Why did you start smoking a pipe?

[reformedchris]

A brother from church (an older guy)introduced me one day in the mountains on a personal trip, hated it at first. Then a month later at a Church retreat before we went, I said I'm going to buy a pipe and really try it. So we arrived late at night but the men were still up.
We ventured off to light up under the stars and talk about the Lord, life, and were just men. Pipe smoking gives me a connection to my manhood and I love the taste, feel, smell.
Yes I am Presbyterian.
(Inside joke if your a Presbyterian)

 

[hfearly]

I hate cigarettes - can't stand the smell of the smoke and the taste urgh.

I have always loved cigars - but the rest of the people around me did not share that sentiment.

I love all good things - beautiful girls, fast cars, amazing food, wonderful Single Malt scotch.

I need a timeout once or twice a day to put the brain in *tilt* mode.

I don't care for Nicotine - but I do care for taste.

I seem to be immune to any effects caused by Marihuana, and Cocaine / Heroine / Meth are not my idea of a good time.

I have always loved the smell of pipe (smoke) - a lot of the older members of my family smoked one when I was little.

I recognized that most of the greatest men (and some of the women) of the past centuries were dedicated pipe smokers.

I believe life is too short and precious to try to squeeze out an extra 2 years by living overly healthy - chances are you'll be hit by a bus eventually anyway.
Pick any combination of the above

 

[hunter]

Well after moving to a new city to start my apprenticeship I decided I needed some new hobbies. First was models, and I have a box of half painted 'Nids waiting for me to finish painting them then dip them. Then there was beard growing, I love my beard and how I can generally shape it and how it looks one me. Then there was my life long love of Scotch... well since I was 15 I loved the stuff so nine year long love of Scotch that with my apprenticeship I can afford. Then this summer I found out there was a tobacconist in my city, being an on again off again smoker and person that enjoyed the occasional cigar I decided that a pipe was what I wanted. Something to look awesome with, that is collectible, and something that not many of my friends have had. The last hobby I have gotten into is proper shaving, I have a DE razor and all the rest of the kit. I can honestly say I have fantastic weekends that start with a shave and beard maintenance, then a dram and pipe after breakfast.

 

[eazye77]

Years ago I was a cigar smoker when I went out. I never could get into the cigarettes and until this day, I hate the smell of them.
Last year a friend and I talked about bring pipe smoking back as a tread due to not many people smoke pipes anymore. Well he stopped smoking altogether and I got into it anyway. All I can say is, is that I got hooked. Love the feel and all the types of tobacco that are out there. The more you do it, the more you start to lear about the art of smoking, pipes and tobaccos.
It's my new hobby and I love it! Now smoking a pipe for over a year now I have leared that it takes a classy person to do this. Pipes are not for everyone!

 

[willjames]

most of the men in my family are pipe smokers when i was about 14 i think my uncle would let my have a few puffs of his pipe, at 18 he gave my my first pipe and been smoking a pipe ever since

 

[lordofthepiperings]

Not pipe related but a good response lol.
null

 

[espear]

From my boyhood I always loved the sweet smell of pipe smoke. I also liked the look of a pipe and the feel of a pipe. I hated the smell of cigarettes and cigars and still do. But there was something about the aroma and feel of a pipe that drew me to pipe shops even as a youth.

Finally at about age 27, I wanted to take the plunge. There was no internet in those days for instruction or resources. None of my friends smoked anything. Several ill-fated drug store "Dr. Grabow and Capt. Black" adventures took place before I finally swallowed my pride, summoned my courage and walked into a real pipe shop, and asked, "So what do I need to get started smoking a pipe." The lovely older lady behind the counter encouraged me to a Savinelli Second for $37 along with a lighter, pipe tool, some great aromatic blend samples and a little book on, "How to Smoke a Pipe. After a few sessions of packing and lighting.....I broke through The Savinelli and I became great friends. Ahhhhhhhh...finally I understood why all those guys that I had seen over the years had smiles upon their faces when they sat back and enjoyed their pipes. Then came a Peterson, another Savinelli and then the Boswells. It has been great fun to enjoy them even if it is only once a week or so as time permits.
E. Spear

