Why Did You Start?
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i was always attracted to the more offbeat methods of tobacco use. call me an individual or a non-conformist or whatever, but i just felt that people smoked cigarettes for the wrongs reasons- because they HAD too. all i saw were people having nic fits and such, and i thought it should be a pleasurable experience, not a compulsory experience.
i started puffing on cigars for a while, then stopped just because i got bored with it (you spend so much but only use it once), then i started smoking the hookah (great flavors, a fun relaxing experience, but man is it a pain to clean and set up).
pipes just came naturally then i guess. and im glad.
i started puffing on cigars for a while, then stopped just because i got bored with it (you spend so much but only use it once), then i started smoking the hookah (great flavors, a fun relaxing experience, but man is it a pain to clean and set up).
pipes just came naturally then i guess. and im glad.
After I got divorced in 1998, I had a night out with the guys that led to smoking my first cigar.
I started smoking cigars and bought Tad Gage's book, "The Complete Idiot's Guide to Cigars". In the original printing of the book, there was a chapter on pipes.
I got into cigars and pipes both in 1998.
For years I smoked cigars much more, now it is the opposite.
I smoked 6 cigars the entire year in 2009. I smoke 2 - 4 pipes a day now.
I am glad to hear of all the guys quitting cigarettes for pipes too.
I started smoking cigars and bought Tad Gage's book, "The Complete Idiot's Guide to Cigars". In the original printing of the book, there was a chapter on pipes.
I got into cigars and pipes both in 1998.
For years I smoked cigars much more, now it is the opposite.
I smoked 6 cigars the entire year in 2009. I smoke 2 - 4 pipes a day now.
I am glad to hear of all the guys quitting cigarettes for pipes too.
Btw, the current edition of "The Complete Idiot's Guide to Cigars" does not have the pipe chapter.
For me it's a bit different, you see I am a bit of an ultra nationalist and my pride for my ancestors is ever-so powerful, so as a child when i found out both my grandpa's (whom both smoked pipes) fought along side the nationalists in the great war, i started smoking cigarettes as a boy, then at my babushka's house, in her garage, i found my grandpa's pipe. It's so beautiful and i haven't seen one like it, and it has metal inlays and whatnot, anyhow, i begged to be able to keep it as an heirloom, and iv been smoking it ever since.
I'd love to see a pic of that pipe radoslav.
Why did I start, well I had this fascination with pipes since I was 16 I smoked cigs and dipped but I always wanted to try pipe smoking however being underage at the time and not having anyone else remotely interested in it made it difficult. So I spent 3 years watching YouTube videos and going onto websites like pipe and cigars and smokingpipes and just waiting till I turned 18. Well it turned out my grandpa smoked a pipe and I ended up getting his meer the only pipe left when he died. My dad quit 12 years ago. Iv been thinking of getting him back into pipe smoking after my brother and sister are moved out of the house and my dad retired. Well here I am almost 19 years old and I have 13 pipes and 6 pounds of tobacco :P funny how these things work.
Cheers!
Gunnar
Why did I start, well I had this fascination with pipes since I was 16 I smoked cigs and dipped but I always wanted to try pipe smoking however being underage at the time and not having anyone else remotely interested in it made it difficult. So I spent 3 years watching YouTube videos and going onto websites like pipe and cigars and smokingpipes and just waiting till I turned 18. Well it turned out my grandpa smoked a pipe and I ended up getting his meer the only pipe left when he died. My dad quit 12 years ago. Iv been thinking of getting him back into pipe smoking after my brother and sister are moved out of the house and my dad retired. Well here I am almost 19 years old and I have 13 pipes and 6 pounds of tobacco :P funny how these things work.
Cheers!
Gunnar
I know this thread is 2 years old but I am down with a revival... I was in elementary school when I smoked my first pipe. I hollowed out a corncob and inserted the threaded end of a football inflator/air adapter thingy for a stem. Back then kids could buy tobacco if they were savvy. I wrote a note that read something like "Benson and Hedges Ultra Light 100's" and pretended to fumble while reading it to the clerk at the local corner store where I played Asteroids. I and a couple of cohorts proceeded to the woods where we broke apart the cigarettes and crammed the tobacco into the bowl. Talk about tongue bite! Regardless of how terrible the taste was and the excruciating pain we did our best and smoked a few bowls. We were pretty grown up for our age I guess, until we all proceeded to violently lose the contents of our stomachs. I can remember smoking the cigs from the pipe a couple days later... It wasn't until late in high school that I had a friend whose dad had a ginormous pipe collection. Surely he wouldn't miss one little pipe? Boy was I wrong! My friend got in big trouble but he never ratted me out or asked me to return the pipe. I see now what a terrible thing it was to accept this pipe, but I still have it and still make sure it gets put to god use. I also think that if one of my pipes comes up missing one day I can only hope that it finds a good home and not get too broken up about it.
Scratch all of that. I see my post has nothing to do with "why" I started smoking a pipe. Popeye maybe?
Scratch all of that. I see my post has nothing to do with "why" I started smoking a pipe. Popeye maybe?
Nothing beats relaxing with a good pipe and your favourite drink after a long, hard working day and letting your mind wander.
