If a pipe was butt-ugly I wouldn't be able to enjoy it even if it smoked perfectly.
The aesthetics is part of smoking, for me at least.
No bueno.
The aesthetics is part of smoking, for me at least.
No bueno.
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Would you keep an ugly pipe that smokes really well?
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I would rather smoke a pipe of mine that was caked, cracked, dirty and gross, than a pipe with a blue or pink or green stem.
As long as it isn't a bulldog, rhodesian, Dunhill(White Spot), or Missouri Meerschaum, I'm good.
Fancy boy.
Almost as bad as someone who won't smoke estate pipes.....lol
I do estates
The majority of my pipes are classic shapes - bulldogs and billiards.
Most people looking through them would think “same old, same old ! Boring !”
I have quite a few pipes that others would say are ugly, but I love. Specifically, the Seville pipes that look like they have tentacle suction cups on the bowl. Got one as a joke while saving to get a Northern Briars Sea Urchin and ended up loving it. I have the NB now, but also picked up three more Seville pipes. My pipe club makes fun of them, but they smoke ridiculously good and I dig the Lovecraft aesthetic.
Beauty is very subjective.
We were watching a K-drama on Netflix recently and my wife commented that she thought one of the actresses was quite inattractive.
I, on the other hand, thought the opposite.
I thought that her features were very interesting and intriguing - you kept getting drawn back to her facial expressions.
And that can be more alluring than one who is “merely” beautiful
We were watching a K-drama on Netflix recently and my wife commented that she thought one of the actresses was quite inattractive.
I, on the other hand, thought the opposite.
I thought that her features were very interesting and intriguing - you kept getting drawn back to her facial expressions.
And that can be more alluring than one who is “merely” beautiful
My favorite smoker is a heavily used/abused estate pipe. Chamber out of round, rim uneven, and briar is blackened. For some reason I like it better than my shiny new pipes, and it doesn’t even have magical smoking properties. As with guns, I appreciate the functional aspect more than the decorative.
Do you just toss 'em in the garbage? Or did you get one of those specialized pipe disposal grinder machines that processes them into dust and then launches the dust into space? (at escape velocity, of course, so that none of an offending pipe's atoms come into contact with Earth again until the Universe achieves heat death / maximum entropy)
Old German clay pipes are pretty heinous looking.
But on the other hand, they've been the instrument of the most delicious and memorable smokes I've ever had.
I'm 100% on the side of high-performance ugly over low-performance beauty.
But on the other hand, they've been the instrument of the most delicious and memorable smokes I've ever had.
I'm 100% on the side of high-performance ugly over low-performance beauty.
Into the trash bid they go. I'm certainly not going to the trouble of posting, packaging and then take 'em to the post office. But, you knew that.
Pretty much boils down to pipes being intended as functional art. Take away the function, and you're left with an end table set-down object like a snow globe or weirdly shaped pine cone.
Is there shape/stem length you would recommend? I am looking at this $13 beauty:
I would now like to quote Bradley. (If you know him, you know him).
"Good looks goes, good cook stays."
"Good looks goes, good cook stays."
Just because I can I'll reiterate my criteria for purchasing a pipe. First it must catch my eye as I scan displays in shops. A pipe which isn't bent to some degree will never stop my eye. Then it has to fit my fist, comfortably. I examine the fit and finish for anomalies. Everything must fit well together. I'm not opposed to metal decoration but, such must be silver or gold and perfectly installed. If the pipe meets my criteria I'll more than likely purchase it. The "rubber meets the road", so to speak, when I've smoked ten or so bowls. Since I've started using my criteria I've not tossed a pipe for poor performance. Luck and 60+ years of experience Have taught me a lot about purchasing a pipe.
And, again, if a pipe doesn't please my eye or fit my fist, ahd clench comfortably then, the smoking experience will be unsatisfactory. Smoking for me, beside the nicotine, is a sensory experience for me when relaxing at home. When I'm working. it's the nicotine but, the senses, all the senses still enter into the equation. I can't speak for others.
The above doesn't apply to cobs. I consider them to be expendables when fishing, driving the tractor, chainsaw or what have you.
And, again, if a pipe doesn't please my eye or fit my fist, ahd clench comfortably then, the smoking experience will be unsatisfactory. Smoking for me, beside the nicotine, is a sensory experience for me when relaxing at home. When I'm working. it's the nicotine but, the senses, all the senses still enter into the equation. I can't speak for others.
The above doesn't apply to cobs. I consider them to be expendables when fishing, driving the tractor, chainsaw or what have you.
Take the good screw with your eyes closed and think about the eye candy.
My imagination has never been a strong point.
I’m afraid there will be too much of a disconnect between my brain and the “working“ (or in this case, NON-working) part
When I was young, it didn't matter. Granted, being visual, eye candy had its merits, but not enough to compensate. However, when eye candy and a good screw combined, well...My imagination has never been a strong point.
I’m afraid there will be too much of a disconnect between my brain and the “working“ (or in this case, NON-working) part