 

[tonguebitepipecleaner]

At the tender age of 18 I was tempted into tasting a Cuban cigar (readily available in Ireland), and after that I became a sporadic dabbler in the world of the stogie! Partagas, Romeo Y Julieta, among one or two others. I'd love heading up to the Decent Cigar Emporium on Grafton Street after college and picking up one for a trip or what have you. I would smoke a cigarette with a drink if I was out drinking, but I got into pipes via YouTube and a guy called DocDiaz, who showed his pipe collection, needless to say I was intrigued. After some sleuthing around and research i concluded I had to get a pipe! Tolkien smoked one, Konrad Lorenz whom I studied briefly in college smoked one and damn, everyone on YouTube made them look like a good time. Still learning as a relative newbie and getting better at pipe smoking. I don't know if I'll ever experience a pipe smoke to rival a Cuban cigar, but I'll keep trying.

 

[plateauguy]

My dad and mom both smoked cigarettes. My Irish grampa smoked a pipe with George Washington tobacco. Guess which one smelled better to a little boy?
Anyway I started in my early 20's - my older brother started when he was 13 and could buy a corn cob pipe at the fair for 15 cents. Dad usually found the pipes within days and tossed them, but it didn't stop my brother from trying. Every time I light up a bowl I think of my Grampa and brother. To me it's relaxing, and brings back good memories.

 

[boudreaux]

From my hs days, the aroma of pipe tobacco wafting in the air was like a siren calling to me. I thought, "Wow, now that smells good." A couple of my football coaches smoked pipes, so I filed the memory in my vault until later on while in college. Back then, you could puff away in class, and I enjoyed sampling some of the blends by Mac Baren's then, as well as house blends sold by the local tobacco shop. I rarely could get out of that shop without buying something, whether it be a pipe or tobacco or some related gadgetry.
My paternal grandfather used to smoke a corn cob and Honest(?) pipe tobacco. I learned this long after he passed on in the mid 50s. I have no idea what kind of blend Honest tobacco was, and I never saw him smoke his pipe. I learned all of this from an uncle.
It's a shame that a pipe smoker can no longer light up at a football game. I always thought of it as part of the spectacle of a game. Such memories seem to have been erased by legislation, as are many others.

 

[javajunkie]

I just slowly burned through an entire bowl while reading this thread, and thanks all for sharing! Also, this was the first bowl out of the triple salt cleaned estate that didn't taste of old cheap cherry, so double thanks! o)
I grew up in a house of cigarette users, so tobacco seemed destined. Even at an early age I could tell they were never really for enjoyment though. Seems stupid that I rocked them for a decade, but there it is. I still remember the only person who seemed to enjoy tobacco was a distant uncle who smoked pipe: his house desperately needed airing out, in retrospect, but still smelled like the lair of an old and loved family pet, rather than the flat and lifeless odor of old cigarettes.
Found and enjoyed cigars, have followed them for over a decade, and have a pretty decent little stash as of right now. I enjoy them, they taste like someone actually cared, unlike cigs. While I had passed the cigs aside, I fell into the trap of moist smokeless (dip, or as my wife calls it, "CHAW!", God love her). I like tobacco, I like nicotine really, but I hate dipping, so wanted something to do to ENJOY rather than to fix an itch. Then it occured to me that you could set down and pick back up a pipe a LOT easier than a cigar, and it might be much more enjoyable than putting in a chew. Out came an old Grabow from my teens, pop went my first tin of nightcap from urging of a buddy on a cigar forum, and I finally got it!
Now I am at the point of looking forward to a slow relaxing bowl more than a stogie, and I am perfectly fine with that. Thanks to a wealth of knowledge and support from this site, of course. o)