I've always detested cigarettes. The taste, smell, yuck! However, I love great taste experiences - a fantastic meal at a 5 star restaurant, great wine, old single malt scotch, Tennessee bourbon, you name it.
Surprisingly, in contrast to what all the Non-smoking-fascists want to make people believe, cigars and pipes as a form of a "gourmet" tobacco experience (opposed to tobacco consumption in the form of suckin' in a pack of cigarettes a day to get a fix), have a very valid place among drinking excellent vintage wine, fine dining, or relaxing with a Scotch.
However, pipe smoking can also go both ways - can't tell me that smoking 15 bowls of Captn Black a day is any different than smoking a pack of cigarettes - it's clearly addictive behavior, and I disagree with that. Same as with everything else - a bottle of Chateau Neuf du Pape on the weekend is fine, drinking two bottles of wine each evening is not ;-)
I wish people would understand this. There is only one stamp that gets put on everyone: "SMOKER!". But at the same time nobody calls the daddy who has a beer while BBQing burgers an "ALCOHOLIC!". If you understand this, is quite easy to see why somebody like me, who loves to enjoy life, would pick up pipe smoking.
I've always detested cigarettes. The taste, smell, yuck! However, I love great taste experiences - a fantastic meal at a 5 star restaurant, great wine, old single malt scotch, Tennessee bourbon, you name it.
Surprisingly, in contrast to what all the Non-smoking-fascists want to make people believe, cigars and pipes as a form of a "gourmet" tobacco experience (opposed to tobacco consumption in the form of suckin' in a pack of cigarettes a day to get a fix), have a very valid place among drinking excellent vintage wine, fine dining, or relaxing with a Scotch.
However, pipe smoking can also go both ways - can't tell me that smoking 15 bowls of Captn Black a day is any different than smoking a pack of cigarettes - it's clearly addictive behavior, and I disagree with that. Same as with everything else - a bottle of Chateau Neuf du Pape on the weekend is fine, drinking two bottles of wine each evening is not ;-)
I wish people would understand this. There is only one stamp that gets put on everyone: "SMOKER!". But at the same time nobody calls the daddy who has a beer while BBQing burgers an "ALCOHOLIC!". If you understand this, is quite easy to see why somebody like me, who loves to enjoy life, would pick up pipe smoking.
yup!! Premium tobacco's are a whole other world.
I've never once been attracted to cigarettes or wanted to smoke them... (well my buddy had some American Spirit shag in a can to roll your own, but I liked the rolling more than the tree bark taste).
One of my buddies had a cigar, a good one, and I loved the smell. I didn't have one that night, but later that summer he gave me one to try and I loved it. I love the smell, the taste, the skill, craftsmanship, and passion that goes into premium tobacco's...I find the premium tobacco industry so fascinating. I also enjoy standing up for individual rights, free markets, and private business! So being a pipe and cigar smoker, I get a big ol' chance to do that too!
Cigars, for me, led into pipes. I very much enjoy both now!
My friends all smoked cigars, as most young college boys do because its "manly" but i could not afford the tag on them though i like them very much. i saw a cob and some toby for a low price and the taste was excellent. since then the obsession caught fire and my pipe has become my reprieve from people it relaxes me and gives me a chance to think about what is happening rather than react.
This thread predates my pipe experience by a few months. We were on vacation in FL and had a wonderful hotel room in Panama Beach with a balcony. I had a few cigars with me for balcony enjoyment. Each morning and afternoon, a gentleman a few rooms down would appear on his balcony with a pipe, and enjoy a smoke for 30 minutes. I remarked to my wife he seemed quite content and the shorter duration seemed appealing to me. The wife replied she wish that I smoked a pipe instead of a cigar. A few days after returning home, I popped in one of my cigar shops in NJ and looked at their pipe offerings. Way overpriced with a few jars of generic blends. The clerk said I'd never enjoy the "fiddly" aspect of the pipe and suggested I get a $25 estate to try it out. He said I wouldn't like the experience and be back to the cigar. I bought a $20 Italian briar pipe and never looked back. I've only smoked one or two cigars since. I always say that I've that while I enjoyed the cigar, I never formed a personal relationship with one, but my pipes quickly become treasured companions. 30+ pipes later....
I just turned 49 last week and lets just say mine was 49 years in the making. I loved Sherlock Holmes as a kid and the Hobbit as an adult. I've always loved the room note but its been a mystery. I thought only old men smoked pipes. Then a fews ago a friend of mine invited me to smoke some cigars (I've smoked nothing else). He seemed to absolutely love it so i decided to try. I liked it OK, didnt love it but I did love the camaraderie. One of the guys there usually smokes a pipe and I absolutely love the scent. So about 2 weeks ago I decided to buy a "starter pipe". Dang I got hooked immediately. I had the best smoke last night and had my first breakfast smoke this AM.
I started smoking cigars in college, then decided to try a pipe and I really like the variety of flavours and blends that pipes offer. It is far more extensive than cigars and of course much cheaper. Being a pipe smoke requires dedication and I kinda like that 
I always thought that cigarette smoking was disgusting, both of my parents smoked and it just turned me off.
