Which Do You Choose First, The Pipe or The Tobacco?

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agnosticpipe

Lifer
Nov 3, 2013
3,412
3,832
In the sticks in Mississippi
I usually choose which tobacco I want to smoke first, then choose which pipe to use. However, today I was looking at my pipes and was thinking what pipe haven't I smoked lately. So I choose my Ascorti Business straight billiard that has a large bowl, then I went in search of a tobacco to smoke. It got me thinking though, what does everyone else do? Do you always pick the tobacco first then the pipe, or the pipe first then the tobacco, or do you mix it up?
Clearly this is a larger problem for smokers like me that have accumulated lot of pipes and tobaccos to choose from. 8O

 

shutterbugg

Lifer
Nov 18, 2013
1,451
22
I choose the tobacco first, based on what taste I've got a hankering for. That then dictates what pipe, or assortment thereof. Not usually based on bowl size/shape, mainly that Nightcap and any Lat-bombs tend to ghost (to me anyway) so I have an assortment of pipes I reserve for them. However sometimes I find it interesting to smoke some other blend in those pipes for the very reason of the slight Lat ghost.

 

dottiewarden

Lifer
Mar 25, 2014
3,053
58
Toronto
I almost always pick the tobacco first with the odd occasion that I choose the pipe first. I have several pipes that are somewhat dedicated such as a Burley blend pipe, English blend pipes and aro pipes. I have several non dedicated pipes such as my Meer and several briars that I-ll put anything through. I call these my wildcard pipes.
I also do what shutterbug does by using the ghost in a pipe to flavor another blend.
It's all good!

 

prairiedruid

Lifer
Jun 30, 2015
2,046
1,301
I choose the tobacco first since my mood dictates what I want to smoke, style of pipe is secondary.

 

ahmadothman

Part of the Furniture Now
Apr 26, 2016
751
7
Egypt
Mostly I choose the baccy first. Seems the reasonable choice. But in some occasion. I'd like to use a certain pipe. So, I pick it up and get an appropriate baccy

 
M

mothernaturewilleatusallforbreakfast

Guest
Usually the tobacco, but sometimes the pipe.

 

bobpnm

Lifer
Jul 24, 2012
1,543
10,404
Panama City, Florida
Don't know about anyone else, if I choose tobacco first all the time, I tend to go to the same few pipes all the time. That leaves some great smoking pipes neglected. I vary it. Sometimes tobacco first. Sometimes pipes first.

 

cossackjack

Lifer
Oct 31, 2014
1,052
648
Evergreen, Colorado
Tobacco first, usually.

Time frequently dictates the choice of tobacco, for drying time (if any), burn rate & duration of smoking, which in turn affects which pipe to choose.

 

philobeddoe

Lifer
Oct 31, 2011
7,564
12,325
East Indiana
Depends.....sometimes it's the pipe first and sometimes it's the tobacco first. I dedicate all of my pipes to certain families of tobacco i.e. English blends or Virginias or Burleys etc. and I have some pipes that are dedicated to certain blends specifically such as Blackhouse. I'd say most of the time I get a hankering for a specific type of tobacco and choose from there, but I sometimes get a craggy sandblast craving....so I hope that clears everything up!

 

jefff

Lifer
May 28, 2015
1,915
6
Chicago
Usually the tobacco, but often enough I have a strong urge for a particular pipe. I have the good luck to own 4-5 pipes that smoke almost anything well.

 

mso489

Lifer
Feb 21, 2013
41,211
60,639
Usually I choose the pipe first to keep a rotation going, because by my lights, I have a lot of/too many pipes. Then I choose the tobacco, but if I realize the tobacco I want doesn't pair well with the pipe, at that point I'll choose a different pipe. Oddly, I don't make the same effort to rotate tobaccos, though I do move from blend to blend. I think I'm in the minority here, but that's okay. If I felt that a pipe never gets smoked, I'd trade it off toward something I would smoke.

 
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