Why do We Smoke Pipes?

[Zamora]

till my 50th Birthday, i was on and off pipesmoker,primarly smoking french unfiltered cigarettes and Dutch blend Roll Your owns, then some 10 year ago tailormade cigarettes went and the quality of RYo tobacco went so much downhill that I decided to switch to full-time pipe smoking, I do occasional Cigars and Chewing as well

I went to France on a college trip and somebody in my group bought a pack of Gitanes and a pack of Gauloises and couldn't handle either, so she ended up getting her usual American Spirit golds. This was before France hopped on the plain packaging bandwagon (thankfully pipe tobacco and cigars are exempted) so at least the packs made nice souvenirs

 

[Zamora]

Freud smoked cigars and pipes.

That really took me by surprise when I first learned of it. Jung was also a pipe smoker, he favored Granger

What got me started was the smell of pipe tobaccos and what kept me going was the variety of flavors, the craftsmanship of pipemaking, and the history behind it, with an emphasis on Britwood, particularly Barling. I also enjoy prep and packing, the codger scoop, lighting up, fiddling with the pipe during a smoke, as well as cleaning and maintenance. However, were it not for the flavors, none of the rest of it would long hold my attention.

The "smoke down to a fine white ash" is one of the more destructive myths surrounding pipe smoking. Most tobaccos will smoke down to a mottled gray ash. The last one that I can remember smoking that did actually reduce to a fine white ash was Sobranie made Balkan Sobranie Original Smoking Mixture, and that hasn't been made in 40+ years. Aside from that, trying to burn every last thread of ribbon will generate enough heat to damage your pipe over time, causing cracks and fissures in the wood at and around the base of the chamber. It's a really stupid metric for success.

Ultimately for me, it's all about the flavors.

The smell was definitely a factor for me as well. I still vividly remember when I first smelled pipe tobacco, it was heavenly. The director of the shooting range at the Boy Scout Camp I went to growing up would sneak off and smoke his pipe. Pretty sure it was Captain Black. I had always been intrigued by pipe smoking but I assumed it smelled like cigarettes, then I smelled it and was blown away. I have vivid memories of every time I've encountered a brother of the briar in the wild because of the smell. Sadly I can't really smell what I'm smoking

 

[aspiring_sage]

I don't particularly like it. It stinks and is inconvenient... But something spiritual draws me to it. I've thought a long time, trying to figure out why I started and why I continue, but recently gave up trying to figure out the reason. I take the promptings of the Holy Spirit seriously, and I can't say that I've been lead wrong yet.

Pipe smoking makes my life better somehow and I can't quite put my finger on it.

 

[JimRoseLV]

The never ending journey to find the perfect blend.

 

[Raisedbands]

I think the cigar is just a cigar thing wasn't actually him. If I remember correctly it was from a fictionalized version of him.

Yes, Freud was largely a cigar man. It was Carl Jung, his ideological partner and in the end, competitor, that was a dedicated pipe smoker.

 

[Zamora]

Yes, Freud was largely a cigar man. It was Carl Jung, his ideological partner and in the end, competitor, that was a dedicated pipe smoker.

Plenty smoke both, but I was astonished to learn Freud also smoked a pipe because he smoked 20 cigars a day so I didn't think he'd have time for anything else

 

[paulwill]

Plenty smoke both, but I was astonished to learn Freud also smoked a pipe because he smoked 20 cigars a day so I didn't think he'd have time for anything else

Now I'm holding myself back a little bit, because my daily amount is getting close to that mark. I'm starting to think that I just have nothing to do)

 

[RonM]

Always enjoyed the smell of pipe tobacco, and I've always appreciated the pipes themselves. They can be real works of art and nice collectibles. In fact, I smoke sparingly -- probably only about once a week on average -- but would still enjoy having the pipes on display even if I gave up smoking them entirely.

 

[newbroom]

I smoke a pipe because I discovered that it's the least expensive, most flavorful, most satisfying way to address my lifelong nicotine addiction. Did I mention that I derive health benefits because I only smoke outside and my habit is to get a few miles of lunting in before sunrise. The benefit of exercise!

 

[Uncle Ricky]

Why... I get off work,,, get home... grab gear... Light a bowl, relax, think... repeat. Very relaxing.

Rick

 

[hauntedmyst]

Ever since tobacco fell out of vogue, I find it to be a great people repellent. Whenever I get tired of all these 20 something beotches and hotties throwing themselves at me hoping to stick like velcro to this piece of man magic, I just light up a bowl and enjoy some me alone time. Solace!

 

[wernerat]

Ever since tobacco fell out of vogue, I find it to be a great people repellent. Whenever I get tired of all these 20 something beotches and hotties throwing themselves at me hoping to stick like velcro to this piece of man magic, I just light up a bowl and enjoy some me alone time. Solace!

I see an English latakia smoker :D

 

[NightSkyFlash]

I was introduced to pipe smoking by a close friend in college. I kept it up because I enjoyed the taste, the effort, the accessories, the smell, and the memory of a friend now separated.

I few years ago he killed himself at the bottom of a slump in which he saw no end. We knew there was an end, but he did not.

So today, I smoke for my reasons and in memory of an old friend lost too soon to the travails of life.

 

[shanez]

Wow. Five pages of commentary for a question that could have been answered with a simple "because we enjoy it ".

 

[aspiring_sage]

Almost to 6!

 

[ThermionicScott]

I'm just a glutton for frustration.

 

[PipesAndPips]

Really enjoy reading all the great responses - philosophical, meaningful, funny, cynical - all of it. Happy pipe smoking all.

 

[brian64]

Wow. Five pages of commentary for a question that could have been answered with a simple "because we enjoy it ".

The one thing nearly all pipe smokers have in common is the desperate need to make everything and anything as complicated as possible...which may be the very trait that attracted us to the pipe to begin with, because it's certainly the most complicated method of tobacco consumption.

 

[Chasing Embers]

The one thing nearly all pipe smokers have in common is the desperate need to make everything and anything as complicated as possible

I'm lazy, even went so far as to figure out the easiest, least labor intensive way of pipe restoration.

the most complicated method of tobacco consumption.

I gravitated to pipes because of its ease and least wasteful nature. Definitely less complicated than RYO.

 

[brian64]

I gravitated to pipes because of its ease

LOL...I actually knew you were going to say that. I can see how it's arguably less complicated than RYO...depending on how you look at it.

Even if complexity bias attracts us to it initially, it's not why I stuck with it. I stuck with it because it's not only less expensive than cigars, but I get better, more complex flavor from pipe smoking.