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June 19, 2006

Enter the Pipe

Perhaps the single most important thing I’ve learned about piping these last few months is: There is no right or wrong way to do things, everyone does them differently. I remember the first week I had my pipe, I was surfing the internet endlessly trying to find that “perfect” site that would finally clarify things. Was I smoking correctly? Why did this happen? Was this wrong? Am I even loading this thing correctly? Fortunately some time ago, I was afforded the opportunity to become friends with Kerry, who had been known to partake of the briar on occasion, and was more than willing to share his wisdom with me.

There are just a few items that you will need to truly enjoy your pipe, no…they’re not a prerequisite to smoking, but soon enough you’ll find they enhance your pipe smoking. First and foremost and perhaps the only prerequisite: you need a pipe. Much of this will be personal preference, and will change throughout your early days. (Note: I say early, as though I’ve been doing this for several decades now). I prefer bents to straights for the most part. They hang with comfort, and allow me to use my hands for other things. If I’m gaming or reading, the bowl will easily rest on my chest. I’ve acquired a few straights so far, and will generally use these when watching a movie etc., when I don’t need my hands to be free. I’m a pipe clencher, I grip pretty firm with my jaw, and the balance of the straight pipe makes this more of a difficult task. Some say a bent pipe keeps the smoke out of your eyes, others say a straight pipe keeps the smoke out of your eyes. For me, straights are easier to clean but that’s another chapter.

You don’t need to spend a lot of money on pipes right away. I still haven’t spent $50 on a single pipe, rather I’ve been spending money on “basket pipes” or tobacconist deals to find what size/shape/diameter I like best. Online retailers like www.pipesandcigars.com quite often haves specials like 3 pipes for uner $45.00. These are a pretty good deal; you won’t get the best pipes in the world, rather 3 imperfect “seconds” which are more than adequate for starting out. Tobacco stores (called B&M’s or Brick & Mortars), typically have pipes in this category set out in a basket on top of the counter, hence the “basket pipe”. These are also a good deal, usually sold separately and generally under $25. Walgreen’s and Wal-Mart carry Dr. Grabow pipes, which are mass produced for an economical purchase as well. (Many of these are supposedly “pre-smoked” so you don’t have to break them in (they’re smoked by machine)).

You could also hunt on eBay, or yard sales for what are called “Estate Pipes”. This is just a glorified name for, “Someone else’…probably a dead someone else’ pipe”. I’ve yet to buy one, from what I gather you can sometimes pick up a gem of a pipe in this method. Sometimes you’ll have to spend a fair amount of time cleaning the pipe, other times not. These aren’t necessarily cheap either. It still may be a couple hundred dollars for a single pipe.

www.deadmanspipes.com/ is a good place to go for estate pipes, eBay is supposed to be good as well – I’ll let you know if I ever get an estate pipe.

Corncobs are supposed to be great pipes actually. They generally run about $3-$6 each, allowing you to stock up on them. Stock up?

Yep, you are going to need more than one pipe in your collection. There are a couple of reasons behind this, with the primary reason being that you need to let your pipe “rest” between each use. During the resting time, the briar has a chance to cool completely, as well as dry out. This prolongs the life of the pipe, preventing it from cracking or exploding on you. Additionally, you’re most likely going to be smoking different kinds of tobaccos. Each tobacco you smoke is going to leave a bit of its finish in the pipe (aftertaste), and can affect the taste of a new or different tobacco. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, in fact it can be quite good; but if everything you smoke tastes like cherry, then it is a bad thing. Some tobaccos leave a large taste behind, “staining” the pipe and it takes many bowls of different tobacco to get the taste out. Mixture 79 is a great example of this.

I have a total of 5 pipes (so far). 3 bents and 2 straights. In the next couple of months, I hope to order another 3 for ____ special from www.pipesandcigars.com, and add a few more into my rotation. Some of the different tobaccos I smoke tend to be pretty latakia heavy, and this will add a bit of latakia taste to everything you smoke. I would like to have a few “dedicated latakia” pipes, a couple for my Spice, and a couple “tasting” pipes in my collection. Jeri’s been squawking about the swap meet, that’s supposed to be another good place to find estate pipes.

Generally with your first pipe purchase, you’re going to be at the mercy of the tobacconist. You’re going to get the style of pipe they like, and the tobacco they like. This worked out well for me, but if it doesn’t, it’s not the end of the world. At the very least, you’ve got a tasting pipe, and you are well on the road to knowing what some of your likes/dislikes are. (Don’t throw it away, you can use it later, trust me).

Next installment will be the second most crucial item….tobacco.

Contrived by Joshua at June 19, 2006 01:17 PM

Comments

Stephanie isnt going to be happy when she finds out he is going to insist upon having all his pipes, tobacco, pipe cleaners etc. laying on the kitchen counter nor is she going to enjoy the black spent tobacco on his shirt, the table, on the floor.

Posted by: doodle at June 19, 2006 05:59 PM

Thank you Joshua, for this post I assumed that the more expensive the pipe the better, now I know. I look forward to more posting on your site.

Posted by: Will at June 19, 2006 09:56 PM

Black unburnt tobacco is called dottle, just like doodle. They say there's a difference with the really expensive pipes, I'm afraid I will never know what that difference is..

Posted by: Joshua at June 20, 2006 06:45 AM