Hello from TheBigSmoke... aka Toronto

[TheBigSmoke]

Well, I'm glad to have found such a welcoming forum to talk about pipe smoking!

I've loved the smell of pipe smoke since I was a kid in the mid to late 60s when my dad used to smoke a pipe, but sadly my mom made him quit.

I took up pipe smoking myself in my late teens, but almost exclusively reserved pipe smoking for summer camping or fishing trips. Being from Toronto I had a early 1970s Brigham 3 dot in classic shape #19, but was limited to easy to acquire Amphora blends or Captain Black.

In my late 20s I had to give up pipe smoking in order to quit smoking cigarettes. Once I quit cigarettes I never went back to pipe smoking, but I did take up smoking fine cigars in my 40s. Now I have the urge to take up the pipe again. I've picked up a couple of estate pipes off of ebay, and am patiently waiting their arrival.

I've gotten far more sophisticated palate than I had in my youth, I like a strong smoke, in cigars I smoke a lot of Rock Patels and like Maduro wrapped cigars. My wife prefers when I smoke something aromatic. So I'm open to suggestions, especially from fellow Ontarioans who know whats available locally. I'm also open to online mail order on occasion, but duties on tobacco are a killer.

I'm so happy it's warm enough to smoke again and looking forward to making the most of the short Canadian summer.

 

[RobJ]

Hiya TBS, welcome to BoB

One of my favorite pipes is a Brigham 5 dot from the '80s. No doubt one of our Canadian Brothers will be along soon to help with sourcing blends around Toronto. I had a tin of Mr. B's Virginia Flake courtesy of a good friend in BC that was really quite nice.

 

[eklektos44]

Welcome to BoB TBS. Hope you have a great time here!

 

[Buckshot]

Welcome to the Brotherhood. Stop by often.

 

[DrT999]

Welcome to BoB, TBS! I hope you enjoy your time here

"T"

 

[Brewdude]

Welcome TBS, and nice intro. There's a good few canuks on this site so you'll be right at home.


Cheers,

RR

 

[DrumsAndBeer]

Welcome aboard.

 

[Dutch]

Welcome to the BoB forums!

 

[Stick]

Welcome along old chap from one of the Blighty contingent. Good to see you've found your way back to the briar and am glad you've found your way onto the BoB. I'll stroke my chin regarding your quest for new baccys...

 

[daveinlax]

I've been to Toronto a couple of times but that was years ago but I went to many of the downtown shops and never bought any pipe tobacco other than a couple of tins of Julius Vesz' signature mixtures that were made by McClelland but I always came home with a couple of boxes of cigars.
I believe Toronto has a pipe club that might be of help. Max from Pipes2smoke.com might have some info. Max is out of the tobacco bidness but then again he would never sell his stuff in country. I've heard 4Noggins.com is go to shop for hassle free importing to the north. :shock:

 

[TheBigSmoke]

Well its clear that I've landed in the right place.

Toronto has a pipe club downtown, but as of this summer, there is no legal venue where a man or woman may smoke on a patio and imbibe in a drink. Then just yesterday our Provincial government banned the sale of "flavoured" tobaccos... I assume that includes aromatic pipe tobaccos.

The only exceptions I'm aware of are port, rum, wine and whiskey-flavoured cigars that weigh five grams or more.

I used to design ventilation systems for smoking rooms in restaurants and I used to pay to belong to a few private cigar clubs, the government all such establishments. I didn't get refund on memberships fees, the owners lost their businesses and a portion of my field of practice evaporated as it did for many other engineering & hvac design firms.

Slowly but surely the rights of smokers are being snuffed out... so yes I agree we need to band together or perish alone.

I'll be joining NASPC too... I'm now a sworn activist who will help recruit the youth of Canada into the brotherhood of pipe smoking because the government has forced me to it.

 

[daveinlax]

Slowly but surely the rights of smokers are being snuffed out... so yes I agree we need to band together or perish alone.

I'll be joining NASPC too...

Good, NASPC is not a legislative or lobby origination but they support our pipe shows and The Pipe Corrector is a really good publication I really look forward to getting mine every other month.
I have a feeling the FDA will be regulating flavored tobacco when the legislation gets finalized. I'm a member of CRA and they are doing a good job getting a premium exemption for cigars and I'm pretty much set for pipe tobacco. I hope the pipe tobacco guys are working on a exemption too. Right now it's employers and their insurance companies are really causing problems for many guys.
Sometimes you've got say F the world and just enjoy your smoke friendly home and car because many guys here can't even smoke in their own homes and cars. :shock:

 

[Anonymous]

Welcome to BoB! :lol:

 

[TheBigSmoke]

Sometimes you've got say F the world and just enjoy your smoke friendly home and car because many guys here can't even smoke in their own homes and cars. :shock:    

I hear you, my wife freaks if I've had a smoke within a few days of when she gets in my car. IF I'm very lucky mid-winter and suffering badly from arthritis I'll get to smoke in the house... but only in bathroom with the window cracked and the exhaust fan on.

 

[Jevverrett]

Welcome to the forum