was my wife's father. One of the things her grandfather left her was a collection of 7 pipes on a rack. Listening to her talk of him I was inspired and learned enough to restore them - thankfully without damaging them. Working on them, I researched them, and pondered on their journey into my hands, and thought about the man himself. She was pleased to say the least when I showed them to her, she knew what I was up to and had asked one to be left as he had last touched it. She told me about him, story time, and her memories of him smoking them. Looking at the rack of pipes I just couldn't resist trying one of them. A 1910 BBB, and I liked it. That was 2015.

 

[Dr_Harshit_Joshi]

My wife loved her grandfather - I guess most of us do. He immigrated from Germany around 1910 with his wife and two kids. The boy was my wife's father. One of the things her grandfather left her was a collection of 7 pipes on a rack. Listening to her talk of him I was inspired and learned enough to restore them - thankfully without damaging them. Working on them, I researched them, and pondered on their journey into my hands, and thought about the man himself. She was pleased to say the least when I showed them to her, she knew what I was up to and had asked one to be left as he had last touched it. She told me about him, story time, and her memories of him smoking them. Looking at the rack of pipes I just couldn't resist trying one of them. A 1910 BBB, and I liked it. That was 2015.

alexnc, I applaud your work for restoring your wife's grandfather's pipes.. I hope they are still in good shape and you are continuing the rituals which he might practiced with those pipes..
Enjoy your blends and smokes..
Happy Piping!