I always loved the smell of pipe tobacco when an old man would pass by on the streets. When i was a teenager i would go hunting with with Step dad and an amazing man named Captain Tom. Captain Tom would smoke a pipe whenever he could it seemed and it smelled amazing. I still can see him pulling out his pouch of Middleton's Apple.
I no longer hunt (i'm actually a vegetarian!) and Captain Tom has left this mortal coil but those memories stick with you. Just like Russ wrote about recently. Our hobby is fraught with nostalgia.
Anyway, in my early to mid twenties (about 10 years ago) i took a road trip to help a buddy move from NYC to LA. On those drives truck stops are always filled with many different tobacco products. I decided i would try a different one each time we stopped for gas minus cigarettes. I tried chewing tobaccos, which i kind of liked for a moment. The buzz was so intense it would make me want to vomit. I tried dip, swisher sweets, Middleton's Black & Mild, Backwoods etc. I really liked those little cheap pipe tobacco cigars and still smoke them once in a blue moon. But nothing really resonated. The whole time i looked for Corn Cob pipes and eventually found a used one and some cheap tobacco. Probably Sail. I did not really kick in. I had no idea how to pack it etc etc. However i was determined. When i returned from my trip i went to Holt's in Philadelphia and bought a "real" pipe and a mutlitude of blends, some of which i still have to this day which have been aging in their baggies! Well from that point on i got hooked and wanted my friends to get hooked. We started something called "The Old Mans Pipe Klub". We would dress up and go to the Ritz Carlton cigar bar in Philadelphia (which like most are now closed) and smoke our pipes while rich gangsters, hip hop guys, politicians from City Hall (and their *cough* escorts)looked on in amusement. We were all young and it was fun and something different. We would have get togethers where we would share pipes, tobacco and teach each other the basics. Interest waned but it always stuck with me. Here and they i get emails from the old gang talking about getting the crew back together when i come back to the east coast. And recently some friends here in Portland, Oregon have talked about starting our own version as we all have pipes. I myself go on and off but i've taken to a daily habit again with TAD and PAD in full swing since i quit my corporate job to strike out on my own. It's so relaxing to be in my own house / studio and working / designing while smoking a pipe.
hope you enjoyed that little ramble.
I always loved the smell of pipe tobacco when an old man would pass by on the streets. When i was a teenager i would go hunting with with Step dad and an amazing man named Captain Tom. Captain Tom would smoke a pipe whenever he could it seemed and it smelled amazing. I still can see him pulling out his pouch of Middleton's Apple.
I no longer hunt (i'm actually a vegetarian!) and Captain Tom has left this mortal coil but those memories stick with you. Just like Russ wrote about recently. Our hobby is fraught with nostalgia.
Anyway, in my early to mid twenties (about 10 years ago) i took a road trip to help a buddy move from NYC to LA. On those drives truck stops are always filled with many different tobacco products. I decided i would try a different one each time we stopped for gas minus cigarettes. I tried chewing tobaccos, which i kind of liked for a moment. The buzz was so intense it would make me want to vomit. I tried dip, swisher sweets, Middleton's Black & Mild, Backwoods etc. I really liked those little cheap pipe tobacco cigars and still smoke them once in a blue moon. But nothing really resonated. The whole time i looked for Corn Cob pipes and eventually found a used one and some cheap tobacco. Probably Sail. I did not really kick in. I had no idea how to pack it etc etc. However i was determined. When i returned from my trip i went to Holt's in Philadelphia and bought a "real" pipe and a mutlitude of blends, some of which i still have to this day which have been aging in their baggies! Well from that point on i got hooked and wanted my friends to get hooked. We started something called "The Old Mans Pipe Klub". We would dress up and go to the Ritz Carlton cigar bar in Philadelphia (which like most are now closed) and smoke our pipes while rich gangsters, hip hop guys, politicians from City Hall (and their *cough* escorts)looked on in amusement. We were all young and it was fun and something different. We would have get togethers where we would share pipes, tobacco and teach each other the basics. Interest waned but it always stuck with me. Here and they i get emails from the old gang talking about getting the crew back together when i come back to the east coast. And recently some friends here in Portland, Oregon have talked about starting our own version as we all have pipes. I myself go on and off but i've taken to a daily habit again with TAD and PAD in full swing since i quit my corporate job to strike out on my own. It's so relaxing to be in my own house / studio and working / designing while smoking a pipe.
hope you enjoyed that little ramble.
I recently started smoking a pipe due to the rising costs of cigarettes which I have smoked for nearly 30 years, never really like chewing tobacco to much. I have always enjoyed the smell of a pipe so I decided to give it a shot and now I am hooked.
I was 14 years old. I like to say it was to stunt my growth because I was 6 feet at age 12, but then I stopped getting taller. Probably the real reason was to do something forbidden.
Well, let me think. A few reasons really. Walking by a tobacconist shop in the mall during childhood and being tempted by the wonderful smell, seeing tobacco pipes at people's houses when I was a kid, the noble appearance of a pipe smoker, walking down the street and passing someone with a nice smelling tobacco in their pipe. One day I decided to buy a pipe and some baccy.
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